Train your brain

Aging brains always slow down. True or false?

False, experts say.

A healthy human brain can stay active and healthy throughout the life span, recent studies show.

“When I was in college I was told our brains had a set number of cells, and when they were gone, they were gone. That thinking has now been totally reversed,” said Ruth Blough, a 59-year-old technical writing teacher at Chattanooga State Technical Community College.

Any activity that challenges the brain stimulates cell growth, creates new cells and increases connections between cells, she added.

In her early 50s, Mrs. Blough researched how to keep her brain alert.

Today, she teaches mental aerobics for the college’s continuing-education division.

Puzzles, games, Sudoku, studying a language, varying your routine and playing table tennis are typical class exercises, Mrs. Blough said.

The only uncomfortable activity for some folks might be the “nondominant hand” exercise, she added.

Trying using your nondominant hand (left for right-handers, right for left-handers) to open doors, stir cake batter or brush your teeth.

Switching to the unfamiliar hand gets those neurons firing, Mrs. Blough said.

Area senior centers and assisted-living facilities offer a range of mental aerobics activities, often cleverly disguised as entertainment, said St. Barnabas senior living services program director Lila Lesley.

Bingo, crossword puzzles, dominoes, trivia games and memory games are among the many activities designed to stimulate the craniums of residents.

“Nothing is worse than atrophy, physical or mental,” Ms. Lesley said. “If you don’t use what you’ve got, you’re going to lose it.”