Language is tricky: it frames our thinking – and, often, our lives – in unusual ways. What we say – and, what we mean when we say it – is both descriptive and prescriptive: it can explain where we are today and it can forecast where we think we’re going tomorrow. Here’s an example: how are you dealing with fade?

            I need to be more clear. “Fade” can refer to a trendy haircut style that is widely maintained by young men. It can also refer to a video editing style that exits one scene and opens another without rude stop/start mechanisms. Haircuts and screen transitions aside, there’s another fade that hits like a tsunami warning, often associated with aging.

            Brain fade is a non-medical term for a temporary lapse in clear thinking or the ability to remember. Often a momentary mental lapse, it’s like a preview of coming attractions in a generation watching a growing percentage of “the olders” dance with dementia on their way out life’s door.

            Articles and posts with headlines offering new discoveries that slow or reverse the decline of mental acuity may trigger the swipe-right reaction from Millennials or Zs, but the Boomers are likely to stop and read the latest.

            Here’s a show-stopper that caught my Boomer attention recently. Just last year, multiple wide population studies found a curious curative contribution to long-range reduction of dementia risk. It wasn’t eating blueberries or catching the magical 10,000 walking steps per day discipline. What did they find?

            Regular engagement with music – whether creating it or just experiencing it – correlates with lower dementia risk and better cognitive aging. People who listened to music most days had about a 39% lower risk of developing dementia compared to infrequent listeners. They also showed better memory performance, higher overall cognitive scores and 17% reduced cognitive decline.

            Research is interesting, but informed lifestyles predicated on solid science turns headlines into lifelines. How can we gain some practical benefit that might adjust our capacities going forward? Here’s the counsel that came from the teams who did the studies.

            Frequency matters most. Planning on 15-30 minutes every day – either making music or listening to it – sets you up to win. Perform “active listening,” not just background “elevator music.” This isn’t a multi-tasking exercise: if it’s instrumental, listen to capture the various instruments. Even better are songs with lyrics that you either know or understand. Another biggie: mix familiarity with novelty. Songs you know strengthen memory pathways, while new music stimulates learning and neural growth. Finally: engage emotionally. Choose songs that move you, connects to life memories and inspire reflection or joy.

            Their conclusions are compelling: they project a 30-40% reduction in dementia risk among regular music listeners.

            Of note: I’ve watched for years as Christians roll in to church 15 minutes after the first song signals the beginning of worship as a consistent pattern. “We come for the message” is a consumer cancer that inhibits spiritual engagement. Is the music really optional, subject to your approval?

            Studies aside, God has something to say about all of this: “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100).

            Allow me a BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious) before I sing the doxology: in our sacred Scriptures, the longest of the 66 books is Psalms, and each of the 150 chapters made up Israel’s spiritual songbook. Music isn’t one of God’s optional departures from serious spiritual development: it is key to the vitality of your life with Him, from whatever age you are right now until you join the choir in His eternal dwelling and throw your whole self into His whole glory.

            Music! Not the greatest pop hits from high school, but the worship tunes that feed your soul and reinforce your faith. Turn on at least three tunes every day, and then get to church before the downbeat of the first song of the service!

You’ll be better today, and more likely well tomorrow!

 — Bob Shank