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About 30 million people worldwide live with Alzheimer’s disease. This neurodegenerative condition, the most common form of dementia, is usually diagnosed in people 65 and older.
But doctors say the risk can be reduced. Many people lower their risk by regularly doing simple activities such as reading, knitting, and playing chess.
Research has found that reading lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by about 32 percent, knitting by about 30 percent, and playing chess by about 9 percent.
Read!
Neurologists say one of the best habits for keeping the brain sharp is reading fiction. It stimulates cognitive functions and can delay — or even help prevent — Alzheimer’s disease.
“Fiction can evoke stronger emotions and imagery, in addition to the new facts and ideas readers get from popular science,” said Zaldy Tan, a professor of neurology and medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He adds that the consistency of reading and the desire to discover new things in books matter more than genre.
Reading is a workout for the brain. It helps build neural connections and slows memory loss. People who read at least 15–30 minutes a day can reduce their Alzheimer’s risk by 32 percent.
In 2022, researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology linked leisure reading to improved cognitive abilities. The study recruited 60- to 79-year-olds who read for 90 minutes a day, five days a week, for eight weeks. A comparison group solved word puzzles instead. By the end of the study, readers showed significantly greater gains in working and episodic memory than the puzzlers.
Knitting and Playing Board Games!
Neurobiologists say puzzles, knitting, and chess can also help prevent cognitive decline.
Research at the Mayo Clinic found that knitting stimulates cognitive functions and can slow memory loss. Knitting requires attention to patterns, counting stitches, coordinating hand movements, and using fine motor skills, concentration, and memory.
Clinic experts say knitting is mainly a mental exercise: it challenges the brain, can slow dementia, and improves problem-solving skills, the Daily Mail reported.
A 2023 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that regular chess playing and other board games lower Alzheimer’s risk by about 9 percent. Physical activity is also crucial for brain health — morning jogs, walks, and gardening are especially helpful.
