You’ve probably heard about the importance of keeping your brain busy to stave off signs of cognitive decline as you age. But just how much can doing all of these different activities actually help your mind? Good news: Recent research found that adding a few small hobbies to your day could delay Alzheimer’s up to several years.
In a new study published in the July 2021 issue of Neurology, scientists took a closer look at not just if brain-stimulating activities could delay cognitively degenerative diseases, but by how much. Their seven-year experiment tracked the developments of 1,978 participants with an average age of 80 who didn’t have dementia or signs of mental decline at the start of the trial. For each subject, they regularly tracked how often they did seven key cognitive activities: General reading, going to a library regularly, reading newspapers, reading books, writing letters, reading magazines, and playing games like puzzles, cards, and board games, They also studied the brains of anyone who passed away during the experiment to see if there were any signs of decay.
Over time, researchers discovered that participants who eventually developed Alzheimer’s but were cognitively stimulated in the years prior to their diagnosis didn’t see any symptoms for five years more than those who didn’t partake in any of these hobbies. In other words, these activities — like reading, playing games, and writing letters — delayed the onset of the disease by half a decade. “Our study shows that people who engage in more cognitively stimulating activities may be delaying the age at which they develop dementia,” explained study author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, who’s part of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “Our research suggests that the link between cognitive activity and the age at which a person developed dementia is mainly driven by the activities you do later in life.”
Why such a big difference? Scientists believe that these activities strengthen neural connections and prevent the buildup of harmful amyloid and tau protein deposits, which damage your neurons and make it harder for your brain to fire off different signals and messages.
More importantly, this research focused on cognitive activity later in life, which means that even if you haven’t spent your life reading or writing a lot, getting started by finally opening that book you bought months ago or writing a note to a friend can still help your brain health when it comes to finding ways to delay Alzheimer’s.
Labda umesikia juu ya umuhimu wa kuweka ubongo wako unaofanya kazi ili kuzuia ishara za kupungua kwa utambuzi unapozeeka. Lakini ni kiasi gani kufanya shughuli hizi zote tofauti kwa kweli inaweza kusaidia akili yako? Habari njema: Utafiti wa hivi karibuni uligundua kwamba kuongeza vitumbuizo vichache vidogo katika siku yako kunaweza kuchelewesha ugonjwa wa Alzheimer kwa miaka kadhaa. Katika utafiti mpya uliochapishwa katika toleo la Julai 2021 la Neurology, wanasayansi walijaribu zaidi sio tu ikiwa shughuli za kuchochea ubongo zinaweza kuchelewesha magonjwa ya degenerative ya utambuzi, lakini kwa kiasi gani. Majaribio hayo yalichukua miaka saba na yalifuatilia maendeleo ya washiriki 1,978, wenye umri wa wastani wa miaka 80, ambao hawakuwa na ugonjwa wa akili au dalili za kupungua kwa akili mwanzoni mwa jaribio hilo. Kwa kila mtihani, walijaribu mara kwa mara kufanya shughuli saba muhimu za utambuzi: kusoma kwa ujumla, kwenda maktaba mara kwa mara, kusoma magazeti, kusoma vitabu, kuandika barua, kusoma magazeti, na kucheza michezo kama vile puzzle, kadi, na michezo ya bodi. Baada ya muda, watafiti waligundua kwamba washiriki ambao hatimaye walipata ugonjwa wa Alzheimer lakini walichochewa kwa utambuzi katika miaka kabla ya utambuzi wao hawakuona dalili yoyote kwa miaka mitano zaidi kuliko wale ambao hawakujihusisha na yoyote ya burudani hizi. Kwa maneno mengine, shughuli hizo - kama vile kusoma, kucheza michezo, na kuandika barua - ziliahirisha mwanzo wa ugonjwa huo kwa nusu muongo. "Utafiti wetu unaonyesha kwamba watu wanaohusika katika shughuli za kuchochea akili zaidi wanaweza kuchelewesha umri ambao wanapata ugonjwa wa akili, ""alieleza mwandishi wa utafiti Robert S. Wilson, PhD, ambaye ni sehemu ya Kituo cha Matibabu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Rush huko Chicago." "Utafiti wetu unaonyesha kwamba uhusiano kati ya shughuli za utambuzi na umri ambao mtu ana ugonjwa wa akili unategemea hasa shughuli unazofanya baadaye maishani. """ Wataalamu wanaamini kwamba shughuli hizi huimarisha uhusiano wa neva na kuzuia kuhifadhiwa kwa amyloid na protini za tau, ambazo huathiri neva na kufanya iwe vigumu kwa ubongo wako kutoa ishara na ujumbe tofauti. Utafiti huu ulizingatia shughuli za utambuzi baadaye maishani, ambayo inamaanisha kwamba hata ikiwa hujawahi kutumia maisha yako kusoma au kuandika sana, kuanza kwa kufungua kitabu hicho ulichonunua miezi iliyopita au kuandika barua kwa rafiki bado inaweza kusaidia afya ya ubongo wako linapokuja suala la kutafuta njia za kuchelewesha ugonjwa wa Alzheimer.