Brain & Age
You may feel that as you age, your brain is no longer as sharp as it once was. Perhaps, it now takes you slightly longer to think things through or you find yourself forgetting things you once knew. You should note that this occurrence may in fact be normal as our brains do tend to lose some of their mental “sharpness” with age however, not all brain deterioration is to be accepted. While some brain deterioration or “brain fog” may be normal, for others this may be warning signs for underlying illnesses such as Dementia. Regardless of the cause of your brain fog, there are many exercises which you can practice that will help strengthen your brain power. In fact, completing simple brain exercises can help significantly with retaining brain function and even offsetting certain illnesses. Brain games or exercises like puzzles, have been proven to help slow down memory loss as well as improve overall mental sharpness.
Evidence Suggests
A study lead by BioMed concluded that puzzles among other logic games, were found to strengthen mental clarity and memory in certain individuals. In this study, participants were examined and compared against a controlled group who received no brain stimulants or puzzles. In contrast the initial group(group A) received various activities surrounding brain stimulation such as as puzzles, riddles, and word games. The findings revealed that, the participants in (group A) with puzzles, displayed better decision making skills and memory function than those in group B with no brain stimulation. Additionally, the participants in controlled group B showed even more decreased mental clarity and memory. This study was repeated and examined a year apart with the same participants and they all stood the test of time. We now know that mental exercises do aid in the development of new neurons within the hippocampus, responsible for long- term memory. The more you exercise your brain the more you exercise your cognitive function throughout your life span. This is why we encourage you to add some word games, puzzles, or other brain exercises into your daily down time. Doing so can be especially easy for those with smart phones and tablets and we have even compiled a list of brain games for easy downloading:
- Wordscapes
- Lumosity
- Peak
- Cognito
- Elevate
- Happify
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