Did you hear about the New England Journal of Medicine report on the effects of recreational activities on mental acuity in aging? Here it is in a nutshell:
The 21-year study of senior citizens, 75 and older, was led by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, funded by the National Institute on Aging, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Their method for objectively measuring mental acuity in aging was to monitor rates of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.
They studied cognitive activities such as reading books, writing for pleasure, doing crossword puzzles, playing cards and playing musical instruments. And they studied physical activities like playing tennis or golf, swimming, bicycling, dancing, walking for exercise and doing housework.
One of the surprises of the study was that almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any protection against dementia. There can be cardiovascular benefits, of course, but the focus of this study was the mind. There was one important exception: the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent dancing.
- Reading - 35% reduced risk of dementia
- Bicycling and swimming - 0%
- Playing golf - 0%
- Dancing frequently - 76%
That was the greatest risk reduction of any activity studied, cognitive or physical.
Quoting Dr. Joseph Coyle,
a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist
who wrote an accompanying commentary:
"The cerebral cortex and hippocampus,
which are critical to these activities,
are remarkably plastic, and they rewire
themselves based upon their use."
Our brain constantly rewires its neural
pathways, as needed. If it doesn't need
to, then it won't.
Dance for the HEALTH of it!!
