Letters Remain

Tag: dementia

  • More on the Cognitive Benefits of Moderate Exercise

    “There is overwhelming evidence that exercise produces large cognitive gains and helps fight dementia”, says the Harvard University psychologist John Ratey, author of the 2008 book on the subject, Spark. While Ratey propounds the “very clear” link between exercise and mental acuity, saying that even moderate exercise pushes back cognitive decline by “anywhere from 10…

  • Bilingualism and Dementia

    I’ve noted previously how child bilingualism improves the “executive functions” and aĀ recent study has corroborated these findings while also discoveringĀ how bilingualism can stave off dementia in old age: [Psychologist Ellen Bailystok] wanted to explore whether enhanced executive control actually has a protective effect in mental agingā€”specifically, whether bilingualism contributes to the “cognitive reserve” that comes…

  • Social Cognition and Staving Off Dementia

    A longitudinal study of health and mental lucidity in the agedā€”focusing on the huge retirement community of Laguna Woods Village south of Los Angelesā€”is starting to show some results. From studying members of the so-called ‘super memory club’ (people aged 90+ with near-perfect cognitive abilities) it is being suggested that not all mental activities are…

  • The Nun Study

    The ‘Nun Study’ is a longitudinal study of ageing and Alzheimer’sĀ that uses data gathered from over 600 nuns over the past 20+ years. Some interesting correlates are starting to appear: The nuns make for a very unique population to study [ā€¦] because of their similar lifestyles. “They don’t smoke, they don’t drink, so you can…