A new study led by the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore has found that if an elderly person is given a brief mental training it can improve their reasoning ability and the speed at which their brain processes things.
George Rebok, lead author of the study, said that the gains made from these training sessions are maintained for up to ten years, according to the Jagran Post. The findings of this study are soon to be published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
According to Medical News Today, cognitive decline, which these trainings are fighting against, is not uncommon amongst older people. Cognitive decline can greatly effect the way that someone lives their life and their ability to carry out common tasks.
"Showing that training gains are maintained for up to 10 years is a stunning result because it suggests that a fairly modest intervention in practicing mental skills can have relatively long-term effects beyond what we might reasonably expect,” said Rebok.
Elderly who had the cognitive training told researchers that they were experiencing less difficulty in carrying out their everyday tasks. 60 percent of those who participated in the study were functioning at the same levels while only 50 percent of those who were untrained controls reported the same.
Researchers say that more studies are needed to find out how the training can cause such long lasting effects.