With aging comes the feeling that our brains are not what they used to be. We may lose our car keys more often, leave pasta to boil over on the stove, or forget the name of a person we just met. These brain hiccups can leave us wondering if there are things we can do to stay sharp. It turns out that healthy aging doesn’t just mean moving your body. Exercising your brain is important, too!
How well our brain functions changes with age. As we get older, some functions start to decline – such as memory or the speed at which we process information (1).
Cognitive function can be divided into four main categories – each category serving a different purpose.
- Memory allows us to understand, learn, store, and remember information. Alzheimer’s disease heavily affects this part of cognitive function (2). Memory loss in an otherwise healthy individual may be an early sign of dementia (3).
- Attention allows us to focus on one specific thing and process information about it quickly (4). This process slows down as we age (5).
- Executive function allows us to organize our thoughts and act on them. It let's us set goals for the present and future, and to plan, organize, make choices, and solve problems (6).
- Visual-spatial ability allows us to understand objects in three-dimensional space (7).
Any of these areas can be affected as we grow older, but there are exercises for the brain (e.g. cognitive-based training) that may help delay this age-related brain drain (8).
What the research tells us
Cognitive-based training aims to maintain cognitive function in older adults, rather than teaching new skills. It can include many different types of activities, such as video games, physical activity, computerized training, learning therapy, visual or auditory tasks, and interactive television-based training.
A meta-analysis found cognitive-based training led to improved overall cognitive function and executive function among healthy older adults. Small gains were also observed in memory, attention, and visual-spatial ability. The training sessions lasted 20 to180 minutes and were carried out one to five days a week for two to 24 weeks. The greatest benefit to executive function occurred when cognitive-based training was done three or more times per week for 24 sessions or more, while training for eight weeks or more resulted in improvement to attention (8). A few more recent reviews on specific strategies like computerized cognitive training lasting 12 or more weeks, mobile-based cognitive training, and game-based brain training lend further support to the effectiveness of cognitive-based training for improving cognitive function (9-11).
If you’re worried about staying sharp as you age, don’t forget your brain needs “push-ups” too. Cognitive-based training may be just what you need to keep your brain in shape.
