Top 5 Hobbies to Boost Cognitive Reserve for Seniors: It's Not Too Late to Start Building Your Brain Savings in Your 60s

It was a morning after the rain.

When I opened the window, the scent of wet trees drifted in on the breeze.

As I gazed at the garden with a cup of coffee in hand, I reflected on my recent life.

Writing on note.

Using AI.

Publishing music on YouTube.

Continuing to swim.

I am even challenging myself with unfamiliar things like monetization.

Looking back, the number of things I have started since entering my sixties has increased significantly.

If you call it busy, it is busy.

But strangely enough, I feel like my mind is working better than before.

Of course, it might just be my imagination.

So, I did a little research.

That is when I encountered the term 'Cognitive Reserve'.

Simply put, cognitive reserve is like a 'savings account for the brain'.

It is believed that even if changes occur in the brain due to aging or illness, those with greater compensatory power are more likely to maintain their cognitive functions.

When people think of dementia prevention, they might think of special supplements or brain training materials.

However, when looking into actual research, many studies focus on more accessible activities.

In fact, a 2003 study by Verghese et al. titled 'Leisure Activities and the Risk of Dementia in the Elderly,' published in the medical journal The New England Journal of Medicine, followed 469 elderly people aged 75 and older for about five years.

The results showed that people who participated more frequently in certain cognitive leisure activities, such as reading, playing board games, playing musical instruments, and dancing, tended to have a lower risk of dementia.

However, this study is an observational study and does not prove that "doing these hobbies can prevent dementia."

The conclusion of the paper is also cautious, stating that "participation in leisure activities is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, but further research is needed to prove a causal relationship."

Nevertheless, this study is very interesting.

This is because, while dementia prevention often feels like something that requires doing something special, what this study focused on were

・Reading
・Board games
・Playing musical instruments
・Dancing

which are very ordinary leisure activities.

In other words,

"using your brain"

"using your body"

"interacting with others"

It is suggested that there is significance in these activities themselves.

Source:

Verghese J, Lipton RB, Katz MJ, et al.

Leisure Activities and the Risk of Dementia in the Elderly.

The New England Journal of Medicine.

2003;348(25):2508-2516.

DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa022252

Now, using this study as a reference, I would like to consider some hobbies that are easy for the Japanese senior generation to start.

[5th Place: Go, Shogi, Mahjong]

The paper mentioned board games.

In Japan, Go, Shogi, and social mahjong would be close equivalents.

Thinking.

Memorizing.

Reading your opponent's moves.

Furthermore, it also fosters social interaction.

I believe these are excellent hobbies for stimulating the brain.

4th Place: Reading

This might be the easiest hobby to start.

Novels, history, or travelogues are all fine.

The act of reading a book is also a way to simulate experiencing someone else's life or an unknown world.

Recently, e-books have also become quite extensive.

It has become a more friendly era for those with presbyopia.

3rd Place: Music

Playing an instrument.

Choral singing.

Karaoke.

Any of these will do.

Music simultaneously engages memory, emotion, and movement.

I personally have been enjoying composing music using AI lately.

It's a hobby I never imagined having when I was young, but it uses my brain more than I expected.

No. 2: Exercise

Walking.

Swimming.

Dancing.

Anything is fine.

Moving your body makes you feel good.

You sleep better.

And above all, it is easy to keep up.

I continue to swim, and every time I learn a new swimming technique, I realize that my brain is still learning.

No. 1: Hobbies that involve learning new things

I think this is the most important one.

AI.

Computers.

Video editing.

Photography.

Foreign languages.

Blogging.

Anything is fine.

The important thing is to experience something for the first time.

The brain reacts more strongly to new stimuli than to familiar tasks.

When you reach your sixties,

you might feel tempted to say,

"It's too late now."

However, that "too late" might actually be the best thing for your brain.

Looking at this list, I notice something a bit interesting.

These are all things I have started recently.

Note.

AI.

Composing music.

Swimming.

Trying to monetize my work.

I didn't start these to prevent dementia.

I just started them because they seemed interesting.

But as it turns out, they were activities that boost cognitive reserve.

Now that I'm in my sixties, I realize something.

Anti-aging sounds like an effort to avoid losing what you have.

But perhaps the truth is different.

Start something new.

Keep at it for a little while.

Fail a little bit.

And you improve a little.

Repeating that process becomes your brain's savings.

When you think of it that way, getting older isn't so bad after all.

#60s
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#DementiaPrevention
#SeniorLife
#Hobbies
#LifelongLearning
#AI
#Swimming
#ReignitingLife
#note