How Process of Learning Can Keep Our Brain Sharp?

The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live. ~Mortimer Adler

Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. But can process of learning at any age can keep the brain sharp? Let's learn how learning can enhance brain development and keep us mentally fit!

What is learning?

• Learning is acquiring information or ‘knowing a lot’.
• Learning as memorising. Learning is storing information that can be reproduced.
• Learning as acquiring facts, skills, and methods that can be retained and used as necessary, etc etc.

 Scientists now believe that “learning” can actually cause the birth of new brain cells. In recent animal studies, researchers have found that there was a direct relationship between “learning” and the survival rate of newly-birthed brain cells.

When researchers taught certain rodents a wide-variety of cognitive tasks which involved a wide-range of brain areas – scientists found that the more the animal “learned” – the more new neurons were able to survive in the hippocampus.

Scientists have made it clear that “learning” can increase the presence of new neurons in the brain.

Brain cells that are born in the hippocampus, which normally die off, are literally “rescued” by “learning” experiences. There is still plenty of research being conducted in this area and not all sources agree. However, your best bet is to keep your brain power boosted and your mind sharp. Always try to learn something new!

You can stimulate your brain by actively taking part in problem-solving activities or learning games and use your memory. Just as physical activity keeps your body strong, mental activity keeps your mind sharp and agile. The more we think, the better our brains function - regardless of age. Without something to keep us mentally charged, our brains, like unused muscles, can atrophy, leading to a decline in cognitive abilities.

A study conducted by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, found that mentally active seniors reduced their risk of dementia by as much as 75 percent, compared to those who do not stimulate their minds. Researchers from the Princeton University found that simple cognitive stimulation such as Bingo can be of great value to the daily management of Alzheimer's patients.

Related: 4mind4life.com

Few proverbs and quotations about 'learning'

• Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will. ~Vernon Howard
• Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before. ~Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
• Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. ~Chinese Proverb
• “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” ~Henry Ford

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What is learning?