The more middle-aged people over 50 engage in number and word games (eg crosswords and sudoku), the sharper their minds are in old age, new research reveals.

The UK research, first presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International 2018 conference and subsequently published with additional data in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, is based on the largest online survey to date of effect of mind games.

“The results show that the more time adults spend playing brain games such as crosswords or Sudoku, the higher they perform on measures of mental function such as memory, attention and reasoning,” said lead researcher Dr Ann Corbett. from the University of Exeter School of Medicine.

The study involved over 22,000 healthy participants aged 50 to 96. They were all signed up to the online platform ‘Protect’, which was created by the University of Exeter and King’s College London. The study is expanding to more and more countries and has already been active for 25 years.

The researchers asked the participants how often they engaged in mind games, and in a second year they submitted them to a series of cognitive function tests. Those who engaged in such games on a regular basis appeared to have better performance (attention, logical thinking, memory).

In some areas, such as the ability to solve problems, an extraordinary improvement was seen. People who regularly engage in such games have the cognitive abilities of a person eight years younger on average.

Dr. Corbett emphasized that we cannot claim that engaging in such projects reduces the risk of developing dementia, but it certainly keeps the brain functioning well for a longer period of time.

republished from insert Υγεία της εφημερίδας Τα Νέα