I was watching something yesterday which has left my mind buzzing!

Yesterday I watched “The Brain with David Eagleman – what makes me?”  . David is a neuroscientist and his programme was drawing on new research about the brain.

And the bit that blew me away? It was about nuns.

In America 1,200 nuns and brothers have been studied over time – to explore the effects of aging on the brain. They did regular cognitive tests to measure how well their brains were functioning – over the years – as they aged. And,  extraordinarily,  they gave permission – as part of the research – for their brains to be examined after death.

And this is the amazing bit.

When the brains were examined,  after death,  just under a third had “full blown Alzheimer’s” – but none of them had shown any signs of impaired functioning when they had the cognitive tests. Their brains were diseased – but they had no symptoms!

The programme talks about the nuns remaining active – physically and mentally – and having responsibilities for things into their old age. It suggests that this is the explanation for this anomaly.  This – to me – seems like absolute rubbish!! Lots of elderly people are active and busy and have responsibilities – that doesn’t explain these remarkable findings!  But I can think of other things that might do…

Yesterday evening we had the first of a new venture – a new course I have launched with Kerry Osborne exploring how we can manage stress and use nutrition to improve our wellbeing. We did a lot of talking about stress and how our bodies can be overloaded with physical, emotional, chemical, environmental factors which create stress in the body…  and then –  when I went to bed later on  – suddenly I thought about the nuns…

I don’t know a lot about nuns – but I feel I probably know some things…

Let’s start with simple things: I believe nuns eat home grown produce, I believe nuns cook everything “from scratch” – not many ready meals,  fast food etc…  I maybe romanticising this – but I still believe that nuns have a MUCH better diet than most of us. I also think that nuns have set meal times and sit down to eat, I believe they are mostly still and calm when they eat and take time over their meals. So – when they eat – their bodies will have the very best chance of digesting and absorbing nutrients effectively .  Some nunneries are off the beaten track and so are perhaps away from the kind of environmental pollution that people who live in cities have to deal with.

And then I started thinking about their lives – if someone felt they had a vocation and joined the nunnery quite young – I’m not saying that nuns don’t have emotions and that choosing to live in a nunnery is a simple and easy decision – but just think – if you dedicated your life to God as a teenager – just think of all the things you might manage to avoid getting caught up in – agonising about your appearance, desperately fancying someone, wondering if they liked you back etc etc…

And then moving on – adult relationships – finding a partner, staying with a partner, getting a job, keeping a job, being sacked or made redundant…  Finding somewhere to live, paying for somewhere to live, worrying about money…

Maybe having children….   – best thing that ever happened to me – BUT – the stress!!  The emotional rollercoaster of having a baby, a toddler, a child, a TEENAGER etc etc…   and then empty nest syndrome…

Balancing the demands of work and family life…nothing ever staying the same… constantly adapting… sudden changes…

And then, thinking about our need for stability and security,  for social contact – so many people experience loneliness – our need for meaning and purpose in our life, our need to feel good about ourselves, some people’s need for status and power…

And then aging… and how it feels to be less physically attractive – to find yourself becoming “invisible” as you get older, to become less valued in your work environment as you become older, less able to play sport. Becoming less mobile, more isolated, more dependent… becoming anxious – even fearful – as you become older and wonder how your life will pan out….

And then I thought about my perception of nuns…

No financial worries, never lonely, belonging to a group a community for life, no big changes to adapt to, a sense of stability, safety, predictability in so many areas. No low self-esteem – God loves you, you have chosen a life that gives you meaning and purpose – surrounded by people who have similar beliefs.

Now that may be a rather idealised view of the life of a nun – but I do think there is truth to the assertion that a nun’s life does not have the same level of exposure to change and life challenges that most of us experience. I am sure there are many challenges – but they are perhaps ones that one can mostly see coming and can prepare for and reflect upon.

But on top of all this – and this is where I feel the programme really fell down – there is PRAYER. And, to me, prayer has a lot in common with meditation – one feels calmer, more still, more at peace, more relaxed – even more connected…

There has been quite a bit of research into both prayer and meditation – how it actually changes the physical make up of people’s brains – areas concerned with fear and anger become smaller – while areas concerned with positive emotions – love and joy – become more developed. Brain activity has been measured  during the acts of meditation and prayer – again finding more activity in these areas and very little happening in areas linked to the experience of negative emotions.

And what I have observed – through having met many remarkable people who have had health challenges – is that some people who have been diagnosed with chronic conditions – underactive thyroid,  diabetes,  ME,  MS,  fibromyalgia,  lupus,  neuralgia   – and even people with cancer and brain tumours – some people GET BETTER – and they do it through reducing the stress they are under – some do it exclusively through diet or emotional release work – but most take a multifaceted approach – where they reduce dietary, emotional and environmental stresses in their life – and they take time to relax, to be calm, to be still – and focus on positive things.

And now – having learnt about how nuns with Alzheimer’s can be symptomless – I have another inspiring example of what can be – and what doesn’t have to be.  I find the thought of something deteriorating in my brain as I age far more scary that dealing with physical decline – and now I have very tangible evidence that it doesn’t have to be.

Thank you nuns – thank you so much for allowing people to study you in this way – to dissect your brains after death – I am in awe – and so grateful!

PS if you are interested in future courses with Kerry and me – looking at reducing stress through mediation and nutrition – either email me at emily@emilymumford.co.uk or ring me on 01953 606177