Around the world, millions of people suffer from Alzheimer's disease and that number is rising. As researchers search for ways to treat the condition, we slowly get to know more about it.

Scientists recently published a paper in the journal neurology suggesting that keeping your brain active could defer Alzheimer's dementia for five years on average. In this article, we will discuss what the scientists found out.

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In short, it turns out that besides factors such as getting a healthy amount of sleep and maintaining good oral health, it may also be beneficial to perform mental gymnastics at a later age by playing puzzle games and writing letters.

Alzheimer: how to prevent

"The good news is that it's never too late to start doing the kinds of inexpensive, accessible activities we looked at in our study," said study author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. "Our findings suggest it may be beneficial to start doing these things, even in your 80s, to delay the onset of Alzheimer's dementia."

The terms Alzheimer's disease and dementia are often confused for one another. If you are wondering what Alzheimer's disease and dementia actually are, we suggest reading our article: What is the difference between Alzheimer's disease and dementia? Where neuropsychologist Chloë Verhagen explains the subject in a detailed manner.

Wilson and his partners studied a group of almost 2000 people of old age (averaging 80 years old) for an extended period of time. At the start of the study, none of them showed signs of dementia. During the duration of the study, the participants received yearly checkups, in which cognitive abilities were monitored and compared to previous states. On average, participants were followed for seven years.

In addition to the yearly cognitive checkups, participants were asked how often they read books and how often they played games like checkers, puzzles, and card games on a scale of one to five. These numbers were then compared to those that were given at the start of the research.

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In the follow-up period, 457 people with an average age of 89 were diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. Individuals with the highest levels of activity, on average, developed dementia at age 94. The people with the least cognitive activity, on average, developed dementia at age 89, a difference of five years. The results were comparable when researchers corrected for other circumstances that could influence dementia risk, like education level and sex.

To examine the concept that low cognitive exercise may be an early indication of dementia, not the other way around, researchers also studied the brains of 695 people who died during the study. Brain tissue was examined for markers of Alzheimer's, but no relationship was discovered between how active they were cognitively and markers of Alzheimer's disease and associated disorders in their brains.

According to Wilson, the study indicates that people who engage in more cognitively stimulating activities may delay the age at which they develop dementia. He adds that it is crucial to note, after they accounted for late-life cognitive activity, neither education nor early life cognitive activity was associated with the age at which a person developed Alzheimer's dementia.

As stated by Wilson, the study implies that the connection between cognitive exercise and the age at which a person developed dementia is mostly driven by the activities one does later in life.

IIt is important to note that this study was done on a homogeneous group of people and that further research needs to be done on a more diverse group to reinforce its findings further.

To get a better grasp of the study, be sure to check out the details of the paper via the link listed below. We will also add some additional links that you may find interesting regarding the subject of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

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