Bingo! Games help to keep your mind sharp

Forget  the  naysayers  -  playing bingo  or  doing  the  crossword could  keep  you  mentally  sharp, research  suggests.

People  in  their  seventies who  take  part  in  bingo,  along with  other  activities  such  as crosswords,  cards  and  board games  are  more  likely  to maintain  their  thinking  skills,  a study  found.

Psychologists  at  the  University of  Edinburgh  tested  more  than 1,000  people  aged  70  for  memory, problem  solving,  thinking  speed and  general  thinking  ability. They  found  that  those  who regularly  played  non-digital games  scored  better  on  memory and  thinking tests. "These  latest  findings  add  to evidence  that  being  more  engaged in  activities  during the  life  course might  be  associated with  better thinking  skill  in  later  life,"  said the  university's  Dr  Drew  Altschul.

"Playing  non-digital  games  may be  a  positive  behaviour  in  terms  of reducing  cognitive  decline." 

Results  from  an  intelligence test  they  sat  when  they  were  11 years  old  were  taken  into  account, with  the  new  results  having repeated  the  same  thinking  tests every  three  years  until  the  age of  79.

The  study  is  published  in  The Journals  of  Gerontology  Series  B: Psychological  Sciences.