Senior News Line
Brain training works
By MATILDA CHARLES

There have been a number of studies that show how "brain stretcher" exercises can improve cognitive abilities, but none have shown these exercises actually carry over to help in everyday life - until now.

ACTIVE, a seven-year study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows without a doubt that training to specifically sharpen the human brain has long-lasting effects and carries over into improved daily functioning. What's key about this study is that it not only relied on what the participants reported about their lives, but there was testing with specific and measurable results. Also key is that this study was a formal clinical trial financed by the National Institute on Aging.

The study involved training in three different areas - memory, reasoning and speed of processing information - over a five-week period. There was a control group that received no training. Each participant received 10 training sessions, and then booster sessions 11 and 35 months later. Only 10 percent of the training focused on daily living skills, yet it carried over to improved performance with demanding tasks such as dealing with finances, using the phone, shopping and meal preparation.

The people in the study were a good cross-section of adults. Some lived in senior housing, some in their own homes, some were referred from clinics and hospitals. All lived independently. The youngest was 65.

The improvement of cognitive ability was immediate during training. At the end of the five-year study, all three groups had retained their improved cognitive ability. All three groups reported less difficulty with daily living skills than the control group that had no training.

But it was the speed-ofprocessing training that gave the best overall, long-term results, and those who had booster training along the way fared even better - 300 percent better than the control group.

The bottom line: You CAN delay cognitive slowdown!

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions. Do not send any material requiring return mail. Write to her in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853-6475, or send e-mail to letters.kfws@hearstsc.com.

(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.