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[P‐169]: Stress, meditation and memory: An emerging hypothesis
Author(s) -
Shah Yogesh,
Khalsa Dharma Singh
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2005.06.230
Subject(s) - meditation , cognition , psychology , dementia , affect (linguistics) , vitality , psychological intervention , memory impairment , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , medicine , disease , psychiatry , philosophy , theology , communication , pathology
The risk of cognitive impairment, primarily as a result dementia and other illnesses, increases with advancing age, and for many people is therefore associated with a dreaded fear of growing old and senile. Cognitive impairment is by no means an inevitable consequence of aging, however. On the other hand, cognitive vitality, the maintenance of robust brain function in every day life, which is essential to both quality of life and survival in old age, may require active steps in order to prevent the loss of brain function. In this workshop, we review the evidence in support of various lifestyle interventions mainly stress reduction that affect cognitive vitality in later life. A strong connection between cognitive and emotional health has been demonstrated in a wide variety of studies. Everyday cognitive functioning is also strongly affected by emotional stress and other factors which can negatively impact cognitive processing, and when persistent may also cause structural changes in the brain. How stress is perceived and experienced by individuals is highly variable and somewhat subjective. Studies in humans suggest that how stress is perceived is critical to how damaging stress is to the body and brain, and that it is the sense of being overwhelmed by stress that influences brain structures and may results in associated memory defects. Acute stress is also associated with impaired cognitive functioning, especially in older adults. In addition to environmental and other lifestyle changes to reduce stress, other clinical strategies for stress reduction may include prayer, meditation, art therapy, dance therapy, as well as exercise. In general, each of these activities are also considered to have positive effects on overall health, function and wellbeing. Frail elderly individuals with decreased brain reserve may be particularly at risk for stress-related cognitive impairment. Though not well studied in the elderly, more intensive training in stress reduction, including adaptive methods for responding to stress, may potentially be useful as a means to promote cognitive vitality for selected high-risk individuals.