Boomers like myself (Roger and I just celebrated our 55th birthdays) are well aware of the need to maintain healthy weight and fitness levels as we move into our “senior” years. Now we are being told to give our brains a workout, too. I guess even movie stars like Nicole Kidman worry about remaining mentally fit.
A number of computer games have been launched that advertise themselves as healthy for brains. MindFit claims to decrease reaction time 16% and improve visual short term memory by 30%. They also have a DriveFit software package that they say predicts one’s risk of automobile accidents. If this works, I certainly wish the DMV would use it. Knowing when to pack it in regarding driving is one of the difficult choices facing seniors today. I have written to their staff asking for references, and will post anything they send back.
If you have a Nintendo DS handy (my daughter Karla has one), you can try Brain Age. The Brain Age site features testimonials and popular press articles, but I’m wondering if there are any peer reviewed assessments yet. If not, ye students out there, DO IT. I’d love to, but duty (and my publisher) calls right now.
According to a BBC article on the anti-aging games, here are some other hints for maintaining good brain health for seniors:
1. Physical exercise (can’t get enough oxygen to that brain!)
2. Reading aloud (weird–why aloud? If reading alone helps, I’m golden. I wonder if Mr. F would object if I started reading Nature Neuroscience to him as a bedtime story?)
3. Crosswords
4. Sudoku (Careful, this may be the most addictive pasttime since Tetris, Minesweeper, and Spider Solitaire)
5. Memorizing telephone numbers (oh yuck–this sounds terminally boring)
6. Eat fish (debatable, but good for your HDL levels as long as the mercury doesn’t get you….Check the link for measurements of mercury and Omega 3 fatty acids in your favorite types of fish.)
We have known for many years that people who remain mentally active enjoy a relatively “soft” landing when it comes to cognitive decline. Unfortunately, this finding is hopelessly tangled up with the influence of intelligence [1]. Intelligent people are more likely to engage in mental activity and watch less television. Of course, intelligent people are also more likely to enjoy higher incomes, which in turn can buy better food and health care, and lower stress levels, all of which are helpful to brain health.
Until I see any peer-reviewed assessments of these games, I suggest we play them if we enjoy them. Certainly, they are a better use of “down time” than watching some idiotic sitcom.
1. Whalley, L. J., Starr, J.M., Athawes, R., Hunter, D., Pattie, A., & Deary, I.J. (2000). Childhood mental ability and dementia. Neurology, 55, 1455-1459.
3 Comments
cat tran · September 23, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Even though my brain is still young, I already feel like I’m losing parts of it! I signed up to take a math course this quarter that I’ve put off for the past couple years and WOW, I’ve almost forgotten how to do everything I learned in high school…I guess I really haven’t been using that side of the brain in a while because this week was a real struggle trying to re-learn functions, graphs, lines, numbers, numbers, and more numbers…! phew, good thing I found out I don’t need that course anymore!
Dianawagen · October 11, 2007 at 10:46 am
I think the main issue is staying away from T.V. . It softens your mind and you definitly start to loose it if you are watching hours of t.v. every night. My parents watch way to much tv. It is making them very stupid, and unrealisticly fearful of the outside real world. They also play Poker online, this is atleast interactive and maybe alittle mathmatical but still keeping them in their house and ignorant of the real world. I think interacting with people having intelligent conversations, dinner parties and enjoying nature musems are some good ways to keep your neurons firing as well as soduko and reading books.
Vix · May 1, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Like I said before, it is my job to make any decision relating to video games when it comes to anyone in this family. Since I’m pretty much the one in charge.
Of course, I always look at anti-aging sites. I really hate getting old, and my goal is to stay young forever and become immortal when real anti-aging technology arrives in the future. So for now, I keep looking at anti-aging sites to search for answers.
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