BLOOMINGTON - In an autumn wracked by a nationwide financial crisis and state budget cuts, here's good news from the health front: We're smarter than we think. | Focus, healthy habits ease study for career change

The challenge is that we have to use our brains just as we should exercise any other muscle in the body.

"Use it or lose it" is not a new concept when it comes to physical or mental health. What's new is we now know the extent to which most adults may continue to learn - if they apply themselves.

The latest research results are so exciting that they have brought together an unlikely team consisting of a neurologist (Dr. Edward Pegg), a geriatric specialist (Dr. Uday Deoskar), a counselor (Barbara O'Neal) and a former mayor (Judy Markowitz) who are teaching a five-part class, "Increasing Brain Health: Train Your Brain," which begins Tuesday at Heartland Community College in Normal.

"We used to think that - after a certain age - there was no growth in brain cells," said Pegg, who has practiced neurology in Bloomington-Normal for 23 years. "We thought that brain cells started to die in the teen years and there was a slow decline throughout life after that and there was nothing we could do about it."

"There was no talk of (brain cell) regeneration," O'Neal agreed.

That theory appears to gain validity when middle-age or older adults return to school, learn something new at work, or try to help their teenagers with their homework and find it difficult to process all the information.

But it isn't that people in their 30s and older aren't as smart as they used to be. It's just that some people haven't used certain parts of their brain much since they were in school, Pegg said. When they use their brain more, they find that they can do a lot of things they used to do, said Pegg and Deoskar, an internist, geriatric specialist and owner of the Successful Aging Center, Bloomington.

Not losing as much as we thought?

The latest science tells us that we do lose some brain cells as we age, but not as much as we thought. Meanwhile, most of us also can create new brain cells and improve the connections between brain cells, said Pegg and Deoskar, a long-time physician who has focused on caring for older adults for 20 years.

Scientists have known for awhile that we can improve the firing between brain cells. Our ability to create new brain cells is a relatively new science.

"The brain has the capacity to form new cells almost until the end of life," Deoskar said.

Pegg said, "There is more recuperative capacity than we thought. It used to be a firm statement that you cannot grow new brain cells as you age. Now we know that's not true. The brain is changeable."

Deoskar said "The brain is continually adapting itself to help us."

Pretty empowering stuff. The challenge is that we create new brain cells and improve the communication between brain cells with a variety of mental, physical, spiritual and social effort, the doctors said. In other words, we've got to work at it.

"The brain is so complex and we're not using enough of it," Pegg said.

Pegg uses himself as an example. Even as a neurologist, some things he does everyday have become relatively routine. But a more complex case will force him to think more deeply.

That helps explain why some people - beginning in their 30s - think that they are beginning to lose their memory or think they aren't as smart as they used to be. They are working at jobs in which they have to think - but not thinking the way they had to think in high school or college. And most people in the work-a-day world are not involved in the level of activities they were involved with while in high school or college.

"When we're in school, our brain is stimulated because we're taking a lot of different courses and we're involved in a lot of different (after-school) activities," including sports, music and organizations, Pegg said.

In addition, the teen years and early 20s are a busy social time, when people are establishing their identify and many young people are asking questions about spirituality, said O'Neal, a licensed clinical professor counselor in private practice, who has been involved in counseling for 22 years.

"Your brain is pumping out at a maximum, making these new neuro-connections," O'Neal said.

Being called back into action

People who feel they haven't used some parts of their brain for awhile needn't worry. "It can sit dormant for awhile but may be called back into action," Pegg said.

"You can teach an old dog new tricks, but it takes time," Deoskar said.

Just as the best way to work the rest of our body is with a variety of exercise instead of just one type of movement, the best way to work our brain is with a variety of mental, physical, spiritual and social activities.

"It's not sitting down and reading organic chemistry," Pegg said. "It's the diversity of what we do. It's not as good to be the best dancer in class as it is to take dance but also to take gymnastics and karate and guitar."

Doing a variety of things stimulates different parts of our brain, grows new brain cells and improves the connections between brain cells, Deoskar and Pegg said.

Markowitz is an example of someone who does a variety of things to keep herself mentally active, Pegg said.

The 70-year-old former Bloomington mayor is the coordinator for the Heartland Community College class. She continues to run Judy Tours, walks two miles a day, is the chairwoman of the Bloomington Cultural District Commission, regularly attends events at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum and elsewhere, and stays positive by opening herself to new friendships.

"I meet people easily," she said, "and I'm always looking for things to do. That adds to my love of life."

Markowitz's activities give her a feeling of well-being and make her more approachable and a more interesting conversationalist for other people, Pegg observed.

Emotional intelligence - the ability to relate to other people and to deal with their emotions - is more important than your intelligence quotient in using your brain as you age, O'Neal said.

"A CEO may be hired for his high IQ but may be fired for his lack of emotional intelligence," O'Neal said.

Continuing to work your brain takes effort. But it's worthwhile, the doctors and O'Neal said.

When you think and are socially active, you realize that you are part of something broader, O'Neal said. You realize your life has a purpose and you feel less isolation, she said.

"You have more energy and are more positive," said Pegg.

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Train your brain

Here are things you can do to increase your brain health, even as you age. Don't try to make a variety of changes at once but make them gradually.

• Play brain-stimulating games - Sudoku, bridge, mah-jongg and crossword puzzles are among games that work the brain.

• Read, then discuss - Read a variety of things - books, magazines, the newspaper - and think about what you've read. Discuss or debate what you've read with a willing discussion partner.

• Take community education classes - Community college classes are a good way to learn about a variety of things and to meet new people. Be an active participant in class.

• Learn something new - If you're up for a bigger challenge, learn a foreign language or a musical instrument.

• Exercise - Exercise increases oxygen-rich blood flow to the brain, reduces stress and clears your head, which helps you to think more clearly, and puts you in a better mood. Consider exercise that involves socializing, such as ballroom dancing.

• Get out - Going to a museum or a concert are social functions that also may stimulate the brain.

• Volunteer - Helping people less fortunate than you gives you a better view of the world, helps you to realize you are a part of something bigger, and puts you in a better frame of mind.

• Socialize - Socializing with family, friends and acquaintances reduces stress and a sense of isolation and opens you up to mind-broadening experiences. Getting involved with a club or organization is a way to socialize and to do community service.

• Relax - Meditation and prayer can help you relax, put your problems in perspective, improve judgment and give you an energy boost.

• Eat healthy - A healthy, low-fat diet helps keep the blood flowing, the body moving and the brain firing.

SOURCES: Dr. Uday Deoskar, Dr. Edward Pegg, Barbara O'Neal

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Brain gain

What: Increasing Brain Health is a five-session class to learn about the ability of the brain to grow, even as we age, and to learn techniques to improve brain health

When: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7, Oct. 21, Nov. 4, Nov. 18 and Dec. 2

Where: Heartland Community College, 1500 W. Raab Road, Normal

Who: Instructors are Dr. Uday Deoskar, Dr. Edward Pegg and counselor Barbara O'Neal, with Judy Markowitz as course coordinator

Course fee: $70

How to register: Call (309) 268-8160 or go to www.heartland.edu/communityEd

SOURCES: Heartland Community College, Debra Jennings