All fun and games, and cognitive ability

Take a dance class, which challenges you to learn new steps and routines. Planting yourself in front of the television after you retire might be tempting after a hectic and challenging career, but research has shown that it isn’t good for you. Since cognitive decline can be a natural part of the aging process, you want to do everything possible to prevent that by regularly doing mental (as well as physical) workouts. Consider challenging yourself with brain teasers, memory games, arts and crafts, logic puzzles and other mental "workouts" like Sudoku, chess and trivia games. It is just as important to keep your brain in tiptop shape as your body! In fact, researchers have discovered that engaging in such mental gymnastics can often avoid, postpone or mitigate mental diseases like Alzheimer’s and other dementias. They have learned that seniors who have learned a new skill like quilting, knitting or even flying were much less likely to experience dementia than those who involved themselves in activities like reading. Keeping the mind active through cognitive exercise is as important as keeping the body active through physical exercise. It appears that those who challenge their brains to acquire new skills enjoy better brain health and cognition. Pushing the brain to learn a new skill or game can cause it to grow and not atrophy. For instance, growth in cognition can be seen in those seniors who engage in everything from board games to video games, as well as memory games, card games, word games and trivia games. Seniors can even challenge themselves to memorize shopping lists or items in a room or they can mentally add lists of numbers. Here are some other suggestions. You can turn to your computer, iPad or phone and use it as a resource for the following […]

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