Mental Gymnastics

Just recently, in my Psych Testing class, I was exposed to a variety of intelligence, aptitude, motivational and personality tests. This makes you aware of the fact that there's a lot of stuff you don't know! I'm not going to say that these tests made me feel stupid...but I got to thinking about whether or not there are any benefits to trying to build up your mental ability. One thought led to another...I started thinking about the ramifications of aging, Alzheimer's and Dementia-which my children claim I'm already showing signs of but I have noticed that they actually forget more at ages 20 & 23 than I do at 49-go figure!

I've been reading a lot of articles online about this subject and, while research is still ongoing and some of the results are not completely conclusive, there is some evidence to support the notion that regular, consistent mental exercise is good for your brain and may actually slow the onset of both Alzheimer's and Dementia. While these two conditions are far too complicated to rely solely on one factor, I'm of the opinion that whatever can be done on the preventative side is worth the time and effort. According to statistics we are all living longer and therefore have a greater likelihood of encountering some of these brain dysfunctions as we age. There's a normal amount of memory loss that does seem inherent with the aging process. But what if that could be minimized? What if that could occur for us 10, 15, or 20 years later? What an improvement of quality of life that could create! Worth looking into anyway I would say!

What sorts of things constitute mental gymnastics? From my research I have compiled this list, which is not exhaustive by any means, but would give you a good start:

Reading, board games, crossword puzzles, sudoku, learn a language, play an instrument, dance, have a mentally stimulating job, listen to the radio, watch learning programs, visit museums, play computer games, engage in sports and physical exercise, have hobbies, be involved in groups and/or cultural activities, be engaged in social interaction as much as possible-especially stimulating conversations.

Here are a few books on the subject that got good reviews:

The Memory Bible: the 10 commandments for keeping your brain young, by Gary Small

The Memory Book: Everyday habits for a healthy memory, by Judith Wiles

Keep Your Brain Young, by Guy McKhann & Marilyn Albert

Here are some websites on the subject:

Keep your brain sharp: http://www.rl.tv/

Alzheimers Association: http://www.alz.org/

Mind Fitness Games: http://www.lumosity.com/

Brain Trainer: http://www.getimusic.com/

5 Min. Brain Exercise: http://www.5minutelearningmachine.org/

Brain health appears to follow the use it or lose it principal. Like any other data processing mechanism, GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out. Hopefully, information like this will help us hang onto what we've got a little longer!