http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/09/your-money/for-effective-brain-fitness-do-more-than-play-simple-games.html
WHEN a “brain fitness” course was introduced at her retirement community, Connie Cole was eager to sign up. After joining, she learned how to use an Apple iPad and work more complex tasks verbally and on paper.
“My father had dementia, so I’ll do anything I can,” said Ms. Cole, 86, a former elementary schoolteacher who also plays Sudoku puzzles every morning. “If I can give my kids anything, it’s to stay away from having it.”
Truth is, there is no known cure for dementia, or any evidence that exercising the brain in different ways can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s. But such classes still offer useful skills to older people and are seen as helpful by many experts in improving the overall health and quality of life for participants.
The class at her Gayton Terrace community in Richmond, Va., Ms. Cole said, has forced her to think deeper and read more. Best of all, she has learned that regular habits like exercising and laughing and socializing, including talking to strangers, are engaging and perhaps even helpful in extending her life. They certainly help make it more enjoyable.
The theory of this more holistic approach, which goes beyond reliance on popular computer-based brain games, is that the brain thrives on continuous stimulation.
“Your brain doesn’t know how old it is,” said Paul Nussbaum, president of the Brain Health Center in Pittsburgh, which helped design the program used at Gayton Terrace and other communities that are part of the Brookdale Senior Living network. “And what it wants to do is learn.”
Brain exercises should rely on novelty and complexity, he added, including board games that are played with others. All kinds of concentrated activities, like learning a foreign language or how to play a musical instrument, can be fulfilling for older people. But along with exercising and good nutrition, a brain that is fully engaged socially, mentally and spiritually is more resilient, Mr. Nussbaum argues.
The worst thing for older adults, he said, is isolation.
“We all have the ability to shape our brains for health,” Mr. Nussbaum said, “and the earlier the better.”