“As we age, we grow younger and younger,” says 91-year-old Samuel George, a virologist and resident of Kochi, Kerala, who loves gardening, cooking, and trying new recipes in his kitchen. As we grow older, our brain grows and evolves in response to our experiences – a process known as brain plasticity or neuroplasticity for which the brain needs to be trained regularly. Experts say that brain exercises are helpful for the elderly in order to keep their brain healthy and active.
“My days are always busy and I keep myself engaged,” says George, who is keen on learning new things and loves socialising. “I spend one and a half hour reading newspapers, followed by gardening, cooking, walking, watching daily news and reading books. I don’t like to sit idle. I meet people in our community, interact with them and have meaningful conversations with them,” he says.
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Dr Naganath Narasimhan Prem, chief consultant, Geriatric Medicine/Elder Care specialist physician, Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, Mumbai, points out that the brain must remain productive and it can easily get bored. “There is no age for learning and by learning more, the brain remains active and healthy,” says Dr Prem.
How does brain training help?
Brain activities encourage the formation of new connections between neurons (nerve cells) and may even encourage the growth of new brain cells that enhances neurological “plasticity”, thereby creating a functional reserve which acts as a buffer against further cell loss, says Dr Chekuri Murali, consultant neurologist, Manipal Hospital, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
He says that brain training can strengthen neural connections which can help one’s brain to better understand and process incoming information.
Just how lifting weights builds muscle over time, brain training builds more neural connections by targeting and enhancing the weak cognitive areas, where problems with thinking, learning, reading, memory or concentration arise, says Dr Murali. “This can be achieved by practicing certain techniques, which develop stronger neural connections when done regularly,” he explains.
He further adds, “The more one performs these brain exercises, the quicker will their memory and attention span improve as they will develop their cognitive strength.”
How to train your brain?
Dr Prem told Happiest Health that the activities could be as simple as brushing with the left hand (non-dominant) instead of the right or vice versa as it stimulates the brain and improves brain health. He says that activities like gardening, art, music, meditation (which relives stress) and taking up new skills help in stimulating the brain.
“Thinking abilities are less likely to decline when people maintain an active mind. Therefore, brain training exercises like games and puzzles may slow down memory loss and other mental issues,” says Dr Murali.
He says that being cognitively engaged during the beginning likely strengthened the brain, delaying the symptoms of neurological complications.
“The plus side in this situation is that even if they do develop Alzheimer’s, people who routinely stretch their minds may experience less time in a bad state,” he adds.
Dr Prem further says that simple activities like cooking and trying new recipes help a lot as they need to keep the recipes in their mind and experiment with it. “Learning new languages and playing games like scrabble, sudoku, chess, cards, etc. have also shown improvement of brain health,” adds Dr Prem.
Pick your interests
Dr Prem says that it must be an activity that a person is interested in but finds challenging at the same time. Stating an example, he says, if somebody wants to do Sudoku but isn’t interested in it, then it becomes difficult as he/she might develop negativity towards it which will not help.
In George’s case, he was interested in gardening and cooking while his wife, Rani George, was interested in playing cards and tambola. “Both of us love to keep ourselves engaged but we have different interests. I love reading novels while my husband is interested in reading the news,” says Mrs George.
She says that both of them love to socialise and engage in community meets and parties. “I play games with my friends, while my husband has deep discussions on political developments and current affairs with his friends,” she says.
Dr Murali says, “One can play board games with their kids or grandkids. They can also get their friends together for a weekly game of cards and even mix it up by trying new games. The extra bonus of these activities are the social connections which also help one’s brain.”
He adds that any new activity one chooses should include three aspects in order to maximise brain training: difficulty, complexity, practice. “Brain training should ideally start from two years of age, but if we talk about elderly people, it’s never too late or too early,” he says.
Takeaways
Experts recommend the following brain training exercises to keep it healthy and active as one gets older:
- Learn something new, like a second language or a musical instrument.
- Work on crosswords, numbers or other kinds of puzzles.
- Play online memory or video games.
- Read, write or sign up for local adult education classes.
