Exercise for the brain?

"The belief that 'exercising' our brains through mentally stimulating activities like puzzles, games and hobbies makes a lot of sense – if we want our brain to stay in peak condition, we should use it. In fact, one of the theories about reducing or delaying cognitive ageing is referred to as the 'use it or lose it' theory. It’s a popular idea, but is it that straightforward? Studies of cognitive ageing often get people in older age to complete various tests of their thinking skills and provide details about the activities they regularly take part in. Almost all of those studies find that people who do more mentally stimulating activities have better thinking skills in older age. Why is this? One possibility is that the mental demands involved in taking part in stimulating activities keep people’s thinking skills sharper. However, it could be the other way round: people who have retained their thinking skills better in older age are more able to keep taking part in more mentally demanding activities. Even in studies that follow people over time, it is often difficult to tell these options apart. And there’s a third possibility - that people who do more mentally stimulating activities in older age are those who had higher thinking skills, to begin with, that is, from childhood onwards. It’s clear from a number of studies that mentally stimulating activities are associated with better thinking skills in later life but we are still building the picture as to why and how, and what sort of activities lead to real benefit. More research is needed on different types of activities to test this. The 'use it or lose it' idea is behind the growing market for so-called 'brain training' products. These are often computer-based games or tasks specifically designed to be mentally stimulating. The products are popular, but there is controversy over whether brain training really does protect thinking skills in later life. A group of leading research experts has argued that evidence that brain training can help combat cognitive decline as we grow older is limited. Their view was that people who play these games get better at them but might not see improvements in their thinking skills more broadly. In January 2016, one of the biggest companies selling these products was fined by the US government Federal Trade Commission for making claims that weren’t supported by evidence and that, in the Commission’s words, 'preyed on consumers’ fears about age-related cognitive decline'."