Mental sharpness comes from challenging the brain regularly. Scientific studies show that certain activities such as bridge and crosswords reduce the risk of dementia. Experts also say fun and games keep your grey matter stronger for longer finds Kathy Foley.

As much as the physical decline that comes with aging is an unhappy prospect, most of us worry more about gradually losing our mental health to Alzheimer's, senility or other brain ailments that come with age. Is there any way to stave off ailing brainpower and stay mentally sharp in later life?

This is one of the primary questions the 90+ Study is trying to answer. The study is being conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of California Irvine. It was born out of a much larger research project, the Leisure World Cohort Study, which began in 1981 by giving questionnaires to 14,000 residents of the Leisure World retirement community in Laguna Woods, California.

Although the Leisure World study has provided much useful information on the health and well-being of older people – discovering for example that aspirin is beneficial for men who have already had cardiovascular disease, but not for those who have not – some of the researchers wanted to delve more deeply into what they refer to as “extreme aging”, or living past 90.

Good living and longevity
So in 2002, they identified about 1,000 members of their original sample who were then 90 or older and asked them to take part in the new 90+ Study. About 800 agreed. So far, the study has identified that vitamin intake appears to have little or no effect on longevity, but that moderate caffeine and wine consumption seems to help. Physical exercise, too, is important, as is maintaining a healthy weight as a younger adult, although being slightly overweight is better than being slightly underweight as an older adult.

In terms of mental health, new results from the 90+ Study show that cognitive functioning or brain health declines markedly after the age of 90. The risk of mentally healthy 90-year-old developing dementia is 10%, but that rises to 20% from the age of 95 and 41% from the age of 100.

The researchers working on the 90+ Study are still searching for activities that definitely help to stave off dementia. They believe, however, that using your brain and challenging yourself mentally as you grow older is very important.

Fun and games
Among recommended activities for staying sharp in your later years are reading, writing, playing board games, playing card games, doing crosswords, completing jigsaws and playing a musical instrument. Other studies have found knitting, gardening, doing odd jobs and travelling also help to keep the brain in good condition.

The 90+ Study researchers also believe, however, that maintaining social connections could be a key contributor to mental health in older people. “There is quite a bit of evidence suggesting the more people you have contact with, in your home or outside, the better you do” mentally and physically,” Dr Claudia Kawas, a neurologist at the University of California Irvine, told the New York Times recently. “Interacting with people regularly, even strangers, uses easily as much brain power as doing puzzles, and it wouldn't surprise me if this is what it's all about.”

A separate study, published recently in the journal Neurology, found that older people who frequently went walking, visiting with friends, and going to the cinema and restaurants were 38% less likely than less social people to develop dementia.
 

Source: www.silvercircle.ie