HHS HealthBeat (September 16, 2010)

Bodies, computers and brains

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

Computer use and moderate exercise seem to be good signs for brain health. At the Mayo Clinic, researcher Yonas Geda examined data on 926 people ages 70 through 90. He was looking for signs of mild cognitive impairment, or MCI – a reduction in thinking ability that may be a warning of Alzheimer’s disease.

People who reported biking or using a computer were less likely to have MCI. Doing both was even better:

"Moderate physical exercise, such as biking and brisk walking – and mental activity, particularly computer activity, have a joint, potentially beneficial, effect." (11 seconds)

The study presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

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

Last revised: November 21, 2011