However, new research from the Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology has found that taxi drivers’ brains actually grow when they have to learn so much new information.

Their brains adapt to specialise in and store the vast quantities of navigational information needed to do their job, while leaving other parts of their brains free to regale with their insights.

Why is it excellent news? We can’t all be taxi-drivers but we all want a brain that remembers well. The really interesting thing about the brains of taxi drivers in the London study, was that the more they needed to learn about the streets and landmarks of London, the larger that area of their brain grew to accommodate all the new learning.

That’s the opposite of “the older you are the more brain cells you lose”, a long-standing over-simplification that is losing credibility as study after study demonstrate the opposite.

Researcher Eleanor Maguire of the Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology described the study:

“We got the taxi drivers to imagine they were driving from point to point [on London streets] while their brains were being observed using MRI scans. We also asked them to recall other types of memory that didn’t involve any navigation, like describing famous landmarks like the Statue of Liberty or the Sydney Opera House.”

What the study showed was that taxi drivers become adept at navigating in their imagination, and that this activates a different area of the brain, (the hippocampus), than they (and us) use for doing something seemingly related such as describing a landmark like the Statue of Liberty.  What’s even more stunning, is the hippocampus in these cabbies actually got heavier as they formed all the connections necessary to navigate detailed maps in their minds.

The Knowledge

When a new London cabbie joins the ranks (I couldn’t resist!) they have not yet developed what is known as “The Knowledge”, that mental map of landmarks and streets necessary to navigate the sprawling and, in places, ancient metropolis.  The most remarkable thing about the study is that you can practically measure the weight of The Knowledge in the human brain.  The study showed a before and after picture that clearly demonstrates an amazing degree of new brain growth in a remarkably short period of time.

The MRI scans showed most brain activity for taxi-drivers occurred when imagining using the information – when actively thinking, not just driving around.  You need to be engaged in recall to see the effect.

So, what does this study mean for you, my boomer friends?

It is a stunning example of the fact that your brain will grow if it is challenged to learn new information, particularly complex information. Setting out to learn the complete map of London might not be the challenge for you, but I’m sure there are others that your brain will thank you for. Maybe the map of New York? Just joking!

Three Lessons

1. Challenge yourself to learn something new.
2. The more complex the better.
3. Try to hold the new knowledge in your mind.  Apply it, use it, imagine yourself using it, explain it to someone else. Manipulating information in your mind like this helps you to re-grow new brain connections to retain the knowledge.

What can you do right now to start building a better brain?

It’s never too late to start re-growing YOUR brain connections.  The science is clear that it’s the best, non-prescription protection against memory loss.  Fill in the Memory Check box below and you’ll get two things:

1. A quick check of how sharp your memory is right now.
2. A brief 6-part course that will give you some easy-to-follow tools to help you build your brain and keep it fit.

Avoid multi-tasking. It leads to stress and memory loss.

For weeks you’ve been cramming for this exam and you got up early this morning to make sure that you had remembered everything. A lot hangs on this test – your promotion, for one. You can feel the tension rising but say to yourself, “It’s just exam nerves – it’s good stress”, right? Then, when you look at the first question one that you’ve been expecting, your brain goes blank, the words don’t make sense, and you can’t remember a single fact to write down.

You want to get up and run right out of the exam room. When this happens, you are experiencing the “fight or flight response” that every human being has in cases of impending danger.

‘Fight or flight’ is an innate response and it’s a great instinct in its right place. When Fight or Flight kicks in, though, the brain slows down so that it can concentrate on protecting you. If you try to remember something when Fight or Flight is operating, you’ll forget – that’s why stress can cause memory loss.

Stress isn’t always a bad thing – we can all do with energy surges now and then.

In Fight or Flight, for instance, your body automatically starts a chain of reactions. Stress hormones such as cortisol, secreted by the brain, provide energy to our limbs so that we can run away immediately. At the same time, though, the hippocampus is robbed of its energy; if this goes on for a long time, then there are chances of short-term memory loss, because the hippocampus is vital in processing memory.
Repeated exposure to stress of the hippocampus can cause long-term damage and more permanent memory loss. So, it is important to get stress under control.

Can continuous stress cause memory loss? Yes, it can.

If you are forgetting more often, panicking about deadlines and too many unfinished tasks, then you must do something about it today. Stress can become a chronic ailment and you will suffer memory loss.

So, what can you do to contain stress?

1. Monitor how your body and brain are being affected by stress every day. It is important that you take this seriously in order to avoid irreparable damage. Make a note of times you feel particularly pushed; jot down how you are feeling and what you are doing. What are you eating? What are you drinking?
2. Make a list of tasks to be done and create a time-line. If you know that some deadlines you have agreed to cannot be done in the time, contact the recipient now and renegotiate. Take control, relieve the pressure and begin working in a planned, sensible way.
3. Organize your life so that you can work under normal conditions without undue stress. Enjoy your tasks and regain your life.
4. Be in control of the way you eat, exercise, plan and respond – think about your reactions consciously until you feel you life is back on track.

Stress related memory loss diseases include Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other related illnesses that can cause brain trauma. So take action NOW.
A risk-free way of making a start is to sign up for your free  six-part course of Brain Tune.

• It takes no more than 20 minutes a day.
• It’s based on science and research.
• It’s easy to do.
• And it’s been shown to make a difference.

In fact, it’s so good, the University of Oxford in the UK are using a similar product in a research project involving people just like you.