안녕하세요 보스턴 임박사입니다.

요즈음 보스턴은 대학 신입생들이 입학을 위해 들어오는 아주 바쁜 시기입니다. 코로나 팬데믹도 끝이 나고 이제 즐겁게 대학 생활을 할 수 있는 어린 학생들을 보면 무언가를 새롭게 배운다는 즐거움으로 가득찬 이 학생들의 미래를 생각하게 되고 저도 함께 새로운 세계를 꿈꾸게 됩니다.

젊다는 것은 마치 스펀지처럼 새로운 것들을 빨리 습득할 수 있는 두뇌와 유연한 사고를 가지고 있고 건강한 몸과 정신을 향유할 수 있다는 것이 아닐까요? 제가 블로그를 쓰면서 여러가지 내용으로 글을 쓰고 있지만 크게 보았을 때 얼마나 젊음을 유지하며 의미있게 삶을 살 수 있을까에 대해 제가 많이 생각하고 있다는 생각을 하게 됩니다.

제가 돌아가신 부모님을 생각할 때 연세가 드시면서 혼자 계시고 귀도 잘 들리지 않으시고 하면서 같은 말씀을 계속 반복하시던 것이 기억이 납니다. 그리고 제가 노년이 되었을 때에는 같은 말을 반복하지 않고 새로운 것을 곟속 배우고 온라인이나 오프라인에서 새로운 사람들과 만나면서 오늘하는 말과 내일 하는 말이 어제 했던 말과 달라져야 한다는 생각을 많이 하게 되었습니다.

그러다 보니 비율상으로는 소수일지라도 보다 활력있게 살아가는 노년에 대해 관심이 가게 되었습니다. 초능력고령자 (Superager)는 나이가 듦에 따라 동년배 노인에 비해 두뇌나 신체역량이 훨씬 나은 노년을 말합니다. 뇌과학의 발달로 초능력고령자들의 특성을 이해하려는 많은 연구가 진행되고 새로운 사실들이 밝혀 지게 되었는데요 이것에 대해서 잘 정리한 AARP 기사가 있어서 함께 나누고자 합니다.

7 Super Secrets of the Super Agers – AARP 11/10/2023

Lucky genes don’t fully explain super agers’ razor-sharp thinking and memory skills, says Angela Roberts, assistant professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Western University in Ontario. “Lifestyle matters,” she says. Here’s what they do, and what you should too:

온타리아에 소재한 웨스턴 대학교의 소통과학과 질환대학의 조교수인 안젤라 로버츠 교수는 유전자만으로는 초능력고령자의 예리한 사고력과 암기 능력을 완전히 설명할 수 없다고 말했다.

1. Super agers control their blood sugar and blood pressure. (초능력고령자는 혈당과 혈압을 조절한다.)

정제되지 않은 곡물, 채소, 나물, 땅콩, 산딸기 열매, 어패류를 먹고 붉은육류, 버터, 당류 섭취를 낮추면 두뇌 노화가 7년반 가량 늦추어진다. 이러한 식사 습관은 치매 위험을 53%까지 낮출 수 있다.

Super agers tend to have blood pressure and blood sugar levels that are healthier than in the general population. One way to control both is through diet. Older adults who follow an eating pattern rich in vitamin-, carotenoid- and flavonoid-packed foods such as whole grains, veggies, leafy greens, nuts, berries and fish, and low in red meat, butter and sweets slowed brain aging by 7.5 years and kept thinking and memory sharper in a 2015 Rush University study of 960 older adults. In a 12-year study published in 2019, this eating strategy lowered the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia by up to 53 percent.

2. Super agers don’t exercise more, but they push themselves physically. (초능력고령자는 운동 빈도보다 운동 강도에 집중한다)

운동빈도보다 운동 속도, 활동 범위, 민성 및 균형을 높이는 운동이 더 효과적이다. 정원가꾸기나 계단 오르기와 같은 왕성한 활동을 하고 심장 박동수를 높일 수 있게 빨리 걷는 것이 좋다. 영국 연구에 의하면 매일 9분간 적당한 강도 운동을 꾸준히 하면 사고 능력이 향상된다고 보고했다.

Spanish researchers followed a cohort of 119 people, ages 70–85, for eight years; among that group were 55 super agers who scored at least 20 years younger than their years on brain tests. Researchers found that what distinguished super agers most profoundly was that they have greater speed, mobility, agility and balance than typical older adults — despite reporting the same exercise frequency.

One reason may be that super agers tend to do more demanding and rigorous activities such as gardening or stair-climbing, even though they report similar activity levels to other adults. In other words, walking a mile is good for your health; walking fast for a mile to get your heart rate up is even better. One British study found that just nine minutes of moderate-intensity exercise daily improved thinking skills.

3. Super agers avoid stress and prioritize mental health. (초능력고령자는 스트레스를 피하고 두뇌 건강을 우선시한다)

Another top distinguishing factor among super agers in that recent Spanish study: They reported lower levels of anxiety and depression than normal agers. That makes sense: A recent three-year Danish study found that depression doubled risk for dementia, and a 2023 study found that those with the perceived high stress levels had a 37 percent higher risk for memory problems compared with those reporting low stress levels. Another study found that older adults with depression who got treatment — including medication and talk therapy — were up to 32 percent less likely to develop dementia over 10 to 14 years than those who didn’t get help. A fourth study found that those whose anxiety improved with talk therapy lowered their risk for later dementia by 17 percent.

4. Super agers protect their vision and hearing. (초능력고령자는 시력과 청력을 보호한다)

보청기, 안경 및 백내장 수술 등을 하면 사고력과 기억력 감소를 줄일 수 있다.

Researchers speculate that the brain may neglect memory processing as it instead puts extra effort into decoding blurry, muted signals from the world around us. A 2022 University of Toronto study of 5.4 million older Americans, age 65-plus, found serious cognitive problems for 28 percent of people with vision loss, 20 percent of those with hearing loss and 50 percent of those who had both poor vision and poor hearing.

Caring for your eyes and ears can pay off: University of Washington researchers found that at-risk older adults who received hearing aids showed thinking and memory losses that were 48 percent slower compared with those who didn’t get hearing aids. Similarly, a study of older adults with cataracts found that those who had cataract surgery had a 29 percent lower risk for dementia for up to 24 years compared with those who did not have the procedure. Getting help for poor vision — such as eyeglasses and cataract surgery — could have prevented 100,000 current cases of dementia in the U.S., according to a 2021 study.

5. Super agers prioritize sleep. (초능력고령자는 충분한 숙면을 취한다)

잘 자는 것이 두뇌 건강을 유지하는데 정말 중요하다고 제프 윌리엄슨 교수가 말했다. 수면제를 장기간 복용하면 치매 위험이 48% 증가한다. 따라서 수면제를 정기적으로 복용하지 말라.

During slumber, your brain clears away toxic waste that builds up early in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. A 2022 Canadian study found that trouble falling or staying asleep three or more nights per week for three months boosted the risk for worsening memory in older adults.

“Good sleep is really important for maintaining brain health,” says Jeff D. Williamson, professor, gerontology and geriatric medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, who suggests discussing sleep issues with your doctor. Don’t rely on over-the-counter and prescription sleep drugs on a regular basis. Chronic use of prescription sleep drugs boosted the risk for dementia by 48 percent over six and a half years in a 2021 University of Minnesota study of 4,197 at-risk people in their 70s.

6. Super agers do more than Wordle. (초능력고령자는 낮말맞추기 게임 이상의 다양한 두뇌활동을 한다)

독서, 음악감상, 콘서트와 영화감상, 카드놀이, 보드게임, 수공예나 연극공연과 같은 창작 활동과 강연을 듣는 것과 같은 활동이 좋다. 새로운 악기를 배우거나 외국어를 배우는 것과 같은 것이 좋다.

Super agers did crossword puzzles and Sudoku games more often than “normal agers” in the Spanish study. They were also more likely to frequently read, listen to music, go to concerts and movies, travel, play cards and board games, do something creative such as handicrafts or performing in a play, and attend lectures. “Variety is beneficial,” says brain-game researcher Aaron Seitz, professor of psychology, physical therapy, art and design at Northeastern University. “Your brain needs to do a lot of different things. If we want to do them well, science and common sense suggest exercising it in a lot of different ways.” Super agers tend to move out of their comfort zones and share a willingness to endure discomfort to master a new skill such as playing a musical instrument or learning a language.

7. Super agers talk to their friends — a lot. (초능력고령자는 친구들과 많은 대화를 한다)

Older adults who connected every day with others had less shrinkage in key brain areas than those who seldom had contact with pals and relatives, according to a 2023 Japanese study in the journal Neurology. Perhaps that’s why memory declined fastest and furthest in people who felt lonely most often, in a 2022 University of Michigan study that tracked 9,032 U.S. adults for 20 years.

70대 몸짱 의사가 알려주는 시니어 운동법! 노년의 운동은 젊을 때와 달라야 한다! – 김원곤 서울대 의대 명예교수

시니어가 유산소 운동, 근육 운동과 외국어 공부를 해야 하는 이유를 잘 설명해 주고 계십니다.