A lifetime of engaging with language and the written word – including reading books, writing, and learning languages – could be one of the best ways to keep your mind sharp and delay or prevent dementia, according to a new study.
The study, from a team at Rush University Medical Center in the U.S., found that decades filled with these activities could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by as much as 38 percent, and reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment by as much as 36 percent.
That’s comparing participants who scored highest on the cognitive enrichment scale with those who scored the lowest, in a sample group of 1,939 individuals. Participants had an average age of 80 at the start of the study, and their health was tracked for an average of almost eight years.
“Our study looked at cognitive enrichment from childhood to later life, focusing on activities and resources that stimulate the mind,” says neuropsychologist Andrea Zammit.
“Our findings suggest that cognitive health in later life is strongly influenced by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments.”
The participants were asked about their habits at age 12, at age 40, and at their current age. The questions covered activities like reading books, visiting libraries and museums, learning foreign languages, and using dictionaries.
The data showed that the highest amount of lifelong learning and enrichment could delay Alzheimer’s disease by five years and mild cognitive impairment by seven years, on average.
The researchers also analysed brain tissue from participants who died during the study period. There were signs that the brains of those with higher childhood enrichment scores had a certain level of protection against the protein build-up associated with Alzheimer’s.
In addition, data were gathered on socioeconomic status (SES), to see if this might be influencing the rate of cognitive decline – something that’s been seen in previous research. However, the enrichment activity benefit seems to work independently.
“Our findings indicate that cognitive enrichment is not simply a proxy for socioeconomic advantage,” write the researchers in their published paper.
“Although SES and access to resources showed modest independent associations with late-life cognition, the enrichment composites also captured sustained behavioural engagement in intellectual activities across the life-course beyond SES effects.”
While the study shows a strong association between lifetime cognitive enrichment and dementia, it doesn’t prove cause and effect – that keeping your nose in a book throughout the years will definitely make you less likely to develop cognitive problems.
We know neurological problems are affected by a whole host of risk factors, including sleep schedules and exercise levels. What’s more, this study relied on people’s power of recall when it came to remembering their reading and writing habits from earlier in their lives.
Despite these limitations, this is further evidence of a strong relationship between keeping mentally active – in this case, through processing words and language – and lowering the chances of dementia.
It’s also a relationship that makes logical sense, and one that fits in with previous studies.
“Our findings are encouraging, suggesting that consistently engaging in a variety of mentally stimulating activities throughout life may make a difference in cognition,” says Zammit.
“Public investments that expand access to enriching environments, like libraries and early education programs designed to spark a lifelong love of learning, may help reduce the incidence of dementia.”
The research has been published in Neurology.
SOURCE: Science Alert
