I’M 50 AND I HAVE LOADS OF BAD HABITS. ARE THEY FOREVER ETCHED INTO MY BRAIN?
Our ability to learn new facts and skills continues right through life, into the ninth decade and beyond (should we get that far). At a neural level, recent evidence suggests that ‘neurogenesis’ (the growth of new nerve cells, or ‘neurons’) also persists through life, and this may play a role in learning and storing new information.
I mention all this because acquiring new habits, and breaking old ones, is essentially a form of learning. The uplifting implication, then, is that it’s definitely worth trying to change your ways. In fact, with the right approach, you still have a very good chance of learning better habits, whether that’s eating healthier, doing more exercise, drinking less…