Dementia is one of the things that is often associated with a senior person displaying decreased mental activity. But recently, a new study suggests that going back to school will lessen the risk of having dementia.
According to the research, taking college courses can help the seniors improve their brain functions such as memorizing, planning and decision making. The head of the research team Miss Megan Lenehan at the University of Tasmania in Australia stated in a press release that the study they did is amusing since it just proves that there's no wrong time in maximizing the memory ability of one's brain. She also said that they're going to follow the participants as they take on the college lessons and observe them for any possible indications of dementia. They are also hoping that by doing so, they will be able to remove or reduce its damages at least.
The research study, which is now published in the journal called "Neuropsychology" started with more than 350 participants that have no dementia. The study subjects whose ages range from 50 to 79, then took various tests that had something to do with their thinking and memory. After that, they are required to complete a 1 year full-time or part-time course work at the University of Tasmania. The research team did further studies on older participants and will make annual evaluations on them for the next 3 years.
After the study, the research team found out that at least 92 percent of the people who took up college courses experienced a boost in brain areas such as memory and decision-making. Meanwhile, 56 percent of the participants who are in a control group also increased their mental activity. However, the researchers found out that the remaining 8 percent of the participants who took up college courses remained on the same level, unlike the other 44 percent of the control group.
Miss Lenahan also commented that there's a huge possibility that any sort of activity that has something to do with brain stimulation such as educational classes or social interaction can help the seniors enhance their cognitive capacity, thus preventing dementia to corrupt them.
