Train your brain from a young age
Hobbies can Prevent senile dementiaDmitry Tselikov, "Kompyulenta"
This is the conclusion reached by American scientists.
On the contrary, hours spent in front of the TV screen bring memory loss closer.
Researchers from the Mauo Clinic compared two hundred people aged 70 to 89 years suffering from memory impairment with peers who had no corresponding complaints. The respondents had to tell what they had been doing daily for the last year and how they loaded their brains with work when they were between 50 and 65 years old.
It was found that those who in middle age were busy reading, playing games and needlework, have a 40% greater chance of avoiding memory impairment. In later life, the same hobbies reduce the risk by 30-50%. Someone who watches TV for less than seven hours a day also has a 50% lower chance of memory loss than someone who spends more time in front of the screen.
"This is very interesting, because it indicates that aging does not necessarily have to be a passive process," says the study's author, neuroscientist Jonas Geda. – Just doing some cognitive activity, you can protect yourself from dementia, future memory loss. Of course, the problem with this kind of research is that we rely on the memories of volunteers, so we will need to confirm these results during additional studies."
Sarah Day, head of the health department of the British Alzheimer's Society, commented on the findings of American doctors: "Within the next few years, dementia will overtake a million people in our country alone. We urgently need to find ways to prevent dementia. Exercising your brain, making it work, getting new skills, solving crosswords, learning new languages is not only useful, but also fun. Nevertheless, new studies are needed that would track people's activities over a long period of time."
Prepared based on the materials of the BBC.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru19.02.2009