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Healthy Aging: Superagers have the brain of a 25-year-old Sunday Jan 8, 2017 at 2:00 AM Jan 8, 2017 at 9:55 AM By Sharon Johnson for the Mail Tribune An article in the New York Times on New Year's Eve talked about “superagers” — older adults whose memory and attention span “isn’t merely above average for their age,” but “actually on par with healthy, active 25-year-olds.” Know anybody like that? I think a more straightforward question might be, “Do you know anybody over age 65 who does not have, at least occasionally, memory lapses and forgetting behaviors?” I mourn the loss of my 25-year-old body and know it is gone forever. But until now I had not considered that my 25-year-old brain might be retrievable. Do I want to try? Before asking that, I will want to know, “Exactly how does 'regular aging' turn into something super? Apparently researchers are looking for older adults to determine whether they fit the superager criteria. Once that determination is made, these experts will delve more deeply into exactly how certain aging adults became ... super. Once it's more fully understood, more individuals might have the potential to achieve superaging status. And we will all live happily ever after. Wouldn’t that be just super? I mock this a bit, but there is science behind it. A MRI technique has been used to look at various regions of the older brain and compare them to areas of a much younger brain. In many aging brains, the findings indicate age-related atrophy, but in superagers — their brains are “untouched by the ravages of time.” Superagers have regions of their cortex that are notably thicker. “Thicker is better,” as evidenced by the superior performance of those individuals who were tested on attention and recall. You might consider doing this without scheduling an MRI: take a little pre-test. Try to memorize a list of nouns and recall that list 20 minutes later. It’s hard work, huh? And that apparently is the key. Studies are still underway, but it appears that superagers become super because of one important fact: they fully embrace hard work. They have worked hard at both mental and physical activities all of their lives and still do. Really hard. “They excel at pushing past the temporary unpleasantness of intense effort,” the article said. This developing theory suggests that brain games and daily crossword puzzles do not ensure you will become a superager. It’s the really challenging activities that get you there. Things like learning to play the B-flat tenor saxophone in celebration of your 70th birthday or mastering Italian in preparation for a retirement vacation. Superagers do not shy away from tackling difficult situations. They relish challenges. They push through. Pain is gain. Or as the New York Times article reminds the reader, Superagers resonate with the U.S. Marine Corps motto, “Pain is weakness leaving your body.” Whoa! I salute those folks. But I have decided to settle for “semi-super.” My 70th birthday challenge will be to learn to play a musical instrument. Maybe not the saxophone — I think I’ll opt for the harmonica instead. But I will work really hard at learning to play it. And you? — Sharon Johnson is a retired Oregon State University associate professor. Reach her at [email protected].