"Less television, more books" – scientists gave a recipe for life without dementia

Social activity and intellectual stimulation, specified as reading or talking to others, are beneficial to memory and thinking. They have an adverse effect on them, as well as favouring dementia, watching tv and playing video games, says “The Journals of Gerontology Series A”. Prayer is besides mentioned among the affirmative activities.

"The choice of what we do in our spare time affects the long-term wellness of the brain," stressed the authors of publications from the University of South Australia.

When assessing 24-hour patterns of activity, nearly 400 people over the age of 60 found that the context or the kind of activity we engage in is truly important. What is more – crucial differences are even between activities with appearances similar, e.g. reading books sitting on the couch and watching tv in the same position.

Researchers found that among static activities, the best way to preserve memory and reasoning functions is to read, perceive to music, pray, mastery, play musical instrument or talk to another people. The most harmful are watching tv and playing video games.

According to the authors, this is very valuable information due to the fact that it can translate into a simplification in the hazard of cognitive impairment in older age. They believe that modified lifestyle factors could prevent as many as 45 percent of dementia.

The planet wellness Organization estimates that more than 55 million people worldwide are suffering from dementia, with nearly 10 million fresh cases arriving all year. Most of them are women. In Poland today, about half a million people are affected.

– This survey has allowed us to discover that 1 sedentary lifestyle is not equal to the another in memory. The context of a given activity greatly changes the way it affects cognitive functions, due to the fact that different activities supply different levels of cognitive stimulation and social commitment – explained Dr Maddison Mellow, 1 of the authors of the publication.

– We have known for a long time that physical activity is simply a strong safeguard against the improvement of dementia, and it should be given precedence if you want to take care of the wellness of your brain. But no 1 has always straight investigated whether we can improve the wellness of our brain by converting 1 seated behaviour into another. She added.

In her opinion, the message "more move, little sit" is surely true, both in the context of cardiometabolic wellness and brain health, but, as this survey has shown, a more nuanced approach is needed to aid many people.

The investigator besides advises on how best to take care of yourself during the coming holidays. – In order to accomplish the top benefits, precedence should be given to a decision that works positively on all aspects of health. But even another smaller changes can matter. If individual prefers a Christmas movie marathon than a walk, it is worth trying at least a tiny part of that time to spend on something more cognitively engaging, like reading. This way besides can slow build healthier habits She summarized.

Source: PAP / Katarzyna Czechowicz

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