A recent article in the New York Times highlighted new
studies directed at figuring out how long-time married
couples can keep their romance alive. The answer was very
simple. Do something different.
In one ten-week study, researchers worked with 53 couples.
They instructed one third of them to spend 90 minutes per
week doing familiar but enjoyable activities, like going to
dinner or a movie. Researchers instructed another third to
spend 90 minutes doing something exciting that they both
enjoyed. This group spent time doing new things or things
they didn't do very often. The final group received no
specific instructions.
After the study was over, researchers interviewed the
couples to rate the quality of their relationships. The
couples that spent time doing new things scored higher than
the other two groups.
This may all be common sense. The more exciting stuff you
do together, the stronger your relationship can get. But
it's interesting to look at the underlying brain science,
because it has implications for your overall brain fitness
as well.
The brain enjoys new things. New experiences crank up the
brain's reward system, driven largely by the 'pleasure'
signal, dopamine. This same circuit is very active early in
the intensely romantic part of a relationship. So, the
theory goes that doing new, exciting stuff together, may
literally help rekindle the brain circuits that drive
romance.
We have been promoting interjecting variety into your daily
routines, as good for your brain fitness, for some time
now. Beyond variety improving your relationships, it also
helps you make new brain connections that are good for all
kinds of brain functions.
Your brain is a web of about 100 trillion connections
between 100 billion neurons. When we do new things and
learn new stuff, the level of connectivity increases, and
not just in your pleasure circuits but in other parts of
your brain as well.
Increasing the connectivity between neurons in parts of the
brain responsible for memory, decision making and creative
thinking, is very beneficial to your long-term brain
fitness. The more connectivity you create, the more
defenses you have against cognitive decline as you age.
Think of an old tree with many branches. This is sort of
what neurons look like. The more you learn by experiencing
new things, the bushier the neuron gets and the more
connections it can make. In fact, neuroscientists use the
term 'arborization', meaning a tree-like appearance, to
define the amount of branches a neuron has.
The degree of arborization is an indicator of a neurons
health, especially in brain regions associated with
learning and memory. Although we can't directly measure
arborization in people, studies in rodents show that those
exposed to new environments on a regular basis have more
arborization in neurons involved in memory.
What we can do in people is use new brain scanning
technology to determine the level of activity in brain
regions, which has some correlation with the level of
connectivity and neuronal arborization in animal studies.
These brain-scanning technologies show that people in
long-term, high quality relationships have greater brain
activity in their pleasure centers when shown a picture of
their spouse. Researchers believe that interjecting new
experiences into marriage is one thing that helps maintain
these connections.
So this Valentine's Day, instead of visiting your favorite
restaurant, try a new one. Or get out and do something you
both enjoy but don't get the opportunity to do very often.
It will be good for parts of your brain that will help keep
your mind and your relationship young.
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