Puttin’ in that (brain)work

Good news, ladies: a hot girl walk and a Wordle per day keeps the dementia away. At least according to a new peer-reviewed study published in the medical journal Neurology, which found physical and mental activity may help preserve cognitive ability and delay dementia.

🧠 More deets… The study’s aim was to look at the effects of physical and mental activities, such as reading, going to classes, or playing cards or games, on cognitive ability in the areas of thinking speed and memory.

• Mental activities: Led to improved thinking speed for both women and men – but a little more for the latter. In total, mental activity was associated with 13 fewer years of aging in participants’ thinking speed (17 years for men vs. 10 years for women).
• Physical activities: Were a little less straightforward. Women who performed more physical activity had a greater thinking speed reserve… but this connection wasn't seen in men.🤔 Greater physical activity also wasn't linked to improved memory reserve in either of the sexes.

📚🧪 Zoom out: It’s been a big week for gender-based longevity studies. New peer-reviewed research published in Science suggests the reason men typically die several years younger than women is linked to the loss of the male sex chromosome, which causes the heart muscle to scar and can lead to heart failure.