For most of his adult life Jack Yampolsky has been a numbers guy, but his life took a different turn when he started writing, and at the age of 81 he published his first book, a novel called Boardwalk Story.
Because so many boomers and older are worried about maintaining their brain power, a burgeoning industry of "brain fitness" products is flourishing. In fact, according to a 2010 survey by AARP, boomers are more concerned about keeping their mental abilities than running out of money. Exercises, games, and classes that promise to keep memory loss at bay, improve your attention span, and help you become productive, are feeding this industry projected to hit up to $8 billion by 2015. The problem, experts say, is that these investments may be not be worth the cost. To read more about maintaining brain health, click here.
At least we still have Oprah's magazine to console us! And this article in the latest issue does that and more as it provides research and observations that show how older brains trump younger ones in at least 10 areas. Among the findings are that brain cells never stop growing and continue to develop as we learn new skills; older adults make smarter money decisions; and mature people have better people skills and greater clarity about feelings. It's nice to read about our assets with research to back the findings.
And yet another study...this one about the effect of brain exercises on delaying Alzheimer's raises a good news/bad news scenario. While staying mentally active in old age has been shown to slow down the onset of dementia, seniors who engage in brain "exercise" may actually have a faster rate of decline once Alzheimer's is diagnosed. This doesn't mean that a mentally stimulating lifestyle is a bad thing. But, it points to the "cost" of delaying Alzheimer's by keeping the mind active with hobbies, reading, and other stimulating activities. To learn more about this finding, click here.
