Modern medical science has shown that playing Scrabble or other “thinking” board games has many health benefits. No matter what your age, “mind sports” like Scrabble have been shown to be especially beneficial for many aspects of human mental health.
At the simpler and more obvious end of the spectrum, the social aspects of Scrabble and other board games can be a preventative or even treatment for loneliness, depression, and social phobia.
At the other end of the spectrum, a study from the University of Southern California and published in the respected “Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences” shows that mentally stimulating recreational activities in early and middle adulthood are strongly associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. in adulthood.
A similar study conducted by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health in 2002 studied 700 people without dementia aged 65 and older over a period of 4.5 years. It compared the level of active cognitive activities regularly performed by study participants, such as card games, checkers, crossword puzzles, book reading and museum visits. The NIH concluded that those with the highest levels of cognitive activities in their lifestyle had a 47% lower risk of future Alzheimer’s disease than those with the lowest levels of cognitive activities in their lives. lifestyles.
A 2008 study from the University of NSW published in the renowned journal “Public Library of Science” adds that, in addition to Alzheimer’s disease, the onset of other degenerative brain diseases such as Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease can also be delay or prevent with these forms. of mental activity. It found that a brain region known as the hippocampus, known to shrink with age and particularly with these three degenerative brain diseases, has only half the rate of shrinkage in people engaged in active mental tasks as in those with low levels of stimulation. mental.
The evidence suggests a “use it or lose it” basis for human cognitive health.
If it’s too late for prevention, research from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center that has been published in the “Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry” still has some encouraging news. They have shown that computer-based and Internet-based mental stimulation activities, such as games, may play a useful role in conjunction with medication in improving cognitive function in Alzheimer’s patients. That’s another plus for Scrabble, whose various Internet versions have made the game one of the most popular online today.
Regardless of Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, cognitive decline is a very common phenomenon as we age. Medical research clearly teaches us that keeping the brain active with puzzles, games, study, and the like is an effective method of slowing the rate of age-related cognitive decline. Furthermore, the earlier in life one begins to regularly engage in these brain-active games and activities, the longer it takes before any cognitive decline begins.
The lesson is clear. Play Scrabble and other brain games regularly to improve and maintain your overall mental health throughout life and to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of age-related cognitive decline in later life.
