Exercise your brain during Adult Learners’ Week

Exercise your brain during Adult Learners’ Week

Keeping your brain active into old age is one of the best things you can do to help reduce your risk of dementia, says Alzheimers New Zealand, who are encouraging people of all ages to try a new activity during Adult Learners’ Week, 6-12 September.

A recent study from the Oxford University Press medical journal, Brain found that for every extra year of education, the risk of developing dementia was reduced by 11 percent. The study found that education either protected or provided resilience against changes in the brain related to dementia.

Research from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in May last year suggested people are also less likely to develop dementia if they work beyond retirement age. According to the study, the intellectual stimulation older people can get from the workplace increases mental ability, helping to prevent the onset of dementia.

Alzheimers New Zealand spokesperson Cass Alexander says while people might think about their physical health as important as they age, mental stimulation is equally important. She says retiring from work should not mean an end to learning. There are hundreds of community based learning opportunities available throughout New Zealand. Many of these are being promoted during Adult Learners’ Week.

“Learning throughout your whole life, for example a new skill or language, is really important to maintain cognitive function which in turn can help to reduce your risk of dementia. Often, activities which require learning a new skill also involve other people, so at the same time you are using your brain, you are also engaging in social relationships which can reduce depression and isolation, which are also risk factors for dementia.”

For more information about Adult Learners’ Week events - www.adultlearnersweek.org.nz

For more information about Alzheimers New Zealand - www.alzheimers.org.nz

ENDS