What’s your Wordle score? Have you completed today’s crossword, the Sudoku puzzle, Words with Friends or your newest jigsaw puzzle? If you are like many members of my family, this is the daily conversation. My parents are in their early 80s and do not want to have cognitive decline as they enjoy their day-to-day activities. Their concerns are real.
Alzheimer’s dementia affects about one in nine people over age 65, according to the Alzheimer’s Association 2024 fact sheet. My father’s mother suffered greatly from dementia, so it is a family concern. There is good news, however. Researchers in the Chicago Health and Aging Project and the Rush Memory and Aging Project have found that a healthy lifestyle of eating right, exercising regularly at a higher intensity and engaging in cognitively stimulating activities, which include the games mentioned previously, have been shown to substantially lower the risk of Alzheimer’s dementia.
You don’t have to wait until your 60s to get started, though. By performing cognitively challenging games, learning new skills and sticking to a healthy lifestyle throughout life, individuals can improve their cognitive reserve or ability for the brain to cope as it ages. Cognitive reserve theorists Corinne Pettigrew and Anja Soldan explain that resiliency, efficiency and flexibility of the brain can be increased through education, occupational learning and activities that include cognitive, social and physical stimulation.
In St. Joe’s Stroke Studies Research Lab in the department of physical therapy, we are investigating how to improve cognition for those who have experienced a stroke. Individuals go through cognitive and functional testing to determine their baseline values and then participate in exercise classes run by St. Joe’s doctor of physical therapy and neuroscience students who are completing research projects. Participants have noted that using exercise to promote cognitive changes is fun and challenging. As a physical therapist, I think the use of physical and cognitive exercises to make life more enjoyable is the ultimate solution to enjoying your best life. By the way, I wordled in three.
Margie Roos, DPT, Ph.D., is a professor and acting chair of physical therapy and director of physical therapy accreditation.
