Brain Rejuvenation: Beyond Diet & Exercise

Dementia and neurodegenerative disorders They are one of the great fears that are associated with the increase in the life expectancy of the population. In short, the objective is not only to live more: the quality of life of those years is so – and for some more important people, than to measure life in quantitative terms (what WHO calls “substantial gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy”).

They are usually two perspectives from which the issues that affect the health of our brain are addressed.

In addition to exposome, that is, all those factors that can impact our brain health and that usually escape our control (from the air quality we breathe to the inequality of the country in which we live), and of the genetic causes; The linked to the healthy life habits: healthy eating, physical activity and correct rest are the centrals.

All this is more than known. Therefore, the fact that not only exists Another tool It is also accessible, it is encouraging.

What would happen if they told us that an activity can not only preserve our brain health, but also generate a Rejuvenation effect? Could anyone refuse to make experiences at hand, which can make our brain between two and five years less?

Creativity, linked to artistic and playful activities, seems to have this power. This was found a new international research published in Nature magazine, whose relevance lies, among other things, in having demonstrated a Concrete impact at the biological level.

“It’s the first Scientific evidence on a large scale that directly links creative participation with a measurable and direct protection of brain health, “says the authors of”Creative experiences and brain clocks”(Creative experiences and cerebral watches) of the study participated more than 1,400 people from 13 countries, including Argentina.

Is creativity underestimated? Do we tend to associate it with leisure, the hobbies and to conceive it as a privilege reserved for people who want, time and basic needs covered? Can this work start a path in which something similar to what happened with the dream is achieved, which went from associating with laziness, to be one of the pillars of good life habits?

“This study has Two very powerful issues: On the one hand, for the first time there is evidence regarding the impact on biology, but also this impact occurs to a biological extent that is associated with health: cerebral rejuvenation, ”he says Clarion Agustín Ibáñez, Argentine, main and corresponding author of the study in GBHi-Trinity College Dublin and the Adolfo Ibáñez University.

The truth is that creative and cultural activities come winning ground In the field of science. Without going any further, recently the World Health Organization (WHO) published the first document promoted by the social prescription of artistic activities, says the neuroscientist.

In a review of global evidence on the role of arts in improving health and well -being, says WHO: “The results of more than 3,000 studies identified a fundamental role of arts in disease prevention, health promotion and management and management and management and disease treatment throughout life. ”

Meanwhile, the present work will be part of the year, anticipates Ibáñez, of the series that the The Lancet Medical Magazine Make: these are publications sets in which he updates a perspective with a series of investigations.

The central conclusion of this work is that participating in creative experiences such as music, dance, visual arts and even certain types of video games can delay cerebral aging and promote a healthier brain function.

A necessary clarification is that the definition of creativity used in this study is intentionally broad: it is the ability to produce new and effective ideas or solutions using imagination.

In the case of video games, depending on whether it was an expert to apprentice, the cerebral rejuvenation was 2 and a half years In the last case, and 5 in the first, Clarín Carlos Coronel, first author and researcher at the GBHi-Trinity College Dublin and the Adolfo Ibáñez University, points out.

Let us keep in mind that one of the most innovative treatments that exists to date for Alzheimer and 27% In 18 months.

However, it is important to clarify that this study was conducted in healthy people, with a preventive and non -therapy approachalthough its authors manifested “optimistic” in this last sense.

Another of the issues that must be taken into account is that it is difficult to know in advance how the creative experience will be experienced: unlike what happens with the exercise, that yes or yes it will have a positive impact on the organism, if we take tango classes in automatic mode and without disconnecting ourselves from our problems, it probably does not have the described effect, says Ibáñez.

But let’s go to the study: the investigation used a Combination of approaches Transversal (that is, observational: they are based on the collection of certain information at a given time in a group of people) and interventionists (through which the effects of specific interventions or treatments are evaluated).

Among the participantsCreative experts were included, such as tango dancers, musicians, visual artists and real -time strategy video game players; students, such as those who receive short -term training through video games that demand flexible cognitive skills; And not experts.

The research team used advanced computational models, known as cerebral watches, In order to compare the brain age planned with the chronological age, generating a brain age gap (BAG) that reflects accelerated (major) or resilient (minor) cerebral aging.

Subsequently, the BAG were analyzed in all groups to determine whether creativity was associated with cerebral aging delayed or accelerated.

The study found that in several creative domains brain watches showed delayed aging, especially in the most regions susceptible to neurodegeneration.

Computer models revealed that creativity favors greater Efficiency of brain networks and greater connectivity, mechanisms that could underly the protective effect through neuronal plasticity mechanisms.

“Creativity emerges as a powerful determinant of brain health, comparable to exercise or diet ”, reinforces Ibáñez.

To explain how this happens, Colonel refers to the category of excitability: “The brain can be very activated or little activated, let’s say that a health example some neurodegenerative disease”.

And he adds: “One of the benefits of creative activities is Download this overactivity and better regulate brain activity, protect it from this state of hyperexcitation, and by modulating it, brain communication is much more efficient. ”

And this occurs in all people, not only in experts: “One of our key conclusions is that It is not necessary to be an expert to benefit from creativity. In fact, we discovered that the students benefited from short training sessions with video games, ”says Colonel.

The authors clarify that it is not about any video game, but one that has specific characteristics: in the study they used Startcarft 2, a strategy game with a great cognitive load and important attention components.

“Demand being doing many things at the same time, it has a very high attention load and also requires spying and predicting what the opponent does, so you have to anticipate and create strategiesand imagine what the other could do and also oneself, ”says Colonel.

The results suggest that creativity could be prescribed, like exercise, as an economical, accessible and effective form of Protect brain healthColonel and Ibañez are excited.

Creativity is even highlighted, “as a public health resource”, with implications for clinical interventions and health policies.

“Creative practices, from tango to real -time strategy games, share common protective effects on the brain; the findings suggest that it is justified to incorporate creativity and arts as central strategies for promote healthy aging”, They indicate.

Ibáñez adds: “This is not only relevant to neuroscience, but it represents a cultural and political opportunity. Our societies need reimagine healthy aging Through medical and non -medical fields, such as creativity, arts and game. ”

Colonel says that while these creative experiences differ, they share a common denominator: they help protect brain connections Vulnerable to accelerated aging. “Since the hobbies and interests of each person are unique, it is encouraging to know that there are many ways to support brain health through creativity,” he encourages.

Can anyone access practices like these, in which creativity is put into play? Can prescribe creativity In a country where a high percentage of people does not access basic benefits?

One of the advantages of the study, highlighted by Colonel, is that there are several creative disciplines that have a protective effect. “This is important because, We all have hobbies and interestit is not about following a formula that applies to everyone, but different types of activities can help in different cases, ”he says.

And, as mentioned, it is not necessary to be an expert: “introduce these artistic activities, even if it is little time per weekit can have a positive effect on your health. ”

Meanwhile, Ibáñez acknowledges that there are people with more creative skills, which does not mean that they cannot train.

“Recall that creative skills not only depend on the arts, this is very important to say it: creativity is not a universal concept, it has important components such as the Flexible thoughtthe use of imagination, but also has aspects that have to do with enjoyment, with the connection with emotional states, and there are many activities that can stimulate some of these aspects, ”he reflects.

“What does happen is that creative activities condense all these processes, and have what is called GreetingGénesis [N de la R: definido, al contrario que la patogénesis, como el proceso de sanación y creación de salud] As therapeutic effect, ”he adds.

How long should we do it to have a specific effect? “At least in the study were between 3 and 6 hours per week Training with the video game did not require daily practice, but a few hours of the week, distributed over a period of 3 to 6 months, ”he describes.

Finally, can time be dedicated to creativity, with full attention, in a country like ours?

Ibáñez proposes to put it in perspective of chance: “We live in a world of uncertainty, of constant stress, of an aggressiveness that increases every day, of radicalization of thought, of insecurity; then, to be able to build a space, a bubble in which in the background you can develop creative skills, it can be conceived as a window.”

“Stress at a certain level can foster creativity, but when the activity is increased, there is no time to think because You have to give answers Fast, you will not have more flexible thoughts, you will not enjoy the activity, you will not have emotional self -regulation because you will be stressed, ”he admits.

However, it closes: “We already know, as we said in another paperthat political instability even accelerates aging; So, to be able to create a space of own salutogenesis that even protects you Of these environmental conditions, it certainly is not easy, but it is an opportunity we have. And just as the world is, it is more than necessary. ”

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