Do you ever wonder about how aging is going to affect you? Do you worry about creaking joints, thinning hair and maladies of all sorts creeping up on you like a garden vine run amok twisting you into some ungodly hardly recognizable version of yourself?

It's no surprise that most of us don't look forward to aging.

When we aren't ruminating about getting older we lament about the loss of our youth.

Have no fear — there is good news coming out of research on aging, which talks about building cognitive reserve as an insulator to the effects of aging.

Dr. David Bennett, who directs the Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, describes "something scientists call "cognitive reserve" — extra brain capacity. It compensates for whatever damage is accumulating."

Dr. Bennett goes on to say, "Having a purpose in life, conscientiousness, social networks, stimulating activities — all these things seem to be protective in terms of how your brain expresses whatever pathology it's accumulating."

I think this is great news because these variables are all things that we can work to develop.

Listen to NPR's full story on senior moments and cognitive reserve here:

Read the full NPR story here.

What are you doing to improve your cognitive reserve?

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Chris Wucherer is a life coach, business coach and psychotherapist with 28 years of experience helping people create saner lives. She writes a blog and has a website. You can reach her at 734-669-7202 or by email.