According to today’s New York Times, if you’re genetically slated to get dementia (specifically Alzheimer’s; the article is not clear about other forms), there’s not much you can do to stop it. However, everyone should strive to keep their minds active as they get older, because there are benefits for all. This is my take-away from the article, and I admit it seems contradictory.
Let’s slalom through the article together.
First the bad news:
Truth is, there is no known cure for dementia, or any evidence that exercising the brain in different ways can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s. But [“brain fitness”] classes still offer useful skills to older people and are seen as helpful by many experts in improving the overall health and quality of life for participants.
In other words, don’t throw in the towel, thinking you can’t stop the onslaught of dementia because you’re already over the hill.
The class at her Gayton Terrace community in Richmond, Va., Ms. Cole [an 86-year-old former schoolteacher] said, has forced her to think deeper and read more. Best of all, she has learned that regular habits like exercising and laughing and socializing, including talking to strangers, are engaging and perhaps even helpful in extending her life. They certainly help make it more enjoyable.
The theory of this more holistic approach, which goes beyond reliance on popular computer-based brain games, is that the brain thrives on continuous stimulation.
Here’s a bullet list of suggestions I culled from the entire article, of things you, I, and every other aging Baby Boomer should do to stay in tip-top shape mentally:
- learn to use an Apple iPad
- play Sudoku
- read
- exercise, especially aerobically
- socialize with friends as well as with strangers
- stay in touch with former colleagues
- play board games with others
- learn a new language
- learn or play a musical instrument
- do math calculations in your head, not on a calculator
- read newspaper articles, then discuss them with a friend who has also read them
- eat with the opposite hand
- toss up a handkerchief with one hand, then catch it with the other
- learn sign language
- do a new kind of creative project that you’ve never done before
Two more quotes, then I’m off to the gym!
Legions of baby boomers already use games on computers or apps to stimulate the brain, but they should be thought of as part of a larger engagement with the world, Mr. [Paul] Nussbaum [,president of the Brain Health Center in Pittsburgh,] said.
And…
Marty Donovan, 83, signed up for a four-week brain fitness course at her South Port Square retirement community in Port Charlotte, Fla. There she did mental workouts like tossing up a handkerchief with one hand and catching it with another, doing puzzles and learning about nutrition.
“I learned that my brain didn’t need to deteriorate,” said Ms. Donovan, whose parents had dementia. “But I need to stimulate it on a daily basis to keep me out of trouble. The ball is in my court.”
Ball in your court? Hmm…makes me think of Joni Mitchell’s “Court and Spark.”
