It’s Never Too Late (to learn a language…)

Posted on April 30, 2015 by bob in NewsUCanUse

Depression, Self-Esteem & Stress

Depression has been linked to low self-esteem, although the relationship is complex and it is not clear if one condition causes the other. New research suggests that people with depression who develop greater self-esteem as they get older may be better able to adapt to stress. The findings, published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, are based on a four-year study measuring cortisol levels in 147 older adults, average age 71. Cortisol levels were tested 1) when the study started, 2) two years later, and 3) at the end of the study. Cortisol is a hormone released in response to stress; higher levels indicate greater stress.

Compared with participants in whom self-esteem increased, adults in whom self-esteem declined over the first two years had steeper increases in cortisol levels over the next two years, particularly those who had more depressive symptoms. Cortisol levels were not significantly increased in participants who had fewer depressive symptoms.

The good news is that depression treatments known to help improve self-esteem, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, may also help to relieve stress. — Depression and Anxiety (Scientific American, Health After 50)

Vitamin K & Slow Cognitive Decline

It’s possible adding more spinach, kale, collards and mustard greens to your diet could help slow cognitive decline, according to new research. The study also examined the nutrients responsible for the effect, linking vitamin K consumption to slower cognitive decline for the first time.

“Losing one’s memory or cognitive abilities is one of the biggest fears for people as they get older,” said Martha Clare Morris, Sc.D., assistant provost for community research at Rush University Medical Center and leader of the research team. “Since declining cognitive ability is central to Alzheimer’s disease and dementias, increasing consumption of green leafy vegetables could offer a very simple, affordable and non-invasive way of potentially protecting your brain from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.”

The researchers tracked the diets and cognitive abilities of more than 950 older adults for an average of five years and saw a significant decrease in the rate of cognitive decline for study participants who consumed greater amounts of green leafy vegetables. People who ate one to two servings per day had the cognitive ability of a person 11 years younger than those who consumed none.

When the researchers examined individual nutrients linked with slowing cognitive decline, they found vitamin K, lutein, folate and beta-carotene were most likely helping to keep the brain healthy. — Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Cognitive Advantages of a 2nd Language

Learning to communicate in more than one language may have a positive effect on your cognitive abilities later in life. According to a new study, the effect seems to occur even when the second language is acquired during adulthood, and it remains even if the additional language is infrequently used.

The study, published in Annals of Neurology, assessed 853 native English speakers, average age 72.5, who first took an IQ at 11 years old. A series of cognition tests were administered and compared to the subjects childhood IQ test results. Bilingual study participants scored significantly better than predicted compared to monolingual participants, based on their childhood IQ results. This was regardless of whether the second language was learned before they were 18 or after. The strongest positive effects were on general intelligence and word recognition for both early and late acquisition.

If you wish you had taken Spanish in high school or are considering brushing up on your French to prepare for a European vacation, here’s one more good reason to do so.

Strength Training for Seniors

Many elder seniors are frail, or in a preliminary stage of frailty. New study results show that regular strength training is beneficial for increasing hand strength, enabling people to live independently.

According to Thomas Dorner of the MedUni Vienna’s Centre for Public Health in Austria, muscle mass decreases from the age of 30. Without training, around 50% of muscle mass has deteriorated by age 80. Participants in the MedUni Vienna study were able to increase hand strength almost 20%.

“There was also a significant increase in physical activity levels, mobility, quality of life and cognitive functions,” said Dorner. “Muscle training also reduces the risk of falls… (and) the fear of falls.”

Fear of falling, said Dorner, leads frail people to move less, further depleting their muscular strength and increasing the risk of falls.

Inflammation and Depression Linked

Scientists have recently discovered a link between inflammation and depression. A new study finds that resveratrol — a natural anti-inflammatory agent found in the skin of red grapes — can prevent inflammation as well as depression-related behaviors in rodents exposed to a social stress.

“Our research,” said team leader Susan K. Wood, Ph.D., assistant professor at the U. of South Carolina School of Medicine, “is very relevant to today’s society because it investigates potential treatments for people with an increased susceptibility to depression and related disorders that arise due to social stress.”

She hopes these findings encourage scientists to test the effectiveness of natural anti-inflammatory agents on depression.

Some psychiatric disorders are known to arise from a social stress, such as bullying or the loss of a loved one. In previous research, Wood’s team developed an animal model for this type of social stress in which a larger, more aggressive rat takes on the role of a bully. Some rats exposed to the bullies developed both depressive-like behaviors and inflammation, while the rats that did not develop depressive-like behaviors showed no inflammation.