Posted by: SBPC
Keep Playing Music and Keep Having Fun - 06/19/03 09:36 PM
Here's another good reason to keep playing those keyboards!
Paul C.
Experts say seniors ought to have fun
By Kathleen Fackelmann, USA TODAY
Seniors who dance the night away, play bridge or a musical instrument may be
doing more than just having fun: A new study suggests that these active
seniors may be warding off the risk of developing dementia, including
Alzheimer's.
The study, out today in The New England Journal of Medicine, adds to the
scientific evidence suggesting that mentally challenging activities may
offer protection against Alzheimer's, a progressive brain disease that
afflicts 4 million Americans.
USE YOUR HEAD
Seniors can greatly cut their risk of dementia by engaging in various
activities several times a week*. A few examples:
Reading - 35% reduced risk
Playing a musical instrument - 69%
Dancing frequently - 76%
Source: NEJM.
*Note: Compared with people who rarely participate in these activities.
Joe Verghese and his colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
in the Bronx studied 469 people age 75 and older that did not have any sign
of forgetfulness at the study's start. The researchers asked the recruits
how often they participated in leisure activities such as chess or crossword
puzzles. They also kept track of the people who developed mild forgetfulness
or full-blown dementia during the study.
The team discovered that the most active people overall had a 63% lower risk
of developing dementia compared with people who said they hardly ever played
cards, danced or did other such activities.
People who played the hardest gained the most: For example, seniors who did
crossword puzzles four days a week had a 47% lower risk of dementia than
those who did the puzzles once a week.
Dancing also offered a hedge against dementia although in general physical
activity did not. For example, the researchers found no protection
associated with playing golf or tennis. But just a few seniors in the study
played golf or tennis so that finding may not hold true, Verghese cautions.
Any mentally challenging activity, like learning a new dance step, might
spur the brain to establish new connections or perhaps to grow new brain
cells, says Gary Small at the University of California-Los Angeles. The
extra brainpower may compensate for any loss of brain cells because of a
disease process such as Alzheimer's.
The "use it or lose it" theory of successful aging has yet to be proven
scientifically, says Bill Thies of the Alzheimer's Association in Chicago.
Still this is one time the experts aren't waiting for proof: Thies, Small
and Verghese all recommend building fun, mentally challenging activities
into daily life.
Having fun won't hurt and it might ultimately offer a hedge against
Alzheimer's, Small says:
"Keep your brain active and you may protect yourself against future memory
loss."
Paul C.
Experts say seniors ought to have fun
By Kathleen Fackelmann, USA TODAY
Seniors who dance the night away, play bridge or a musical instrument may be
doing more than just having fun: A new study suggests that these active
seniors may be warding off the risk of developing dementia, including
Alzheimer's.
The study, out today in The New England Journal of Medicine, adds to the
scientific evidence suggesting that mentally challenging activities may
offer protection against Alzheimer's, a progressive brain disease that
afflicts 4 million Americans.
USE YOUR HEAD
Seniors can greatly cut their risk of dementia by engaging in various
activities several times a week*. A few examples:
Reading - 35% reduced risk
Playing a musical instrument - 69%
Dancing frequently - 76%
Source: NEJM.
*Note: Compared with people who rarely participate in these activities.
Joe Verghese and his colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
in the Bronx studied 469 people age 75 and older that did not have any sign
of forgetfulness at the study's start. The researchers asked the recruits
how often they participated in leisure activities such as chess or crossword
puzzles. They also kept track of the people who developed mild forgetfulness
or full-blown dementia during the study.
The team discovered that the most active people overall had a 63% lower risk
of developing dementia compared with people who said they hardly ever played
cards, danced or did other such activities.
People who played the hardest gained the most: For example, seniors who did
crossword puzzles four days a week had a 47% lower risk of dementia than
those who did the puzzles once a week.
Dancing also offered a hedge against dementia although in general physical
activity did not. For example, the researchers found no protection
associated with playing golf or tennis. But just a few seniors in the study
played golf or tennis so that finding may not hold true, Verghese cautions.
Any mentally challenging activity, like learning a new dance step, might
spur the brain to establish new connections or perhaps to grow new brain
cells, says Gary Small at the University of California-Los Angeles. The
extra brainpower may compensate for any loss of brain cells because of a
disease process such as Alzheimer's.
The "use it or lose it" theory of successful aging has yet to be proven
scientifically, says Bill Thies of the Alzheimer's Association in Chicago.
Still this is one time the experts aren't waiting for proof: Thies, Small
and Verghese all recommend building fun, mentally challenging activities
into daily life.
Having fun won't hurt and it might ultimately offer a hedge against
Alzheimer's, Small says:
"Keep your brain active and you may protect yourself against future memory
loss."
Looking forward to our next music jam in Sept. - Scott 
