During midlife, the brain goes through several structural changes in
degrees, depending on how well you have taken care of your brain.
Up until age thirty, the back of the temporal lobe increases in density;
thereafter it decreases.
This means that processing speed and remem-
bering slowly decrease after age thirty. Between the ages of twenty
and ninety, the overall processing speed for verbal tasks declines by
50 percent, whereas the speed for visual spatial tasks declines
more rapidly. Language skills therefore don ’ t slow down as quickly as
visual spatial skills do.
There is also a slow decrease in the density and
the volume of the neurons in the PFC. This means that you can be
more focused and effi cient.
As you age, you also go through changes in your sleep cycle: you
wake up more and spend more time in light sleep.
This problem
is complicated by the fact that many older people spend more
time indoors and are therefore exposed to less natural light, which
dysregulates their circadian rhythms.
Also, when older people lose
social cues, such as eating dinner at a set time, it negatively impacts the sleep cycle.
degrees, depending on how well you have taken care of your brain.
Up until age thirty, the back of the temporal lobe increases in density;
thereafter it decreases.
This means that processing speed and remem-
bering slowly decrease after age thirty. Between the ages of twenty
and ninety, the overall processing speed for verbal tasks declines by
50 percent, whereas the speed for visual spatial tasks declines
more rapidly. Language skills therefore don ’ t slow down as quickly as
visual spatial skills do.
There is also a slow decrease in the density and
the volume of the neurons in the PFC. This means that you can be
more focused and effi cient.
As you age, you also go through changes in your sleep cycle: you
wake up more and spend more time in light sleep.
This problem
is complicated by the fact that many older people spend more
time indoors and are therefore exposed to less natural light, which
dysregulates their circadian rhythms.
Also, when older people lose
social cues, such as eating dinner at a set time, it negatively impacts the sleep cycle.