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Home
and Family
Mental Aerobics!
by Dr. Reuven Bruner, Ph.D.
The search for ways to prevent or cure Alzheimer's disease
proceeds, but without much results. A gene for the disorder
has been identified. The form of Alzheimer's caused by this
gene, however, is not the form most people get. Most people
don't get Alzheimer's or any other dementia (B"H),
though the risk does rise significantly with age, especially
after 80. Some ways for preventing Alzheimer's: Regular
exercise, consuming Vitamin B6, B12, and folic acid,
lowering your blood pressure and blood cholesterol if
they're elevated, and eating a healthy diet. None of this is
a sure thing, but they're all good ideas anyway, and they
may help prevent mental decline (be"H).
But there is another kind of exercise, the cognitive kind. A
recent, well-designed study in the New England Journal of
Medicine found that people over 75 who took part in
leisure activities such as reading, playing board games or a
musical instrument, writing, doing crossword puzzles, or
taking part in group discussions were less likely to develop
Alzheimer's. There are other studies also, indicating that
rich social networks and active leisure (mental and
physical) may forestall Alzheimer's and other forms of
mental decline.
How could this be? According to an essay by Professor J.
Coyle accompanying the study, one theory is that your mental
reserves and resources will help protect your brain if you
use them. Or perhaps mental activities requiring
concentration and effort -- like learning Torah -- actually
keep the brain supple in some way.
Studies of this kind can't prove cause and effect; they can
only identify associations and risk factors. It could be
that being mentally active is a sign of ongoing mental
health, rather than a cause of it. And not taking part in
mental exertion may be an early, subtle symptom of
Alzheimer's.
We hope that the study will prove out, and that exercising
the brain does turn out to help keep it intact. But even if
it doesn't reduce the risk of Alzheimer's, you'll benefit in
other ways.
So enjoy life by learning Torah. Attend a shiur, learn
with a chavrusa, learn with you children and
grandchildren. This is LIFE!
(c) 2005 Dr. Reuven Bruner. All Rights Reserved.
For more information contact him at: POB 1903, Jerusalem,
91314, Israel; Tel: (02) 652-7684; Mobile: 052 2865-821;
Fax: (02) 652-7227; Email: dr_bruner@hotmail.com
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