How to Keep an Aging Mind Sharp: Learning New Skills Helps the Brain

Want to keep your mind sharp? Then you'd better use it. Older adults are often encouraged to stay active and engaged to keep their brains in shape. Now, though, scientists have discovered that only certain activities are likely to improve cognitive functioning. The findings could allow older adults to better target what activities they engage in.

"It seems it is not enough just to get out and do something--it is important to get out and do something that is unfamiliar and mentally challenging, and that provides broad stimulation mentally and socially," said Denise Park one of the researchers, in a news release. "When you are inside your comfort zone you may be outside of the enhancement zone."

In order to learn a little bit more about what activities can help keep a mind sharp, the researchers randomly assigned 221 adults, ages 60 to 90, to engage in a particular type of activity for 15 hours per week over the course of three months. Some of these volunteers were assigned to learn a new skill--digital photography, quilting, or both--which required active engagement and tapped working memory, long-term memory and other high-level cognitive processes. The other participants were instructed to engage in more familiar activities at home, such as listening to classical music and completing word puzzles.

So what did they find? At the end of three months, the researchers discovered that the adults who were productively engaged in learning new skills showed improvements in memory compared to those who engaged in social activities or non-demanding mental activities at home.

"The findings suggest that engagement alone is not enough," said Park in a news release. "The three learning groups were pushed very hard to keep learning more and mastering more tasks and skills. Only the groups that were confronted with continuous and prolonged mental challenge improved."

The research is particularly useful for aging individuals who want to keep their mind sharp. This study reveals exactly what activities will help them accomplish just that. Currently, the scientists plan to follow up with the participants one year and five years down the road in order to see if the effects remain over the long term.

"This is speculation, but what if challenging mental activity slows the rate at which the brain ages?" said Park in a news release. "Every year that you save could be an added year of high quality life and independence."

The findings are published in the journal Psychological Science.