From eNewsletter 12/26/2019
DID YOU KNOW that if your physician does not recommend some form of complementary health approach, they are in the minority?
According to a study done by government researchers publishing in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, more than half of office-based physicians recommend at least one complementary health approach to their patients.
Female physicians recommended them at a higher rate than male physicians. The therapies included were massage therapy, vitamin supplements, chiropractic/osteopathic manipulation, yoga, acupuncture, mind-body therapies, naturopathic treatment, and hypnosis.
BRAIN GAME EXERCISES DO WORK
Bonnie and Steve: Playing games like cards, chess, bingo or crosswords may protect against cognitive decline and even boost cognitive function in seniors, new research from Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences suggests.
Also known as analog games, among individuals in their 70s, those who played more games experienced less decline in memory and other cognitive measures compared to their counterparts who either did not play games or who played fewer games.
The researchers used data from the a sample of 1091 initially healthy individuals born in 1936. At age 11 years, these participants received a group-administered intelligence test, which included word classification, proverbs, spatial items, and arithmetic.
Decades later, these same participants, free of dementia and cognitive impairment, received cognitive and health testing at age 70, 73, 76, and 79.
Regardless of IQ, playing more games was associated with higher cognitive function. Those who played every day had the highest cognitive function at the end of the study.
The authors suggest playing games can be seen as one facet in a healthy lifestyle that consists of other behavioral modifications a person can make, such as getting more exercise, not smoking, not drinking to excess, and eating healthier foods might be beneficial for healthy cognitive aging.
In another study from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, online brain game exercises were found to enable people in their 70s and even 80s to multitask cognitively as well as individuals 50 years their junior.
NEW YEAR'S EVE SIDE DISH
This article is reserved for NCI Well Connect Members. You can get this article by signing up here. You can get our free eNewsletter by signing up at the top of our website.
Comentarios