Tone your brain

The Dyers, who live in the Goodwin House retirement community in Alexandria, are part of a brain health movement sweeping the ageing communities in Europe and the US.

Much as physical fitness buffs hit the gym daily, seniors are doing brain exercises to tone their minds, with new video games, Sudoku and computer activities.

The theory so far, with some hard science behind it, is that mental stimulation slows memory loss and other cognitive declines associated with ageing.

My view is if it doesn’t do any harm, we’ve got to try it, says John Dyer, a retired nuclear engineer. My grandmother and mother both had dementia.

The science

Scientists seem to agree that at least four activities can defend the brain against ageing — eating fresh fruits and vegetables, doing regular aerobic exercise, performing challenging mental tasks and engaging in social pursuits.

A growing body of research suggests that mental activity in middle age and earlier can help later in life. As a result, websites such as HappyNeuron.com are springing up to offer online games and blogs like SharpBrains.com provide commentary on the fledgling industry.

No technology trend in fitness has received more media attention than cognition training, said Andrew Carle, a George Mason University professor who studies brain-training products. What’s driving it is the jump we are seeing in Alzheimer’s, an age-related disease.

In Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, a large number of the brain’s 200 billion nerve cells degrade and die.

Brain decay actually is wider, because all human brains lose nerve cells as they age. Brain neurons typically start dying when people are in their 20s, a loss that accelerates and eventually causes cognitive decline that tend to show up first in memory and hearing.

Mental Challenges

Scientists have known for decades that brain decay is not inevitable, because long-term studies have shown that some minds stay relatively sharp while others decline dramatically, notes Shlomo Breznitz, psychology professor and former president of Israel’s University of Haifa. More recent studies suggest a key difference may be the extent to which each brain is challenged throughout life.

People who engage in very challenging tasks, even during leisure, like reading, crossword puzzles, bridge, chess and travel, tend to slow down their mental aging process very significantly, says Breznitz, who is also a member of Israel’s legislature and has developed a brain-training programme called MindFit.

To be effective, scientists say mental activity must become progressively more challenging. Otherwise, the brain adjusts and learns to perform repetitive tasks with less effort.

Also contributing to the brain workout boom are state-of-the-art imaging techniques that have allowed scientists to validate a theory developed decades ago. By taking detailed pictures of brain neurons, scientists watch parts of the brain that had seemed dormant light up and assume new responsibilities in response to stimuli. Theoretically, this means brain decay can be halted or even reversed.

The brain is constantly rewiring and recalibrating itself in response to what you do, says Henry Mahncke, who holds a PhD in neuroscience and is vice president of Posit Science, the San Francisco developer of the Brain Fitness software. The trick, of course, is finding the right stimuli.

Does it work?

The 23 Goodwin House residents who finished the 40 sessions of Brain Fitness seem mostly pleased with their results.

Stella Byers, 82, says her memory seems sharper. At bridge I can remember more high cards that have been played.

Bob Edge, an 82-year-old retired Air Force general, says the only place he notices a difference is in his crosswords: I found it speeds me up a bit.

Like many seniors, Edge does all he can to slow the side-effects of aging. In addition to brain exercises, he takes Spanish lessons and walks more than a mile a day, lifts weights every other day, hits golf balls several times a week and sometimes climbs the stairs to his sixth-floor apartment.

The Dyers aren’t betting their brains on software alone. They’re heeding scientists who say learning anything new can help brain cells stay alive. John Dyer is studying computer programming; he and his wife are learning phrases in Aramaic. They say they agree with Edge that remembering things remains a never-ending struggle.