Proof That Brain 'Work-Outs' in Middle Age Can Stave Off Dementia

Reading, taking up hobbies and getting involved in arts and crafts in late middle-age can help prevent or delay memory loss later in life, research has shown.

It also suggested that people who watched television for fewer than seven hours a day in later years were 50 percent less likely to develop memory loss than people who watched for more than seven hours.

The study found that during later years, reading books, playing games, participating in computer activities and doing craft activities, led to a 30 to 50 percent decrease in the risk of developing memory loss compared to people who did not do those activities.

It revealed people who participated in social activities and read magazines during middle age were about 40 percent less likely to develop memory loss.

The results add scientific weight to the long-held belief that remaining active both mentally and physically later in life is one of the keys to maintaining good health.

The findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st annual meeting in Seattle, in April.

"This study is exciting because it demonstrates that aging does not need to be a passive process. By simply engaging in cognitive exercise, you can protect against future memory loss," said the study author Yonas Geda, a neuropsychiatrist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The study involved 197 people between the ages of 70 and 89 with mild cognitive impairment, or diagnosed memory loss, and 1,124 people that age with no memory problems.