I f you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. T his is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise — and as a result, we are ageing unnecessarily soon. P rofessor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why otherwise healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a relatively early age, and how the process of ageing could be slowed down. W ith a team of colleagues at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages and varying occupations. C omputer technology enabled the researchers to obtain precise measurements of the volume of the front and side sections of the brain, which relate to intellect ( 智能 ) and emotion, and determine the human character. (The rear section of the brain, which controls functions like eating and breathing, does not contract with age, and one can continue living without intellectual or emotional faculties.) C ontraction of front and side parts — as cells die off — was observed I some subjects in their thirties, but it was still not evident in some sixty- and sy-year-olds. M atsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a remedy to the contraction normally associated with age — using the head. T he findings show in general terms that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the towns. T hose least at risk, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. W hite collar workers doing routine work in government offices are, however, as likely to have shrinking brains as the farm worker, bus driver and shop assistant. M atsuzawa ’ s findings show that thinking can pr the brain from shrinking. B lood must circulate properly in the head to supply the fresh oxygen the brain cells need. “ The best way to maintain good blood circulation is through using the brain, ” he says, “ Think hard and engage in conversation. D on ’ t rely on pocket calculators. ”