Our beliefs become our biology (EP17)

<p>Today’s <strong>Brain Booster</strong> is <strong>Think bolder, not older </strong>— because our beliefs influence our biology.</p><p>In fact, our beliefs BECOME our biology.</p><p>In the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, people holding negative beliefs about ageing demonstrated significantly worse memory performance after 38 years than those subscribing to less negative age stereotypes — and this was after adjusting for education, depression, chronic illness, and other variables that could affect a person’s powers of recall. The decline in memory performance for those aged 60+ was 30.2% greater for those holding the most negative age stereotypes compared with those who had the most positive attitude to ageing.</p><p><strong>The first step to ageing better is to feel better about ageing</strong>.</p><p>When an older person forgets where they parked their car in a big shopping centre carpark, they immediately call it a ‘senior moment’ and fear they’re getting Alzheimer’s. When a young person forgets where they parked their car, they immediately call it a ‘junior moment’. Of course they don’t! They tell themselves not to be in such a hurry, and to pay more attention next time. Same incident but different interpretation based on our expectations and cultural stereotypes. And here’s the danger of it. Fearing you might be getting Alzheimer’s triggers cortisol release, which causes brain freeze, and damages cells in the hippocampus (the memory and learning centre of our brain), thus increasing the likelihood of more memory lapses. We then become hyper-vigilant for further signs of weakening memory, and start avoiding situations where our memory is put to the test. <strong>Use it or lose it.</strong> Before we know it, we’ve created a self-fulfilling prophecy.</p><p><strong>Beliefs aren’t rules. We need to use them as tools.</strong></p><p>Beliefs are the lens through which we see the world, and if we never question our beliefs, we blind ourselves to the broader possibilities within our reach.</p><p>* * * * *</p><p>Today’s <strong>HEALTH HEADLINE</strong> is <strong>exercise REDUCES — not increases — hunger!</strong></p><p>No way!</p><p>Yes way! </p><p>Then why do most people think they feel hungrier after exercise? This is another example of our beliefs tripping us up. Most people ASSUME that exercise increases hunger because you’ve burned more calories than when you’re sitting on the couch. Yes, you’ve burned some extra calories, but no, your body does