Here’s the basic chemistry from a guy who got a “B” in high school science. Serotonin, epinephrine and dopamine are highly important neurotransmitters that carry along thoughts and emotions. A lack of serotonin is associated with depression. Exercise increases the flow of serotonin and the others to help increase one’s energy, happiness and feelings of calm, etc.
The brain produces accelerated rates of these natural elements when we push ourselves physically. The body at work starts the flow of proteins that travel through the bloodstream, up to the brain, and end up playing a role in the highest thought processes. The bottom line is that our bodies are fueling our brains—the corporeal/cognitive spark.
So what happens when we wane in our physical output? We’re aiding and abetting the shrinking of our cognitive function. We can no longer view the corporeal and cognitive functions as distinct and independent of each other. These functions want to work in tandem. Our brains, like any other organ, suffer atrophy from disuse: Use it or lose it. (I still think I deserved a “B+” in science.)
The new rule is: “Charge your mind by challenging your body.”
Recently, a friend invited me to join the senior softball league. I told him I had retired from the senior baseball league 20 years ago. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “You’ll love it.”
I’m 57 and figured I might be sort of a rookie in this league, so I decided, “Why not?” What an eye-opener—thinking that a comeback after 20 years was anything special. Our starting first baseman was Dick G., who is 80 years old and in the softball hall of fame. He plays over a hundred games a year and tours with a national over-80 team. He played his position flawlessly and was clearly the best hitter on the field, placing the ball wherever he willed it, deep or shallow. I asked Dick the same question I had asked Nash a few years ago, “Why are you still at it?”
“You quit, you start dying,” he replied matter-of-factly. There was certainly nothing slowing down with his mind function either.
Did I mention how I limped for two days after and how bad my back hurts as I write this? It doesn’t matter—I’m not taking the bait of ache and pain to convince me I shouldn’t be doing certain things at certain ages. It is what it is. Like Nash, Dick and Dad, I think I’m going to just fight through it ... I owe it to my brain.
Mitch Anthony is the author of The New Retirementality (Wiley), now in its fourth edition.