Article- Mental fitness--exercises for the brain

The good news	The decline in specific mental abilities believed to be associated with aging such as memory loss, sluggish thinking, and blocks in problem- solving are not inevitable if the brain remains challenged. In a major longitudinal study by the National Institute of Mental Health in Philadelphia, men tested at age 81 were compared with performance on the same tests they had taken at ages 75 and 70. Researchers reported that the "pattern of decline of cognitive...capabilities generally associated with advanced aging" was "neither extensive nor consistent". Other major studies on aging over the past 25 years (Svanborg and colleagues in Sweden, Duke University, and the National Institute on Aging) support the findings that "mental (and physical) decline with aging is not inevitable". Yet we have all seen elderly people who unmistakably experience mental decline as they grow older. What can be done to preserve (and enhance) mental fitness as we grow older?
Use it or lose it	Not surprisingly, the same advice that we follow to achieve physical fitness applies to mental fitness--"use it or lose it." Just as daily weight repetitions in the gym or jogging strengthen certain muscle groups, mental exercises will strengthen and enhance cognitive functions over time. Monique Le Poncin, founder of the French National Institute for Research on the Prevention of Cerebral Aging, has written a fascinating book called Brain Fitness. By identifying the various mental abilities in the human repertoire--perception, long- and short-term memory, and visuospatial, structuralization, logic, and verbal abilities-- Le Poncin has "prescribed" an exercise regimen designed to strengthen those areas that tend to become weak over the lifespan. She advocates a technique of cerebral activation, which she calls "brain fitness."
How "brain fitness" works	The goal of brain fitness is to revive certain mental abilities before they slow down. In LePoncin's own words, "Our team does not claim to work miracles. We simply develop the previously unknown fertility of land that had been lying fallow." The exercises are simple and fun to do. And, by repeating the exercises over several weeks time, real progress can be seen in a relatively short time.
Day-by-day activation	Try the following exercises when traveling to and from work, during lunch hour and breaks, or while shopping and doing housework. They take only a few moments. Combine different variations of these exercises each day. It's important to keep a record of your progress. Use a small notebook or a dated daily diary, and note especially where you seem to have problems. Then you can self-prescribe exercises in those areas where you are the weakest. Each of the following exercises is from Brain Fitness, and is categorized by the specific mental ability it is designed to strengthen.
Exercise your perceptive abilities	The goal is to exercise perception in all five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Sight. Each day, observe an object (a photograph, for example) or a person you pass on the street. Draw it (or him or her) immediately. This exercises short-term memory. At the end of the week, redraw the seven objects or persons you have observed. This exercises long-term memory Smell/Taste. When dining in a restaurant or at a friend's home, try to identify the ingredients in the dishes you are served. Concentrate on the subtle flavorings of herbs and spices. Ask the waiter or your host to verify your perceptions. Memory. Try to memorize the dishes offered on your favorite restaurant's menu. To make the exercise more challenging, memorize the prices as well. At the end of the day, recall as many of the dishes/prices as you can and write them down. Hearing. On the telephone, practice recognizing callers before they identify themselves. Then memorize callers' phone numbers. At the end of the day, write down the people you have spoken with that day, as well as their phone numbers. At the end of the week, try writing down as many of these as you can. Smell/Touch. Exercise your senses of smell and touch by trying to identify objects with your eyes closed.
Exercise your visuospatial abilities	Visuospatial abilities are related to the ability to make quick and accurate estimates of distances, areas, and volumes -- the general proportions of things and their distribution in space. Try the following: When you walk into a room with a group of people in it, try to quickly determine how many are on your right and your left, as well as the left-right distribution of furniture and other objects. Observe objects--pens, for instance--and try to estimate their length and thickness. When you have visited somewhere and then return home, try to draw a plan or map of the place you have seen. Repeat this exercise the next day and the day after.
Exercise your structuralization ability	Structuralization involves building a logical whole from disparate elements after close observation of the elements. The following exercises will strengthen this ability. Take a sentence from a magazine or newspaper. (This is a logical whole.) Try to make another sentence using the same words. Buy a jigsaw puzzle and practice fitting the pieces together as quickly as possible. Note the time it takes you to do this. Do it again a week later and note the time it takes to do it.
Exercise your logic abilities	Logic is the art of reasoning--finding an orderly sequence for disparate elements. The following exercises/activities will awaken the inherently logical being inside of you. Don't use a list when shopping. Instead, invent a system to take the place of the list. Use memory aids, such as forming a complete word, or one that can be completed by adding a certain vowel or consonant from the first letters of the words for the things you need to buy. Or, you can classify foods into raw and cooked. Or, use any other system that works for you. All games involve logical activities. Card games such as pinochle and bridge or board games of strategy such as chess or checkers are good choices. So are crossword puzzles anagrams, and other word games. Avoid playing the same games all the time. Chess players might switch to GoTM or OthelloTM, while bridge players might play whist or hearts. Playing the same game all the time leads to routine, which is the opposite of activation. The same cerebral circuits and neuronal regions are constantly used and everything else remains unused. Find new games and interests. Explore activities that are completely new to you and find new partners for old--and new--games and activities.
Exercise your verbal abilities	Verbal abilities--the precise use of spoken or written words--make demands on short-term and long-term memory. Listen to the morning news on the radio or TV. During the day, write down the main points of the news that you remember. Do the same in the evening. Whenever you meet someone, try to come up with at least one anagram of his or her name. When you see a word--any word--quickly think of others that begin with the same two letters. Each time you come to the end of a chapter in a book you are reading, imagine that you must summarize it as briefly as possible, orally or in writing, to someone who has not read it. Do the same for the whole book when you finish it.
Creating the "mentally fit" lifestyle	Le Poncin points out that doing mental exercises are not the end of mental fitness training. She stresses the importance--especially for older people--of overcoming monotony and routine in our daily lives. Monotony generates mental (and emotional) lethargy and resignation. The antidote here is to organize your life in such a way that you become involved and open yourself to others through dialogue, interaction, and confrontation. Remember--failing memory and sluggish thinking are not inevitable cohorts of aging. You have the ability to maximize your cognitive skills and enhance your older years.
Further reading	Baltes, PB and Kliege,R. On the Dynamics Between Growth and Decline in the Aging of Intelligence and Memory. In Neurology, Poech K, et al., eds. Berlin and Heidelberg; Springer-Verlag 1986 Friedan, B. The Fountain of Age. New York, NY:Simon & Schuster;1993. Groneck, S and Patterson, R. Human Aging II: An Eleven- Year Biomedical and Behavioral Study. U.S. Public Health Service Monograph (Washington, D.C.:Government Printing Office, 1971). LePoncin, M. Brain Fitness. New York, NY: Ballantine Books; 1990. Back to the articles...

Mental fitness--exercises for the brain

by Susan Tannen