Your keys aren’t in the spot you thought you left them? Can’t recall the title of a book? I’ve had lots of those moments. In our busy lives, distraction or tiredness may explain our forgetfulness. But instances of “brain freeze” make me realize I want to do everything in my power to keep my brain sharp.
There’s plenty of evidence that exercise can help protect our bodies and brains. And as we age, daily movement doesn’t need to be super intense. In fact, a new study finds Tai chi, a slow-moving form of martial arts, can help slow cognitive (认知的) decline and protect against dementia (痴呆).
The study included about 300 older adults, in their mid-70s on average, who had all reported that their memory was not as good as it used to be. As part of the study, all the participants took a 10-minute test to assess cognitive function. A normal score is 26-30. A person who scores between 18 and 25 is considered to have mild impairment (损伤), which means they don’t have dementia but they’re not as sharp as they used to be and may need to work harder to maintain everyday activities. The average score of participants at the start of the study was 25.
The study found that people who practiced Tai Ji Quan twice a week for about six months improved their scores by 1.5 points. This increase may not sound like a lot, but study author Dr. Elizabeth Eckstrom says “you’ve basically given yourself three extra years” of delaying decline.
A person with mild cognitive decline can expect to lose, on average, about a half point each year on the test, and once their score drops under 18, people experience quite a bit of impairment from memory loss and cognitive decline, Eckstrom explains. So, based on these results, “if you’re able to keep doing Tai chi two or three days a week on a routine basis, you’re going to get extra years before you hit that decline into dementia,” she says.
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