Exercising is almost second nature for many who add a cardiovascular workout into their day, or for those who pound the pavement during their lunch hour. We know the benefits of a physical workout on both our bodies and minds, how it maintains good health and mental wellbeing – but how might we keep our minds sharp?
“Exercising in general will help to keep your brain and body in healthier shape than it otherwise would be without that cardiovascular workout,” says Dr Damien Lowry, chartered member of the Psychological Society of Ireland. “Physical exercise helps by promoting cardiovascular health and blood flow, which includes nutrient delivery to the brain as well as the body.
“It also helps to reduce inflammation and hormones associated with stress, whilst also stimulating positive endorphins and cultivating a broader sense of wellbeing.”
If strengthening our core has such positive benefits, is it safe to say that routinely completing the cryptic crossword might keep our minds healthy too? As people age, cognitive function begins to decline. In fact, this happens a lot earlier than some may realise. Slight memory lapses, such as recalling names, numbers and places, can occur in a person’s 20s. Learning something new can take longer as we age, and multitasking becomes more difficult.
So, what does the science say?
Are we better off learning a new language or stimulating our minds with tricky word puzzles? Is one brain teaser better than another, or do they make any difference at all?
Does exercising your brain help to keep it in shape, sharpen your cognitive skills, and boost your memory?
Well, unsurprisingly, there is no definitive answer, yet.
Science is still learning about the brain. Researchers have found positive results, but others have found none. There is too little consistency between studies to be conclusive, because what works for one person may not work for another. What we do know, however, is that the longer we focus on a specific brain exercise, the better we become at it. As a result, how our brains function during the continual practice and repetitive nature of brain exercises can aid a person’s sharpness, memory, and responses.
Researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi, Texas A & M University and Indiana University reviewed the records of 5,932 people aged over 50, monitoring them for eight years through phone interviews and self-reported surveys. This was part of a larger Health and Retirement study. The participants all had mild cognitive dysfunction. The researchers found that those who participated in high-level cognitively stimulating activities such as reading, writing and playing chess exhibited higher levels of cognitive function when compared to those who engaged less often in brain-stimulating activities.
“Many of these brain-exercising options, such as crosswords, sudoku, puzzles, reading books or the newspaper, learning a language, learning a musical instrument, social clubs, taking up dancing etc, all help to maintain a healthy level of brain functioning,” says Dr Lowry. “Remember, the brain is the command centre for the body and mind, so it’s very much in our interests and hobbies to maintain its wellbeing – particularly if we wish to retain a good quality of life into our later years.”
Dr Lowry explains that these activities are often called “modifiable risk factors” which play a role against the risk of developing cognitive or physical decline as we age. “They help to reduce the risk of developing health conditions which might include neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia,” he says. “We can choose to reduce our risk of health problems in later life, which is great. It’s a no-brainer, no pun intended.”
While there are likely to be positive effects when engaging in stimulating your brain, Dr Lowry notes that it’s important not to overstate the benefits of these efforts. While these activities are within our control and can have a benefit, biology and genetics will play their own significant part in how we age.
“All of the different forms of brain exercise help to maintain our level of functioning,” says Dr Lowry, “possibly even expanding it in some cases, but it’s important to say that health-promoting behaviour only gets you so far. Sometimes biology, genetics or acquired injury or disease can be difficult, if not impossible, to counteract or offset.”
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With so many options to engage in a little bit of brain training, one might wonder if it’s worth spending more time on reading than writing, whether crosswords are more taxing on the brain than sudoku, or perhaps learning a language creates better results than an instrument? In essence, the answer is to suit your needs and interests.
“It depends on what you do, but in a sense, it’s not so much what you choose to do so long as you commit to doing it,” Dr Lowry advises. “That’s why it’s important for people to decide for themselves what they’d like to do or challenge themselves with. One person’s mindfulness practice is another person’s bingo. The central point here is that we keep ourselves occupied and maintain as active a life, physically and mentally, as is appropriate for us and our individual circumstances. By doing so, we promote and maintain health across physical and mental domains.”
A person’s individual interests will mean that maintaining their commitment in pursuing an activity will be a lot easier. If math is not your thing, a sudoku puzzle might be the last thing you feel connected to, while the strategic nature of playing chess can be more appealing. For others, playing keyboard in their local choir might be the level of brain engagement they need to challenge their minds routinely. Identifying that appealing hobby or skill that challenges your mind will cultivate that routine needed to encourage consistency across memory, attention, and cognitive processing speed. In all, training our brain can lead to a slower decline.
“I don’t think any particular activity or exercise task is the issue,” says Dr Lowry, “it’s more about what type of activity the person is likely to commit to and keep going with. That might be physical exercise for one person, or it might be online chess for another. There is no shortage of options. Pick one and commit yourself.”
