Simple activities you might do every day can significantly improve brain functioning, researchers are discovering. These activities range from mental exercises to physical activity. It doesn't matter if the activity is a hobby or work. If it requires brain activity, it can result in better mental functioning in both young and older people.
Searching the Internet
Surfing the Internet may not only stimulate but also improve brain function, according to researchers at UCLA, by engaging complex brain activity. Scientists have long believed keeping mentally active may help maintain brain health and cognitive ability. The UCLA study, reported in a 2008 issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, focused on the influence of computer use. Twenty-four volunteers ages 55 to 76 underwent reading and Internet tasks. Half the group had experience searching the Web; the other half did not. Reading and computer tests were performed along with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans that monitored the volunteers' brain changes. While the two groups had similar brain activity when it came to book reading, the group with computer experience showed more activity in more areas of the brain during the Internet tasks. Internet searching enhances brain circuitry in older adults, demonstrating people can continue to learn as they age, the researchers say.
Exercise
Both young and old can acquire brain benefits through physical activity. Researchers at the University of Illinois and Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam looked at 241 people ages 15 to 71, measuring their reaction time and response time when testing them with visual patterns. The younger participants who were physically active performed about the same on response accuracy as the group not physically active but had better reaction times. Older participants who were physically active had better performances in both reaction time and response accuracy than those who were not. The researchers say the results support other studies linking physical activity to improvement in mental tasks.
Talking About Sports
Just talking about sports can improve brain function because it stimulates a part of the brain that would be activated if the person were actually playing the sport, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. Research focused on 12 professional and intercollegiate hockey players, eight fans and nine people who had never watched a game. Subjects listened to sentences about hockey players and sentences about various daily activities. They underwent testing about what they had heard. Most of them understood what was said about daily activities, but the hockey players and fans were better able to understand hockey-related language. Brain imaging revealed that both the players and the fans showed more activity in brain regions used for planning physical actions, which helped enhance their understanding of language.
Social Activities
Getting involved with volunteer services may reverse declining brain function in older adults, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Seniors who participated in youth mentoring programs showed increases in brain activity that supports cognitive abilities used in planning and organizing. Researchers examined 17 women 65 and older. Half of them participated in Experience Corps, a national volunteer program that trains older people to help children with reading and other academic courses. The other half were on a wait list to enroll in the program. MRI brain scans and functional testing showed the women in the program had improvements in cognitive functions associated with positive brain activity changes.
