Dancing, reading, and video games could help delay brain aging

• Past research shows that engaging in creative activities can help keep your brain healthy as you age.
• A new study has found that not only can creative pursuits help with brain health, they may also help delay brain aging.
• Researchers discovered that those with long-term involvement in creative activities have a more ‘youthful’ brain age on average.

Past research shows that engaging in creative activities, such as arts and crafts, dancing, playing a musical instrument, reading, gardening, and even playing video games, can help keep the brain healthy as we age.

“As populations age, more and more people live long enough to experience cognitive decline and dementia, which are very costly not only for health systems but also for families and caregivers,” Aneta Brzezicka, PhD, psychologist and head of the Center for Neurocognitive Research at SWPS University in Poland, told Medical News Today.

“If we can identify everyday activities that help the brain stay ‘younger’ for longer, we may be able to delay the onset of problems with memory, attention, and independence, and improve quality of life in older age,” Brzezicka noted.

She is the co-author of a study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, which found that not only can creative pursuits help with brain health, they may also help delay brain aging.