Many people try puzzles or brain-training apps in the hope of keeping their minds sharp as they get older.
Now, new research suggests that one particular type of mental exercise could do more than just pass the time – it may help lower the risk of dementia years down the line.
A major US study has found that older adults who took part in three years of training designed to help the brain process information more quickly were25% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia over the following 20 years.
Dementia is an umbrella term for a range of progressive neurological conditions.
(seb_ra via Getty Images)
More than 944,000 people in the UK are currently living with dementia – a figure expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.
Dementia is an umbrella term for a range of progressive neurological conditions that affect the brain. Symptoms can include problems with:
Symptoms tend to worsen over time.
What is the new research?
The study is based on the long-running ACTIVE trial (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly), which began in the late 1990s and followed more than 2,800 healthy adults aged 65 and over across the United States.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three types of brain training – speed, memory or reasoning – or to a control group that received no formal training.
The initial programme consisted of sessions lasting one to two hours a week over five weeks, with some participants later receiving additional “booster” sessions.
The speed training involved computerised tasks that tested quick reactions and fast visual processing. As participants improved, the exercises became faster and more challenging.
In one game, called Double Decision, players were briefly shown images – such as a car and a road sign – and then asked to identify where they had appeared on the screen. The task became harder as performance improved.
What did the researchers find?
After two decades of follow-up using medical records, researchers found that only the speed-focused training was linked to a reduced risk of dementia. Participants in this group were significantly less likely to receive a diagnosis of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, than those in the control group.
The exercises are thought to strengthen core brain networks involved in attention and visual processing, although researchers stress that further studies are needed to fully understand how the training produces its long-term effects.
Writing in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Research, the researchers said: “No prior cognitive training intervention has been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias over a 20-year period.”
The exercises are thought to strengthen core brain networks.
(Lucy Lambriex via Getty Images)Don’t celebrate just yet
Researchers not involved in the study, however, caution that the results do not mean all brain-training games are effective. While they welcome the study, they say that further research is needed.
Susan Kohlhaas, the executive director at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said the research “provides a valuable and encouraging contribution to an area where long-term evidence is rare”.
However, citing a limitation of the study, Dr Kohlhaas said: “Diagnoses were identified through health records, rather than specialist clinical testing. So we do not know whether this training changed the underlying diseases that cause dementia or affected specific types of dementia.”
She added: “Further research is now needed to understand how this type of training might work, who could benefit most, and how it fits alongside the strongest evidence we already have for protecting brain health, including staying physically active, managing heart health and keeping socially connected.”
How to reduce the risk of developing dementia
According to the NHS, there’s evidence that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your risk of developing dementia.
It states that “what’s good for your heart is also good for your brain,” and recommends:
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maintaining a balanced diet