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Dementia Symptoms: Brain Exercises Help Reduce The Risks

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:10:54 +0000

One of the 4 pillars of brain health is mental exercise. Many people wonder if there is actually any research demonstrating that mental exercise actually has any benefit with respect to brain health and fitness and preventing age related mental decline such as dementia.

Well, lets take a look some of the research on the subject.

Dementia literally means “deprived of mind”. Dementia symptoms include a general decline in ones mental capabilities. Affected areas may be memory, attention, language, and problem solving.

Alzheimer’s disease is considered the most common form of dementia. Research indicates that Alzheimer’s disease is a result plaques and tangles that have formed in the brain.

Alzheimer’s symptoms include short-term memory loss, confusion, irritability and aggression, mood swings, language breakdown, and eventually long-term memory loss. Generally, it is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age.

The number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is reported to be 35 million-plus worldwide as of Sept. 2009. This number is expected to reach approximately 107 million people by the year 2050.

Brain exercises and activities that keep the brain active may delay memory declines and other dementia symptoms according to several recent studies. In fact, one recent study found that individuals with high mental stimulation actually had a 46 percent decreased risk of dementia. This effect was even maintained later in life, as long as the individuals continued to engage in brain exercises and other forms of mentally stimulating activities.

Other aspects of a person’s lifestyle such as stress management, physical exercise and a balanced diet (the other 3 pillars ) have also been linked to fewer dementia and Alzheimer’s symptoms.

One study, called the Nun study, is a favorite of mine. The nuns in the study had donated their brains to research prior to their deaths. They were quite old but still mentally sharp all the way up until their deaths. The research on their brains showed evidence of full blown Alzheimer’s disease, yet they had shown no signs of alzheimer’s symptoms while alive!

While watching the video, I counted 3 of the 4 pillars of brain health being displayed in the nuns lives. Can you figure out which 3?

Sources:

livescience.com-delay_dementia

livescience.com-brain-exercises

wikipedia-Dementia

wikipedia-Alzheimers

The KenKen Puzzle | Online Brain Games Highlight

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:19:29 +0000

The KenKen puzzle game is today’s online brain games highlight.

KenKen was invented in 2004 by a Japanese math teacher named Tetsuya Miyamoto. The game was originally intended as a learning tool to improve both the math and reasoning skills of his students.

“Ken” means wisdom in Japanese, therefore KenKen means “wisdom squared”.

The game is very similar to the layout and rules of Sudoku, but KenKen adds the requirement of solving simple math problems in order to complete the puzzle.

KenKen puzzles come in 3×3 all the way up to 9×9 grid sizes.

The rules of KenKen are simple. For a 4×4 grid puzzle the rules are as follows:

Every box in the grid will contain a number 1~4
Every row and column will contain the numbers 1~4 only once.
The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any order) to produce the target number shown in the top corner using the mathematical operation indicated.

Starting puzzle (4×4) Solved Puzzle (4×4)

The resource links below contain a link to the official KenKen website. From there you can find out more about the history and rules of KenKen. You’ll also find free online KenKen puzzles there to play as well.

Also included in the resource link section below is a link to the New York Times KenKen online puzzle offering. They offer 6 free online puzzles per day ranging from easy to hard.

Have fun and tell me what you think about KenKen!

Resources:

http://www.kenken.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/crosswords/kenken.html

Brain Games Benefit You Now, and In The Future

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:46:46 +0000

Many people question whether the benefits of playing brain games will translate into other areas of life? For instance, if you physically exercise with weights in the gym, you usually get stronger and can engage in other physical activities with more strength and vigor. But does this same sort of thing happen with mental exercises and playing games for the brain? Or do you just get good at the specific tasks associated with those brain games and that’s it? And if that’s the case, are they really even worth it then?

Well, I guess that depends on the specific type of mental exercise. For instance, doing a crossword puzzle might be a challenge for one person, but not another. So in the case of the later, the person is really not challenging his or her brain and therefore the benefit will be minimal. The reason for this is fully discussed in, “Online Brain Games: 5 Characteristics of Good Ones”.

Recent studies (“Keep Your Brain Sharp as You Age”) have documented that mental exercises like playing online brain games do help with everyday tasks such as shopping, making meals and handling finances. In addition, they help build what’s called a cognitive reserve which is noted and discussed in the post, “How Big Is Your Brain Buffer?”. Such a reserve helps thwart the affects of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia later in life.

So playing brain games can benefit you both now, and in the future.

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Online Brain Games: 5 Characteristics of Good Ones

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:04:39 +0000

All online brain games and mental exercises must have these 3 *primary* characteristics in order to be of maximum benefit to your brain.

The 3 primary characteristics are:

Novelty
Variety
Challenge

I wrote about these 3 primary characteristics in a previous post titled, “What Makes Mental Exercise Beneficial, or NOT?”

Over the last 15-20yrs, scientists have discovered that our brain can:

Grow new connections
Grow new neurons
Re-wire itself

The ability of our brain to do this is called neuroplasticity, or brain plasticity. The good news about brain plasticity is that it is made available to us at any age. It is now a myth that our brain cannot change or renew itself as we grow old or that our brain function must decline with age. The 3 primary characteristics noted above must be present in any online brain game or mental exercise activity in order for the benefit of brain plasticity to be realized.

Besides the 3 primary characteristics , I believe there are 2 additional characteristics that are also important when considering an online brain game or mental exercise.

The 2 secondary characteristics are:

Fun/ Enjoyment
Cost

I call these *secondary* characteristics because they aren’t really necessary in order for an online brain game or mental exercise to be of benefit to your brain. But they are still important, and here’s why..

Fun/Enjoyment – A good online brain game or mental exercise should be fun and provide you with enjoyment. I say this because if an online brain game or mental exercise activity is fun, you’re more likely to stay with the program. Just like with a physical fitness program, you need to stay with the brain fitness program in order to reap lasting benefits. Likewise, if it is boring and feels like a chore, you won’t stick with it and then it will be of no value to you.

Cost – So what about cost? Free brain games abound on the internet. Are they any good? Are paid-for games better for you that free ones? The answer is that it all depends.

I wrote a post called, “Why Should You Pay For A Commercial Brain Game?”. In it I go into great detail on the benefits of paying for a commercial online brain game.

Again, the 3 primary characteristics must be present. It doesn’t really matter if the online brain game is free or if it cost you $500 or more. It doesn’t matter if you’re evaluating a free crossword puzzle or an expensive “scientifically designed” brain game. The 3 primary characteristics are the key to evaluating any online brain games potential benefit to your brain.

If you do intend to spend money on an online brain game, make sure you have the ability to evaluate it based on the 3 primary characteristics. Most good online brain games that do cost money have either free trials or have a return policy with a full refund possible. This helps to insure you have the ability to properly check out the online brain game before you commit.

So there you have it.. The 5 key characteristics that all good 0nline brain games must have in order to be of maximum benefit to your brain. Make sure you use them when evaluating any online brain game or mental exercise activity.

The Online Brain Games Blog » online brain games

Dementia Symptoms: Brain Exercises Help Reduce The Risks

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The KenKen Puzzle | Online Brain Games Highlight

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Brain Games Benefit You Now, and In The Future

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Online Brain Games: 5 Characteristics of Good Ones

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