Modest 'mental exercise' can reduce risk of dementia for decades, study finds
NPR • • health
Key Points:
- A study involving over 2,800 older adults found that 10 hours of cognitive speed training, plus booster sessions, reduced the risk of Alzheimer's and other dementias by about 25%, with effects lasting 20 years.
- The cognitive speed training, which challenges the brain to process information quickly, was shown to have a long-term protective impact, unlike memory or reasoning exercises.
- BrainHQ, an online program used by participants like George Kovach, offers this type of training, which becomes progressively more challenging to enhance brain function.
- Researchers suggest that this training promotes implicit learning and brain plasticity, rewiring the brain similarly to learning automatic skills like riding a bike.
- An ongoing NIH-funded PACT study with over
