This podcast is about Daniel Levitin’s latest book, Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives
Also by Daniel Levitin:
  • This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession 
  • The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload, which Brett calls “a fantastic book”
Daniel Levitin (@danlevitin) is an American-Canadian cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist, writer, musician, and record producer 
Host: Brett McKay (@brettmckay)
Noticing that certain people age better than others led Daniel to research & write his latest book, Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives
  • For instance, Daniel has several colleagues in their 90s who are sharp as ever. Others, meanwhile, are in their 60s and have extreme trouble focusing on their work.
  • Not being able to find any decent books on aging, Daniel “wrote the book he wanted to read”
Ageism definitely exists in our society (discrimination based on a person’s age)
  • (Germany, for instance, has a mandatory retirement age of 67)
It’s important to realize that old age isn’t always associated with a decline in intelligence/happiness
  • “60 is the new 40 and 80 is the new 60” – Daniel Levitin
At any age, the brain is constantly rewiring itself
  • Because of this older people are better at seeing patterns—they have more information and experiences to draw on
    • Building off of this, if you think you have cancer are looking for a radiologist, you’d want an older doctor—they’d likely have better pattern matching abilities
      • Further, the best judges, police detectives, and FBI agents all tend to be older than their junior colleagues
Older individuals tend to have a harder time adopting new technologies—as people age, they become more conservative, leaving them with a preference towards the familiar
 General thinking speed tends to slow down with each decade past age 40
As children, we want to acquire as much information as possible to become self-sufficient
As young adults, we want to discover things about ourselves, such as what we do/don’t like
As adults, we focus on our careers and building a family 
As older parents or grandparents, we become less interested in exploration (we already know what we like!)
  • For instance, rather than trying a new restaurant, older adults prefer to stick with the food they know they enjoy
  • Further, older individuals would rather bond with a long-time friend than try to meet new people
    • Older people know they have less time left in life, and would rather make safe bets (it’s safer to spend time with an old friend instead of hanging out with someone new whose company you might not enjoy)
“The biggest predictor of how well you age is conscientiousness” – Daniel Levitin
  • Conscientiousness people go to the doctor when they’re sick, and when the doctor gives them medicine, they take it
  • Conscientiousness people think ahead and save money for retirement
  • And good news: You can “become more conscientious, even at the age of 60 or 70”
In the meantime, start thinking about your future TODAY—take care of your health, eat healthy, exercise, and save money for retirement
There’s virtually no evidence that brain training games, crossword puzzles, and other games (like sudoku) improve your memory
  • “If you do crossword puzzles, you simply get better at doing crossword puzzles” – Daniel Levitin
There are two scientifically-backed ways to keep your memory strong:
  • 1) Keep your social circle active and interact with others daily (in real life, not via text)
    • If you’re an older person who doesn’t have many friends: go to church, join a book club, volunteer at nonprofits, take part in community events, etc.
  • 2) MOVE every day (stretching, walking, exercise, etc.)
One of the best things we can do for our brain is to explore new environments, especially in nature
  • (Walking through Central Park is great, but exploring a nearby hiking trail is even better)
“The hippocampus is the seed of memory” – Daniel Levitin
  • If one’s hippocampus is damaged, it becomes hard to create new memories and retrieve old ones
The hippocampus evolved to help you map & navigate through the world
  • Therefore, to keep it in tip-top shape, every now and then, avoid using Google Maps (if you can)
Exercise is great for heart health
“Statistically, older adults are happier. In fact, across 60 different countries, the peak age of happiness occurs around 82.” – Daniel Levitin