The decline in social, physical and intellectual activity in old age is one of the factors of the rapid decline in intelligence itself. Accordingly, in order to ensure its safety, the brain must be constantly forced to work. The physical state of health does not always give the opportunity to do what we would like. Nevertheless, it is always possible to find activities that would be both to your liking and to your strength, if you wish. The more diverse and multidirectional the activity of an elderly person, the longer his thinking and memory will be preserved.
Old age is accompanied by completely natural biological processes of gradual fading of memory, attention, and, along with them, of intellectual activity. However, some very simple methods can be used to maintain intellectual activity in old age.
Healthy lifestyle
First of all, of course, this concerns physical activity and minimizing alcohol. Alcohol wreaks havoc on brain cells, killing hundreds of thousands of them. Of course, new cells do not come to replace the dead brain cells. This is a long established fact. The functions of the dead cells are taken over by other cells. And, nevertheless, alcohol is not the best "life partner" in old age.
Physical activity, especially in the fresh air, walks, physical education and sports … all this is associated with the so-called "gross motor skills", i.e. with the movement of arms, legs, body. Any movement makes the brain work actively, stimulating the work of brain cells, maintaining connections between them.
Proper nutrition that provides the body with vitamins, minerals, trace elements is also an important aspect of this issue. Of course, taking multivitamins will not be superfluous. But in this case, you must definitely consult with a therapist. Perhaps he will recommend some nootropic drugs.
Intelligent loads
Of course, with old age, memory deteriorates markedly in many people. But if you constantly train her, then these processes will noticeably slow down. In addition, in old age, when there is enough free time, it can be devoted to a variety of interesting and exciting activities for which there was not enough time before. Any activity will be useful: the study of foreign languages, sciences, poetry, songs, etc. Some retirees attend various clubs and circles for the elderly, creative studios, veteran choirs. A lot of different events are held in their circle by such public organizations as the Union of Pensioners or the Society of Disabled People.
Recently, modern libraries are no longer limited to providing access to literature and periodicals (newspapers, magazines). On their basis, in fact, full-fledged cultural and leisure centers have been formed. The libraries host various events: lectures, seminars, amateur concerts, literary evenings, etc. Every year, a “Library Night” is held throughout the country, similar in content to the “Night of Museums”. In addition, libraries provide Internet access. This is very convenient for those retirees who would like to "make friends" with a computer, but do not have the opportunity to purchase it and pay for network access services.
Fine motor skills
The movement of fingers, hands - this is fine motor skills. The brain centers that control these movements are located near the centers of speech. Therefore, by making movements with the fingers, a person also stimulates the speech center in the brain.
Doing some kind of handicraft: drawing, knitting, embroidery, papier-mâché, kazanshi, lace weaving, sewing, modeling, etc., you stimulate several parts of the brain at once. Handicraft also helps to support such processes as spatial thinking, imagination, motor memory. Playing musical instruments is also a suitable activity in this sense. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to diversify your fine motor skills, which are involved in everyday life in the process of cooking, washing dishes, etc., with some additional loads associated with classes in the field of creative activity. Garden and vegetable garden are also good "platforms" for the load of fingers and hands. Planting plants, weeding beds is a great "warm-up" for the hands and fingers.
Working at the computer, typing text on the keyboard, working with the mouse is also a good way to develop fine motor skills. For older people who want to learn how to work on a computer, free courses are held in cities. On the Internet, you can find a huge amount of interesting and useful information. Older people may be interested in communicating on thematic forums and social networks. In social networks, of course, you can not only find your old friends and relatives, communicate with them almost every day, but also make new acquaintances. On the Internet there is an opportunity to receive information about various events held in the city, in libraries, museums, public organizations. In addition, there are many thematic interest groups on social networks: home economics, handicrafts, cooking, politics, economics, gardening, etc. Active participation in the discussion of various topics in such groups will allow you to spend time usefully in every sense of the word in the context of this article.
Communication
Of course, communication is an excellent form of maintaining the intellectual activity of an elderly person. The social circle of retired elderly people is, of course, sharply reduced. However, it can be significantly expanded to include new people. You can make new acquaintances both in real life and on the Internet.
Each city has Centers of social services for the population. They not only host various activities for the elderly and disabled, but also have day-stay groups. Such groups are similar in format to children's school summer camps. You can find out more about these groups in the Centers themselves or in the district administrations.
