A lot of things are going on in your body at any one time — and every single one is controlled by your brain. No part of your body is immune to aging. As the years add up, your brain is changing.
- Neurons — the nerve cells in your brain — start to diminish in size and in number. Over the years, your brain volume decreases. That means your ability to recall details and facts slows down.
- Tangles are fibers that develop inside neurons. They can knot up and kill nerve cells. Plaques are sticky proteins that can build up between neurons. They can kill nerve cells, too! It is normal to have some tangles and plaques, but having too many tangles and plaques is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
- Free radicals are the byproduct of your body burning oxygen for energy. In brain cells, free radicals can cause cell death and damage DNA.
- A neurotransmitter called acetylcholine naturally decreases with age. This reduces the brain’s ability to carry messages from one cell to another.
- Long periods of stress and/or anxiety can damage your brain — especially the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory. The more easily stressed you are, the more likely you are to experience cognitive impairment from prolonged stress.
- Long periods of pain can shrink your brain. A study from Northwestern University found that people who suffered from long-term back pain experienced as much as 11% more brain shrinkage than people who did not have long-term pain.
- LDL (bad) cholesterol can plug up capillaries in the brain, cutting off the blood supply. That means your brain may not be getting as much oxygen, glucose, and other nutrients as it needs. This increases your risk of a stroke.
- High blood pressure can damage blood vessels in the brain, increasing your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.