72 february 2020
The dance group practised increa-
singly intricate country-dance choreo-
graphy. Each participant learnt and
alternated between two roles for each
dance, increasing the cognitive chal-
lenge. After six months, scans showed
that while cerebral white matter (a
major factor in brain ageing) had de-
creased in the other groups, it had
actually increased in the cognitively
challenging dance group, suggesting
that activities that involve moving, so-
cializing and thinking have the poten-
tial to perk up an ageing brain.Yoga and Meditation^
If you don’t have the ability to take part
in vigorous activity, a routine of yoga
and meditation may strengthen think-
ing skills and help to stave off ageing-
related mental decline.
One study compared people who
took part in a yoga programme that
included meditation with those us-
ing memory enhancement exercises.
Those who practised yoga and medi-
tation did better on a test of visuospa-
tial memory, a type of memory that isvital for navigating while walking or
driving and recalling locations. In re-
viewing the brain scans, researchers
found those who had practised yoga
had increased their brain connectivity
and thus had more communication
between different parts of the brain.Use Your Brain
Most of what we do to keep our bodies
fit is also good for the brain. Learning
while moving may be a potent way to
slow the effects of ageing, strengthe-
ning both the body and the mind at
the same time.Tap into Your
Inner ArtistArt can inspire an ageing body and
mind but there is evidence of the
benefit of art for ageing. A study
sorted active seniors aged 65 and
older, into an intervention group and
a control group. The control group
maintained its usual activities, the
intervention group was assigned to
an intensive community-based art