Tall Tales Help the Memory

Here's a neat way to keep those mental gears churning -- keep telling your life story.

A pilot study appearing in the International Journal of Anti-Aging Medicine says adult memory and cognitive powers can be improved by telling life stories -- tall tales included -- to children and grandchildren.

Study author Dr. Robert Goldman, author of "Brain Fitness, Anti-Aging Strategies for Achieving Super Mind-Power," used techniques from the book to coordinate a series of life memory interviews between seniors and their children and grandkids.

The structured interview questions led participants to recall the first decade of their lives up to the present. After the interviews, they were retested for memory and cognitive skills.

Goldman says the interview subjects demonstrated significant improvement in long-term memory. Additionally, the process forged emotional bonds characterizing a "therapeutic relationship with powerful implications."