/Late to the thread

/Too late according to the headline.
//52

I turn 40 tomorrow. I shall spend the day tapping my index finger with the rapidity I will soon say goodbye too.

Thirty-nine and getting a kick, etc...

Sssssh! Don't tell the teenagers...

I don't care how long my reaction time is, as long as I'm not shooting blanks so to speak.

Both the tapping speed and the amount of myelin was found to decline "with an accelerating trajectory" after age 39.

I find my accelerating trajectory increases if I abstain for a few days.

inverted cross or Peter's Cross is not satanic, it's a christian symbol. The origin of this symbol comes from the Catholic tradition that St. Peter was crucified upside down, as he felt he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner that Christ died (upright).

and so is the pentagram, originally used in Christianity to represent the 5 wounds of Jesus. the misconception that it is devil related comes from a common mistake where the Pentagram was used to represent the planet Venus the Romans used the Pentagram shape to represent word Lucifer, which was a term used for Venus as the Morning Star, associated with the bringer of light and knowledge.

Mama's Boy: inverted cross or Peter's Cross is not satanic, it's a christian symbol. The origin of this symbol comes from the Catholic tradition that St. Peter was crucified upside down, as he felt he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner that Christ died (upright).

and so is the pentagram, originally used in Christianity to represent the 5 wounds of Jesus. the misconception that it is devil related comes from a common mistake where the Pentagram was used to represent the planet Venus the Romans used the Pentagram shape to represent word Lucifer, which was a term used for Venus as the Morning Star, associated with the bringer of light and knowledge.

I didn't know that!

Lipspinach: Mama's Boy: inverted cross or Peter's Cross is not satanic, it's a christian symbol. The origin of this symbol comes from the Catholic tradition that St. Peter was crucified upside down, as he felt he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner that Christ died (upright).

and so is the pentagram, originally used in Christianity to represent the 5 wounds of Jesus. the misconception that it is devil related comes from a common mistake where the Pentagram was used to represent the planet Venus the Romans used the Pentagram shape to represent word Lucifer, which was a term used for Venus as the Morning Star, associated with the bringer of light and knowledge.

I didn't know that!


I felt it would clarify the OP.

Boobies

apparently my attempt to indicate that i was the initial responder to this article about men's reactions peaking at 39 was made in poor judgement.

I'm still trying to figure out what to have for breakfast yesterday.

Weird...Seems like the headline was written to me personally, especially since I'm entering the latter half of my thirties. :-)

32 and getting better every day.

I'm going to post a comment to this thread but it's gonna take me a while.

Interesting indeed about myelin breakdown. I wonder if it's different with women. Wifey has MS, and she's certainly not slow to react if I say something she doesn't like.

I like grapes

I would have been earlier to the thread, but I've been rapidly tapping someone.

What were we saying?

That study is so bogus. There is a ton of evidence that regular exercise delays the onset of age-related deterioration in reaction times. It's true that even top athletes retire and it's difficult for them to compete at 40 as they did at 20. But being able to compete at the pro level and being a wasted old fart are not the same thing. Marathon runners can compete successfully well into their 40s, the oldest winner of the Boston Marathon is 45. And even then the increase in running times into the 50s isn't great. Marathon times don't begin to significantly increase until about age 55. And there is a heated debate as to whether these physical declines are actually age related or related to the wear and tear on the body after a 30 years or more fitness career. There is some evidence that people who began competing when they were 40 are, by age 45, in superior to condition to those who started when they were in their teens. The problem is that the sample size for people who begin athletic careers in their 40 is so small (there's little money in it) that it's impossible to draw firm conclusions.

The take home message is that it's simply not true that people cannot compete effectively beyond age 40. A 40 year may never hold the world record in a sprint, but there is no reason to think they can't make an Olympic final.

I started typing this at 9AM.

/40

So, they're essentially saying I'm about to suck even worse at this game?

Ow My Balls: So, they're essentially saying I'm about to suck even worse at this game?

You won't even be able to change the batteries.

/I'm old. I'm entitled.
/Adjusts my onion.

worlddan:

The study was not about old people not able to read articles, it said their fast twitch response decayed exponentially past 39.

You use no fast twitch responses in a marathon stupid codger

I don't know about my finger, but when I'm tapping my wife she's always telling me to slow down.

Faster isn't always better.

Where is my goddamn soup?!

Ow My Balls: So, they're essentially saying I'm about to suck even worse at this game?

BTW, don't you get tired of being called out in thread titles?

And think of all the people who have been banned...

TheShavingofOccam123: Ow My Balls: So, they're essentially saying I'm about to suck even worse at this game?

BTW, don't you get tired of being called out in thread titles? And think of all the people who have been banned...

:-)

DOn't worry fellas the poontang feels just as tight

Oh well.

/40 next year

First!

/Damn
//Actually turned 39 today

worlddan: Marathon runners can compete successfully well into their 40s, the oldest winner of the Boston Marathon is 45.

Running marathons doesn't involve reflexes and reaction time, mostly conditioning and pacing. Completely irrelevant to what the study is measuring.

We're not likely to see a 40+ year-old be the best at sports like hockey or tennis.

On the plus side, milky oat seed extract is reputed to help slow down loss of the myelin sheath surrounding nerves. However, it won't help repair damage already suffered.

whammer: milky oat seed extract

I'm sorry; I'm too infantile to pass up a phrase with "milky" and "seed" somewhere in its sequence...

Mixing milky oat seed extract with horny goat weed extract is like crossing the beams.

I always hold out hope because of that study where those nuns did crossword puzzles every day and were all mentally sharp and Alzheimer free in their 90's, apparently because of it. A lot of our generation will probably be playing video games into our senior years, so maybe it will serve a similar purpose. And if it doesn't, I'll probably still think it is, because I'll be getting stupider. Win/win.

Hiro's Protagonist: You use no fast twitch responses in a marathon stupid codger

Completely untrue, it shows you know nothing about running or the human body. It's true that relative to sprint a long-distance runner uses less of their fast twitch muscle fibers, but it's totally untrue that they use none. Even when running pace a marathoner will still activate between 25% and 35% of their fast twitch muscle fibers; even Olympic sprinters only use about 75%. It's simply not possible to have a person with zero fast twitch or slow twitch muscle fiber; the human body doesn't work that way.

Thus, even if the decay was solely related to a decay in fast twitch muscle fibers, we would expect to see such decay (though proportionally not to the same extent) in long distance runners. There is no scientific evidence of that happening.

m0llusk: Mixing milky oat seed extract with horny goat weed extract is like crossing the beams.


Just how horny are these goat weeds?

I'm 39, so I'm not getting a kick out of this.

Tassach: I'm 39, so I'm not getting a kick out of this.

Well-played.

If there was ever a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" moment, this is definitely one of them:

Myelin in nerve cells acts as an insulator, loss of myelin causes stimulation where you don't want it, or leads to less stimulation where you do want it.

A nerve cell is essentially a neuron with a really long axon (it can be thought of in this way, though this is not actually true - nerves are really bundles of axons), the axon is coated with myelin to act as an insulator. Think of a bundle of wires (nerve), each wire is coated with a plastic insulator (myelin). If the insulation on the wires should crack or flake off (loss of mylin), then current/signals in those wires could "leak" or short out, meaning the signal is lessoned where it should be going, or it doesn't end up there at all, or it is garbled, etc. In terms of nerve cells, this means slower or garbled thinking, motor responses, etc. NOT A GOOD THING.

So - you are 39, and your myelin sheaths are wearing thin. So - what is myelin composed of?

Cholesterol.

Think about that. Look on a can of Hormel pig brains, and check the cholesterol level on the nutrition information - insanely high, right? That's because brains, being composed of neurons which are coated with myelin, which is made of cholesterol.

Here's some interesting links:

High cholesterol level is essential for myelin membrane growth (new window)

So - if your myelin levels are dropping, you need to up your cholesterol levels...

HIDDEN DANGER OF CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING DRUGS (new window)

FTA: Cholesterol-lowering drugs can also destroy memory. Cholesterol works to ensure the integrity of the "myelin sheath." This coating within the brain is responsible for encouraging the passage of electrical messages. It is needed for memory and focus. As the cholesterol-lowering drugs deplete cholesterol the myelin sheath breaks down. Memory deteriorates.

IE: Statins suck your memory away...

Here's the kicker: you will be pushed to take these drugs (by your doctor, likely) to lower your bad (HDL) cholesterol and raise your good (LDL) cholesterol - but sometimes these drugs decrease both. There is also a lot of argument out there that cholesterol doesn't lead to heart disease, but rather inflamation is the culprit (so - take more ibuprofen?).

I have a feeling that we won't ever find out what the true cause is, but I tend to shy away from anything that can damage my myelin sheaths. If my brain/nerves go, I go. My brain and my thoughts are ME. If they falter, I falter, and not in a good way.

Maybe the answer is "if you are 39 or older, eat a breakfast of two eggs, bacon, and toast with butter in the morning, and take an ibuprofen"...

ph34r my l33t reaction times.

/Twenty-three

cr0sh:
Maybe the answer is "if you are 39 or older, eat a breakfast of two eggs, bacon, and toast with butter in the morning, and take an ibuprofen"...

I'm just going to call you Doctor cr0sh from now since that is definately my kind of prescription.

/41

That late? I thought it was younger.

/Other than that...kind of obvious, don't you think?

cr0sh: Maybe the answer is "if you are 39 or older, eat a breakfast of two eggs, bacon, and toast with butter in the morning, and take an ibuprofen"...

Cool! I guess I'm doing it right, then.

40 years plus one month so I am really getting ...

OMFG I AM GOING TO DIE OF ALZHEIMERS !!!! AAARGGGHHHH !!!!!

I just turned 39. I've noticed my reaction speed is quite fast. I figured I was the exception rather than the rule -- I would've figured reaction speed would decline well before age 39.

I'm 39 and I already know I'm on the downslope, thanks very much.