My body tells me that it’s 76 but my brain still seems to think I’m 18. I still want to jump up and dance as if I were at a sock hop when I hear Chubby Checker’s The Twist. Like a toddler, I still hold out my finger for a bird or butterfly wishing she’d land on it. I get ecstatic when she does. I still imagine what life as a ballerina would be like when I watch the Nutcracker. I still want to hug every bear or tiger I see. I have a young brain in an old body.
I’m not alone. A "scientific" poll of six of my friends say their brain still thinks they are younger than their age.
One of the characteristics of the 18-year-old brain is it’s impulsive. Teens want to try new experiences. Their brains spike more dopamine (a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and curiosity) than adults when they experience something that is novel or exciting.
The part of the brain that controls impulses is not fully developed in teenagers. That leads to risk-taking.
Within limits, I’m still a risk taker. I didn’t hesitate when they asked volunteers to hold a 15’ albino python at Reptile Gardens in Rapid City. Well, it wasn’t really a risk. He was well-fed and the keeper was there. It was a great experience. It was warm, not cold as I expected, but it had been in a heated cage. It wasn’t slimy. It was much softer than I expected; like a kid glove. And it was beautiful – cream and white. My friends thought I was nuts to volunteer. I figured it was their loss. They’ll never have that exciting experience to remember.
Sure, I’ve tempered my risk-taking behavior. I wouldn’t bungee jump (never had the desire) or drive 90 on curvy country roads when no one is around like I did when I was 18. I’ve honed my impulse control when meeting wild animals. Maybe it was the time a snow leopard leapt from her mountain and pounced at my head at a night-time zoo walk, I’m glad the glass between us didn’t break. It was then that I realized she wasn’t’ just a beautiful, furry, purring creature that wanted my pets. She thought I was dinner; or a cat toy. Whatever she thought, it’s the first time I experienced terror from an animal. Since then, I still want to pet the lions, tigers, and bears but my older brain says maybe it’s not a good idea.
There are other ways I know some of my brain has aged. Unlike my 18-year-old brain, my 70+ year-old brain cringes at the idea of wearing a bikini, or even one piece bathing suit. The thought of displaying that much crinkly, slack skin is abhorrent. But maybe that is my 18-year-old vain brain speaking. My 70-year-old brain should say “to hell what people think.”
While my 18-year-old brain still turns the volume to max and screams Great Balls of Fire with Jerry Lee Lewis (when no one is around), my older brain goes into a hypnotic alpha wave state while listening to the second movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
And my brain is loaded with millions more facts and experiences that it was at 18; although I’d still lose at Jeopardy. After visiting 46 states and 25 countries, my brain has grown with a better understanding of humans and compassion that I lacked in my younger years.
While I liked art and music when I was young, my depth of understanding and appreciation has mushroomed. When I was 20, I loved Matisse’s Blue Nude because it was curvy and a pretty shade of blue. Now, after seeing many Van Gogh paintings, taking courses and watching Loving Vincent (an amazing movie – I recommend it), I feel a timeless, spiritual connection to artworks and the artists.
Matisse's Blue Nude, Van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night
After searching the web, I found that we might have a reason why our brain still thinks it’s young. According to Jonas Frisen, a scientist in Stockholm, parts of it is. He’s found a way to determine how old cells are by using radioactive Carbon-14. According to Frisen, the cerebral cortex, which controls impulses, is still 18. (1)
Scientists have been busy dating our body parts like they date dinosaur fossils. According to these studies, rib muscles from 39-year-olds have an average age of 15.1 years. The main part of your stomach is 15.9 years old. Your skins is, on average, 120 days old – so why does it look so old? And what’s with the .1 and the .9? Really? Can they really be that precise? Do the 36 days of the.1 matter to a 70+-year-old?
Here’s the bad news. The eye’s lens, the heart muscles and the cerebral cortex don’t renew themselves. So our eyes and heart, some of our most important parts, are actually old. Of course we already knew that, didn’t we? Naples, with an average age of 65.4, has cataract surgeons and cardiologists on every block.
My 18-year-old cerebral cortex is not only responsible for impulse control, it also controls the memory, movement and smell and taste. Which explains why I forget things, trip over a piece of paper and need more pepper on everything.
The good news is even though my heart and eyes are old, my 18-year-old cerebral cortex maintains it’s sense of wonder and excitement at a sunset, a zebra butterfly, a hummingbird, and a snow leopard (even if it does want to eat me). It still pumps those feel-good chemicals when I listen to music or see beautiful art.
At least after my scientific poll and surfing the internet I don’t feel like a freak because my brain thinks I’m 18. I’m not alone. And according to another study, people who feel younger than their years have more grey matter in parts of the brain that typically shrink as we age. (2)
So maybe it’s not so bad having an 18-year-old brain in a 76-year-old body.
References
Nicholas Wade, Your Body is Younger than you Think, New York Times, Aug 2, 2005
Alan Mozes, Feel Younger Than Your Years? Your Brain Shows It, WebMd, Jul 18, 2018
This must explain why I can’t believe my youngest child is going to be 50 in one week. Must be because I still think I’m 18!!!