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
