Under the guidance of the Albert Einstein Academy of Medicine in New York, a long-term study was conducted over a period of 21 years with people aged 75 and over. The study was carried out with a view to determining if there are physical or mental leisure activities that have an impact on mental acuity. They discovered that some activities brought a significant improvement, while other activities did not bring any change. This was measured by the degrees of dementia in old age, including Alzheimer’s diseases.

The study examined mental activities such as reading books, writing for pleasure, solving crossword puzzles, playing cards and musical instruments. Furthermore, physical activities such as playing tennis or golf, swimming, cycling, dancing, walking as a type of exercise and housework were examined.

Surprisingly, it became apparent – with one exception – that almost none of the physical activities offered protection against dementia. It goes without saying that the physical activities in other areas provide significant benefits, such as the strengthening of the coronary arteries.