Brain Workouts
It seems that brain calisthenics are the rage again, lately. Regular mental training has been shown to possibly reduce the risk of dementia. The old adage of, “If you don’t use it, you lose it,” can apply to your mind, as well as to your muscles.
Nintendo even has a game designed to exercise your brain. Brain Age for Nintendo DS, features activities to give your mind a work-out.
However, according to De-Age Your Brain:
any activity, not just the MENSA entrance exam, that forces you to think in new ways, requiring you to use imagination, solve problems, or make associations with information you already have, stimulates the brain.
Crossword puzzles, Scrabble (hey, I used all the tiles there the other day, thank you very much), and, Sudoku puzzles are also popular ways to exercise the brain. AARP also tells us other ways to get our memories in shape, and, points us to some free mind exercises, as well. Time Magazine has some other brain exercises, too.
Although the idea has been disputed, it doesn’t seem like there’s any harm in trying.
My mother was an avid crossword puzzle fan. She did them all my life, and, even took them with her on multiple emergency room visits after she became ill. The New York Times puzzles gave her very little trouble, she could do them all. As a matter of fact, the way that I knew her cancer had taken a turn for the worse was when she no longer had interest in them.
She was never confused a day in her life, including the day she died, nor did she show any signs of memory loss, even after many potent rounds of chemotherapy, and, she chalked it up to the puzzles.
I, however, didn’t inherit any crossword puzzle abilities, and, I lost an entire bag of salad last night. It was eventually located in the pantry.
Conclude what you will.
Tags: AARP, brain_exercises, crossword_puzzles, memory_loss, mensa, new_york_times, nintendo_ds, scrabble, sudoku_puzzlesRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Research
4 opinions for Brain Workouts
Paul
Jan 13, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I don’t suppose that watching cheerleaders on TV made the list, did it?
jag
Jan 15, 2007 at 12:40 pm
My great-grandfather lived to the ripe old age of 97 and lived by himself in his house until 95. He never had a problem with his memory or coherence until he was right at the end and his whole body just gave up.
He used to spend his afternoons at his front table doing crosswords. I’m making the same conclusions you are.
malia
Jan 15, 2007 at 2:27 pm
At a recent check-up, my fil’s doctor had him take some kind of brain/memory quiz. Apparently, he failed and the doctor’s prescription? Do crossword puzzles, everyday!
GenBetween » One Day University
Mar 30, 2007 at 8:01 am
[…] all the talk about brain stimulation to reduce the risk of dementia, I think going back to college would give you a pretty good mental […]
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