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Brain exercise works: crossword puzzles stave off Alzheimer's

Tuesday, February 08, 2005 by: Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor | Key concepts: Alzheimer's, Brain exercise and Disease

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Summary

Intellectually stimulating activity is known to have the potential to stave off Alzheimer's and other brain diseases, and crossword puzzles in particular are well-suited to this purpose, as they involve a daily burst of sustained mental activity. Studies have found that older people who regularly flex their brains almost halved the risk of developing Alzheimer's.

Original source:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8124-1464411,00.html

Details

  • Any intellectually stimulating activity can potentially stave off brain disease but crosswords are particularly well suited to maintaining mental agility --- to complete them requires daily, sustained bursts of cognitive effort.
  • The activity features almost universally in checklists of how to ward off neural decline, and is even a component of an experimental "brain boot camp" developed by experts on ageing at the University of California.
  • Those who flexed their brains most regularly almost halved their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
  • While physical exercise did not seem to delay the onset of Alzheimer's, intellectual exercise did.
  • Those who did four crossword puzzles a week were less likely to develop the disease than those who managed only one.
  • Other protective activities included chess, draughts, card and board games, museum visits, reading, playing a musical instrument and ballroom dancing (the last two require a good working memory and a degree of co-ordination).
  • It is unclear, though, how regular brain workouts are able to postpone Alzheimer's; this is now the subject of ongoing research.
  • The absence of an obvious biological mechanism has inspired worries that the link between mental exercise and delayed Alzheimer's onset is fictitious.
  • This means that even among people who left education early, the ones who enjoy puzzles, play games and stay mentally active still enjoy a lower risk of Alzheimer's.
  • This strengthens the theory that using your brain regularly really does sharpen and protect it.

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