Daily HealthBeat Tip - January 26, 2007

Mind games

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Work on your muscles, and you won’t lose as much muscle as you grow older. And it appears that the same can be said about the mind.

Researchers found this when they had people 65 and older take training in one of three areas – memory, reasoning and basically responding fast. The research in the Journal of the American Medical Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Sherry Willis of Penn State says 10 sessions of an hour or more each made a difference. Even five years later, trained people were better off than those who were not trained.

But Willis says it’s not just training – it’s doing.

"Older adults really can continue to exercise mentally and to improve their cognitive abilities. But it’s just like physical exercise. You have to do it consistently and diligently." (11 seconds)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: January, 26 2007