Mental exercise is useful for seniors

Extracted from www.channelnewasia.com

Mental exercises help keep seniors agile: study

CHICAGO - Scientists have been preaching the benefits of mental exercise to seniors for years, but a new study may be the clincher that people in their golden years have been waiting for.

The study found that a little mental workout goes a long way, and that a sharper mind can make it easier to cope with everyday tasks such as driving, bookkeeping, shopping and cooking that get more challenging with age.

"Our findings clearly suggest that people who engage in an active program of mental training in late life can experience long-lasting gains from that training," said Michael Marsiske of the University of Florida.

The volunteers in the study did a modest amount of problem-solving and memory enhancing training, no more than 18 hours in any given case. But the pay-off was dramatic in the short-term.

Follow-up testing showed that the mental improvements were sufficient to counteract the cognitive declines seen over a seven-to-14-year period in older adults without dementia.

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