With each passing year, it feels like it’s easier for little things to slip our minds, whether it’s forgetting where the keys go or neglecting to add something to your to-do list. As such, you want to take preventive steps to keep your mind sharp while also warding off more serious diagnoses down the road. One of the most concerning possibilities is dementia, which affects almost 10 percent of U.S. adults over the age of 65. Integrating some brain-boosting foods into your diet—think fatty fish or avocadoes—can be helpful, but there are also activities you can engage in to keep your mind in tip-top shape. In fact, according to a recent study, mahjong, a tile-based game originating in Asia, may be able to prevent dementia.
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A study published in The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease this summer found that the four-player game enhanced “general cognitive abilities and short-term memory” while also relieving depression symptoms. As explained in the study, the game includes 136 to 152 tiles, with players alternating turns drawing and discarding tiles until one player wins with particular combinations.
“[Mahjong] is a cognitively and socially demanding activity that requires players to develop skills such as identifying potential matches, mentally retaining relevant information, deciding which tiles to discard, and predicting other players’ moves,” the study reads. “Mahjong is regarded as a slow game in which players may plan the winning hands and revise the strategies simultaneously based on other players’ feedback. The uncertainties and luck components of the game may create pleasure feelings and attraction to the players, which promote and foster the popularity of the game.”
The “scoping review” analyzed data from approximately 53 studies and summarized the positive effects of mahjong in older adults and its ability to improve “age-related cognitive, psychological, and functional declines.” Specific studies linked mahjong to reduced risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.
In qualitative studies (focusing on people’s experiences and perspectives), researchers used screening tools for cognitive function and mental health, noting that older adults had higher self-esteem, lower worries, and more social support thanks to playing mahjong. One particular study also found that the game “stimulated a sense of youthfulness.” As the study authors explain, this positive outlook on life and aging “increases self-efficacy in health” and contributes to a healthier lifestyle.
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Quantitative studies (using numerical data to identify patterns) used different tests to examine the relationship between mahjong and cognitive outcomes, finding that the game was associated with fewer cognitive-related disorders. In addition, mahjong was shown to improve short-term memory, specifically because players sort and group tiles. However, the researchers conceded that there were only a handful of randomized control trials included in the review. As The New York Times noted, RCTs are “the gold standard” because they show definitive cause and effect instead of an association.
While the social aspect of the game offers a range of other benefits, there are also activities that you can do solo. One study found that people who did crossword puzzles regularly delayed their memory decline by over two years, the NYT reported.
As experts explained to the outlet, however, doing your daily crossword or another game probably won’t prevent the actual brain damage that causes dementia. What they can do is help facilitate a cognitive reserve that may “mask the effect and delay the onset of symptoms for a few years,” Joe Verghese, MD, chair of the neurology department at the Stony Brook University Renaissance School of Medicine, said.