Train your brain in advance
Crosswords and puzzles do not prevent the decline of mental abilities in the elderly
Evgenia Efimova, Vesti
Many people are constantly solving crosswords and Sudoku to delay the onset of old age as much as possible. Recently, Scottish scientists have tested whether solving various puzzles really helps people protect themselves from a decrease in mental abilities?
It turned out that this is completely wrong: such games do not slow down the deterioration of the brain in old age.
According to the widespread theory of "use or lose", people who regularly load the brain with work are protected from a decrease in mental abilities. For this reason, many experts advise solving puzzles, solving Sudoku and crosswords. There are even paid websites on the Internet that regularly supply users with new portions of "brain exercises".
The authors of a recent paper decided to study the relationship between puzzle solving and mental abilities during life.
A group of scientists led by Dr. Roger Staff from the University of Aberdeen invited 498 people to participate in the study.
All the participants were born in 1936, and at the age of 11, they took a group test to determine their mental abilities (The Moray House Test) as part of the Scottish study.
The described study began when the subjects turned about 64 years old, and they were again invited to undergo testing for memory performance and information processing speed.
At the beginning of the study, experts studied the educational history of each subject and the results of the National Adult Reading Test (NART). They also tested the current mental abilities of the study participants and the level of interest in reading and solving puzzles.
The experts then tracked the mental abilities of 64-year-old participants over a subsequent 15-year period.
As a result, scientists found that people who regularly load their brains with work had higher mental abilities at the beginning of the study. At the same time, there was no difference in the rate at which mental abilities decreased over the next 15 years.
Taking into account various factors that could affect the final results, the scientists concluded: regular puzzle solving had no effect on the rate of deterioration of mental abilities associated with aging.
Meanwhile, the authors of the work advise not to rush to throw away the chessboard or the new edition of the edition with crosswords. Despite the fact that solving puzzles does not protect a person from deterioration of mental abilities, it gives a higher starting point from which the deterioration of the brain will begin, says Staff. In other words, the person will still receive a significant reprieve.
The authors believe that their results support the theory of "cognitive reserve". The latter indicates that people can maintain memory and intelligence in good condition, despite aging.
Regular brain load when performing complex tasks creates more connections between brain cells. For this reason, the brain receives "backup" networks for its use if the "wiring" of the brain begins to break down with age and if dementia (acquired dementia) begins to attack it.
Speaking of dementia. Dr. David Reynolds, Chief researcher at the Alzheimer's Research Center in the UK, notes that the study did not consider people with this condition. For this reason, "based on these results, it is impossible to draw conclusions about whether any specific brain training can affect the risk of developing this ailment."
According to Reynolds, good ways to keep the brain in good shape are known to everyone: we must not forget about mental activity and physical fitness. In addition, it is important to adhere to a healthy balanced diet, give up smoking, monitor cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
The results of the current work are published in the BMJ edition.
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