Study shows that games, crafts may help safeguard aging brain

A new study has shown that simple activities including web-surfing, playing bridge and socializing can stave off mental decline, even in your 70s and beyond.

The research found that benefits were greatest in computer users and in those without a gene variation linked with Alzheimer's disease and that even among seniors with that trait, mental decline that sometimes precedes dementia was less common among those who engaged in mind-stimulating activities.

The study results don't apply to costly, computer-based games that seem to keep the brain sharp - but instead it looked at five types of activities that are thought to help keep the mind sharp which includes; computer use; making crafts; playing games including chess or bridge; and going to movies or other types of socializing and reading books.

These activities appeared to help prevent mild cognitive impairment. A condition that involves problems with memory, thinking and attention that don't interfere much with daily life but which increase risks for developing Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.

"They don't have to spend their life savings" on fancy gadgets, said Dr Yonas Geda, the study's senior author and a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic's Scottsdale, Arizona, campus.

Heather Snyder of the Alzheimer's Association, said the results support the idea that "being engaged mentally is good for brain health."

About 2000 adults between the age of 70 to 93 without any memory problems took part in the research. 

They were asked whether they had engaged in any of the five activities during the previous year and if so, how often. They were tested for the condition in mental exams at the beginning and every 15 months for about four years. And during that time, 456 study participants developed the mild impairment.

Analysis found a protective effect from each activity except for reading books. Study participants who engaged in any of the other activities at least once weekly were 20 per cent to 30 per cent less likely to develop the condition over the four years than those who never did those activities.

The study was published in the journal JAMA Neurology.  

Associated Press