![]() ![]() Theodore Zanto, director of the UC San Francisco Neuroscape‘s Neuroscience Division, told me that 20 participants played a word search game for 20 minutes each day on a tablet, and 20 more played a game that required them to remember and repeat a musical rhythm. One more argument for the benefits of music comes from a small short-term memory study that tested adults between 60 and 80. “You cannot make a musical sound without moving something,” and this taxes the brain in ways that create “new layers of connectivity.” You won’t “stave off Alzheimer’s,” Levitin said, but you might “stave off the noticeable effects of it.” “There is some possibility that physical and mental tasks in tandem are beneficial,” Levitin said. When I told him about Suttle, Levitin - who also wrote “This Is Your Brain on Music” - said it’s likely that decoding music he’d never played before was key, challenging his fingers to process complex signals from his brain. It might well be that for Suttle, having a specific goal and new social networks were as helpful to him as playing the music.ĭaniel Levitin, a musician and neuroscientist who pooh-poohs the benefits of word games in his book “Successful Aging,” told me it’s a little easier to make a case for music. But without large studies over long stretches, it’s hard to reach strong conclusions about any of this. I’d selfishly like to think it was the music that turned things around for Suttle, because I’ve been putting in time on my guitar and learning Spanish. “Plus, the art of executing these onstage in front of a packed house requires a ton of concentration,” said Suttle, who found that he no longer needed to write down his daily schedule. ![]() It got so bad that he began writing down his daily schedule so he wouldn’t miss meetings. That’s why I was particularly interested in an email from Michael Suttle, a Dana Point resident who shared a success story.īack in 2010, when he was in his late 50s, Suttle, a software salesman, ocean swimmer and trumpet player, found himself forgetting phone numbers and appointments. So avoiding those things, to the extent possible, might be more helpful than mastering Sudoku.īut as we all know, medical science has a long history of changing its mind about what’s good or bad for us, and there is no more mysterious organ in the body than the brain.Īnd although experts don’t completely understand it, the ones I spoke to said that learning new things - such as music and language - might be helpful. The 12 are excessive alcohol consumption, head injury, exposure to air pollution, lack of education, hypertension, hearing impairment, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes and infrequent social contact. Because of where we came from, a brisk off-trail walk in the woods is better for us than a stroll through a park, Grafton said, and “the cognitive challenge in the former drives brain health in profound ways.” Going back 75,000 years, he said, they had to solve tough physical and social challenges to survive. Scott Grafton, a UC Santa Barbara neuroscientist and author of “ Physical Intelligence ,” says humans did not evolve in order to sit around playing word games. But “a healthy lifestyle involves physical and cognitive activities, period.”ĭr. Claudia Kawas, who initiated a long-term study of Laguna Woods residents 90 and older. ![]() “Everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, if I do crossword puzzles, or oh, if I eat blueberries,’” said UC Irvine neuroscientist Dr. In fact, exercise, a heart-healthy diet, social engagement, good sleep habits and general physical health were cited by a half-dozen specialists I interviewed about keys to mental acuity. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. ![]()
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