Writing this column has taken me somewhat longer than usual as I forced myself to type with just the index finger on my left hand.
Strange as it may seem, this was a futile attempt at staving off the onset of old age.
I say “futile attempt” because by the time I had laboriously picked out individual letters, then gone over the article many times to correct spelling and missed punctuation, I was completely worn out, crabby, and in need of a stiff drink.
My experiment was conducted on the back of several recent studies saying that for everyone over 50 – and especially for those over 60 – exercising your brain is as important as exercising your body if you want to stay fit and active.
One study, from the American Academy of Neurology, claims that brain exercises may well delay the onset of dementia. They took a group of older people who did not have dementia and gave them six daily tasks such as crossword puzzles, playing cards or board games.
Over a five year period they found that memory loss became greater in those who either gave up, or only did the tasks occasionally. For those who kept the exercises up, their minds remained sharper.
The Americans, of course, have a plethora of websites dedicated to brain exercises, with a seemingly endless queue of people happy to share their experiences on line.
I came across one post left by the wife of a 52 year old Californian man who has been exercising his brain for six months. She writes:”He has been really disciplined. He works out every morning before he goes to work.”
Sitting in your jim-jams doing the crossword over breakfast doesn’t sound like too much of a work out to me.
But I was more intrigued by the concept I found on another site which said that you can physically exercise your brain by doing things different to normal. They suggested brushing your teeth left handed (assuming you are right handed of course), but that was just weird, and left me with dribble down my shirt.
They also suggested doing everyday things while standing on one leg. I tried stirring a cup of coffee and peeling a banana (not at the same time) but felt seasick so I gave up.
Which is how I came to be typing this article with one finger of my left hand.
Far from leaving me feeling younger, it just took a very long time and made me very frustrated – probably raising my blood pressure and running the risk of damaging a knuckle with so many thumps on the keyboard.
I can see the logic in trying to keep your brain sharp. I mean, no-one wants to forget how to tie their shoelaces or where they parked the car.
I guess that’s why there has been such a huge rise in popularity of the Nintendo DS “brain trainer” among the 50+ group. I bought one for my wife at Christmas but have since taken against it as it said my brain age was 77 the first time I used it.
And anyway, surely whatever good you do your brain by sitting in front of computer games for hours on end is undone by the amount of eyestrain, repetitive strain injury and cramp you give yourself?
If we must go down the brain exercising route, let’s be sociable and do it together. Bring back pub quizzes I say. Although I suppose that might be a bit counter productive as the brain cells invigorated by said quiz are just as likely to be killed off by the accompanying glass or three of wine!
Or why not combine brain and body exercise? Go out for a good brisk walk and count things. Preferably several different things at once and try to keep the tallies in your head. When I walk to the station every morning I count lorries and rabbits – sometimes buses as well but there aren’t many of them around early in the morning.
I’m not sure it’s doing me any good though as I sometimes get so involved in trying to decide whether or not I’ve double counted the rabbits in a field that I miss some of the lorries and then I have to start again....should I be worried about this?
My view is that while crosswords and Sudoku may be fun, they shouldn’t have to carry the burden of preventing us all sliding into old age with all the filing cabinets in our head locked tight.
Surely it is better to get out there and live life to the full for as long as we possibly can and keep adding to the memory banks rather than locking them away.
We are all living longer – and we are all going to have to work for longer – so let’s make the most of it while we can.
George Bernard Shaw had the right attitude to ageing. I’m paraphrasing here, but he said: “The harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.....I want to be thoroughly used up before I die.”
• Dick Lumsden is Managing Director of Senioragency, one of the few companies specialising in marketing and advertising to the 50+ group. If you have any views, or are over 50 and would like to take part in occasional consumer research, please contact him on dlumsden@senioragency.co.uk or sign up on his website at www.senioragency.co.uk
