If ever you needed a nudge to give your brain a workout, new research underscoring the benefits of ¡°brain training¡± should offer fresh motivation.
The two long-term studies add to a growing body of evidence that people can boost their brain health by doing mentally stimulating activities, such as learning a language, visiting a museum or playing chess. They also show that consciously working to build cognitive resiliency can delay the onset of dementia for years. That¡¯s an important message as the U.S. grapples with the growing challenge of Alzheimer¡¯s disease, which affects some 7 million Americans and counting.
Both studies were part of a wave of trials started in the U.S. in the late 1990s with the goal of better understanding how lifestyle, genetics, the environment and other factors affect people¡¯s chances of developing dementia. Decades later, they are yielding real insights.
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