You can stay sharp by exercising your brain. A compelling example of someone who stayed sharp with mental exercise is Dr. Richard Wetherill. He was a retired university lecturer and accomplished chess aficionado. He was able to always see eight moves ahead while playing. In early 2001, he noticed that he could only see five moves ahead, and became concerned. He decided to see a neurologist. But, he passed all the neurological tests with flying colors, and showed normal brain scans. There was no indication of any dementia.
Two years later, Dr. Wetherill died of an unrelated cause, and an autopsy revealed advanced-stage Alzheimer’s. The level of physical damage found in his brain would have left most individuals cognitively nonfunctional. Yet the only impact for Dr. Wetherill was that he wasn’t able to play chess at the highest level anymore. From all indications, Dr. Wetherill’s mental exercise routine kept him from showing any substantial cognitive decline.
Several studies seem to agree with this idea that individuals who participate in more complex mental activities (greater education, more cognitively demanding occupations, or more cognitively engaging lifestyle activities) show fewer cognitive symptoms for a given level of disease (Scarmeas 2003; Stern 1992; Stern 1995). These studies also reveal that there are systematic increases in brain activity in some areas of the brain in these individuals. This increase in brain activity suggests that there may be a mechanism in the brain network that potentially counteracts the effects of disease and “wear and tear” on the brain.
This provides much optimism that staying mentally active can improve cognitive health and potentially counter the effects of diseases like Alzheimer’s. You don’t have to play competitive chess to stay mentally active. Participating in our brain training program can keep you mentally active and provide the accompanying benefits.