HOW HOBBIES CAN
IMPROVE YOUR LIFE!
Everyone who has a
hobby of any sort, whether it involves construction, collecting, gaming or what
have you,
derives great
personal satisfaction from their passions but many who do participate and most
who don’t have no idea
of the added
benefits of their past-times or that they could actually be staving off
Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
When the subject
of Alzheimer’s disease and hobbies was Google searched, an impressive list of
articles in medical and
News web sites.
A portion of one
article reads:
LESS TV, MORE
HOBBIES PREVENTS ALZHEIMERS
================================================================
Recent research
reported by the BBC and USA Today reveals that people who lead inactive lives
and watch more television are more likely to get Alzheimer's disease.
The study, carried out by Dr. Robert Friedland of Case Western Reserve
University and associates, showed that those who regularly participated in
hobbies that were intellectually challenging during their younger adult years
tended to be protected from Alzheimer's disease. The finding supports other
studies that show the "use or lose it" principle definitely applies
to the intellect.
"Television watching is not protective and may even be a risk factor for
Alzheimer's disease," said Friedland He and his team studied the leisure
activities in young and middle adulthood of 193 Alzheimer's patients and of 358
controls, people who did not have symptoms of the disease. The study
participants were in their 70s when the survey was conducted.
The research was hailed by Dr. Zaven Khachaturian, senior medical adviser to
the Alzheimer's Association, who claims the study supports other research
showing that the onset of Alzheimer's is delayed by education and by
intellectually demanding life activities.
The survey centered on three types of activities: Passive, intellectual, and
physical. Passive included items such as watching television, talking on the
phone or listening to music. Intellectual covered such things as reading,
jigsaw or crossword puzzles, playing musical instruments, chess or other board
games, knitting or woodwork. Physical included activities such as baseball,
football or other sports, bike riding, swimming, walking or skating.
"The Alzheimer's patients were less active in all these activities except
for television watching," said Friedland. He also noted that intellectual
activities seemed particularly protective. Those who spent their leisure time
on mentally stimulating hobbies were approximately 2.5 times less likely to
develop Alzheimer's.
And another says:
Hobbies
and leisure activities
Scientists have known for some time that intellectually stimulating activities
help spur the brain to produce new neurons and more connections between brain
cells. Recently, researchers have begun finding evidence that mentally and/or
socially enriching activities can help stave off dementia. In 2002, a study of
over 700 older adults in Stockholm, Sweden, found that people who participated
regularly in mental, social, or productive activities reduced their risk of dementia
by over 40%. On June 19, 2003, a study published in the New England Journal
of Medicine offered more specific data. Studying nearly 500 normal adults
older than 75 for about five years, investigators found that mentally
stimulating leisure activities such as reading, playing card and board games,
and doing crossword puzzles, among others, were associated with a reduced risk
of dementia
Here is a list of
a few sites with informative articles regarding Alzheimer’s and hobbies