‘Superagers’ show how to stay sharp as you age

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Maury Kernerman, an accomplished violinist, commits YouTube recordings of classical music to memory, hiking into a mountain valley with his son and volunteers to teach music in South America.

As he prepares to celebrate his 101st birthday next week, Kernerman is convinced that music has played a big role in contributing to his long and active life.

The Toronto resident is known as a superager, someone age 80 or older who retains the memory abilities of people in their 40s or 50s. The SuperAging Research Initiative is studying such participants across North America, trying to figure out what helps them stay so sharp and avoid the physical and mental decline that typically comes with aging.

In Canada, Angela Roberts of Western University in London, Ontario, is leading the national initiative. Their goal is to enroll 500 Superagers across the US and Canada into the project, Roberts says they are close to doing that.

Although the results are observational, Roberts and the international team have so far found three key factors that help people live independently and longer: pursuing meaningful hobbies, being physically active, and maintaining social connections.

brain scan of superagers

Roberts’ research is part of the SuperAging Research Initiative, led by a team University of Chicago. He has published a search Based on MRI scans of brain areas associated with memory and focus, it has been suggested that the brains of 24 superagers degrade more slowly than the brains of 12 similarly aged people, as well. post mortem measures.

“These are people who have passed the turning point of what we expect in normal aging, and their biology matches that,” Roberts said. “In fact, their brains do not shrink as rapidly as we see in the general population.”

Superagers do not experience the thinning of the cortex, which affects memory, behavior and how we are able to move, he said.

Most previous studies that have looked at people who are aging well have relied on self-reported questionnaires that may be given once a year, asking the person to recall what they have done.

What sets this research program apart is how they are collecting data, taking participants over decades through blood tests, brain scans, physical activity monitors, and word recall tests that are beginning to provide answers about how to live longer and well.

‘It gives me purpose’

Superagers see themselves as contributing to society, which Roberts said is one of the special elements that helps them.

For Kernmann, his career as a violinistIt started in 1936 at the age of 10. He remembers giving the first presentation to newspaper critics in Toronto later that year. She began with sonatas by Italian composer Arcangelo Corelli, followed by some by Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.

All critics gave good reviews, Kernerman said, qualifying with thRi’s words: “Considering her age.”

Kernerman’s talent with the beloved violin of the 1700s opened the doors to orchestras in America, Russia, Europe, and served as concertmaster in New Zealand for two months.

“Listening to his music tells me something,” Kernerman said. “It makes me stronger. It gives me purpose. It gives me understanding.”

Today, Kernerman says he no longer plays the violin because of shoulder pain. Instead, he likes to listen to classical piano, especially Beethoven’s last quartets. Kernerman said he now watches performances without commercials on YouTube so he can see the score while listening.

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When there is a passage he wants to master, he stops, plays it at a slow pace until he learns it and then starts listening. “It’s amazing, isn’t it, modern technology?”

Kernerman shares his enthusiasm and knowledge of classical music with others. In recent years, he has traveled to Cartagena, Colombia to teach music to people in poor neighborhoods.

“We’ve set up something to bring music to them, to teach kids how to play,” he said. “I wasn’t very good at teaching kids, but I teach their teachers.”

Over 25 Years, Superager Research Suggest they have less Alzheimer’s disease-type changes in their brain, including larger entorhinal neurons that are thought to be preserved new memory formation and dense von Economo neurons, which are connected Social Intelligence and Awareness.

remain active

Another factor that many superagers have in common is exercise. Data collected by activity trackers shows that a typical superager, including centenarians, needs 36 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity such as walking, biking and swimming, Roberts said.

“The data is incredible,” Roberts said. “We found that yes, indeed, they get more exercise than their 80-year-old peers. In fact, Canadian guidelines are for about 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day for a 50-year-old. Our superagers are getting a little more than that.”

In contrast, last year Statistics Canada reported only 46 per cent of adults Meets national guidelines for inflating and inflating and light intensity activities.

Remarkably, Kernerman said, the phrase that newspaper critics once used as a qualifier “for her age” is one she now often hears from people when they learn she still exercises, including squats, planks and 20 minutes each morning on the exercise bike.

In addition to Kernerman’s exercise routine, he enjoys taking walks in a nearby ravine when the weather is not inclement. Sometimes, he goes with one of his sons. On solo excursions, Kernerman watches animals run down steep, rugged paths while listening to classical music.

Kernerman said he regularly attends art lectures and interacts with fellow superagers.S Online. Like many of them, his schedule is packed with activities that scientists say require focus, problem-solving and emotional health.

Other researchers say physical activity and stimulation may also improve measures of cognition compared with placebo, even for people with a family history of dementia.

“Even people who are at high risk of developing dementia see improvements when we change our lifestyle,” said Louis Bherer, neuropsychologist and director of the Center for Preventive Medicine and Physical Activity at the Montreal Heart Institute. he is test it In randomized clinical trials, a rigorous study design for medical research.

Bherer, who is not involved in the SuperAgers research, said the hope is that by identifying the best combination of factors to reduce the progression of subtle cognitive deficits, it will help people maintain cognitive health — an optimal but not perfect state for your given age, education level and other traits.

For Kernerman, sports and exercise were not always a part of life. As a child, he required stitches after being hit in the face by a baseball, and safety became a concern that kept him away from sports.

And Roberts says that’s not unusual for superagers. “Many of them may not have been lifelong athletes. They didn’t start being active until their 50s and 60s, so they give us some hope.”

how for genetics What contributes to the brain health of superagers is not yet clear, Roberts said. Kernerman said his father lived to be 101 and died in 2001.

But Longitudinal and twin studies Also be hopeful that – whatever your genetics – there are some things you can do to avoid dementia such as pursuing personally meaningful hobbies, staying physically active and socially connected.

“We’ve been saying for a long time, yes, social interaction is important,” Roberts said. “What superagers are teaching us is not just important, it’s really important in the post-apocalyptic age.”

Superagers are always looking ahead optimistically, he said. Kernerman is no exception.

“I know things are hard,” he admits. “But still, the sunset is as beautiful as it was before.”