Keeping mentally active.

[Silva]

My husband does the daily crossword on his laptop every morning, with a little help from me sometimes, and I write on my various forums, read the news and play word games. We find that, as we get older, these sorts of activities keep the mental faculties exercised. Do you do anything in particular to keep mentally active? Maybe you don't need to!

[Klicky]

My grandma just turned 102.  Up until this past summer, she would play scrabble and work cryptograms - often solving them in her head!  She is convinced that staying mentally active is the key to staying healthy.  Since she began losing her sight this fall (macular degeneration) she sticks to listening to shows like Millionaire and Jeopardy, getting most of the answers before the contestants.

As for me, I prefer math & logic puzzles - Kakuro, hidato, KenKen, Nonograms

[wim2]

This is very important to me, as my mother was diagnosed with dementia several years ago.  She lives with my sister.  I try to stay as mentally fit as possible, because I know things like this typically run in families.  I do word find puzzles all the time, and I'm constantly looking for something challenging to do on the internet.  In addition, I enjoy walking.

[Perfect7]

I like doing variety puzzles (crosswords, cryptograms, etc) and sudoku and stuff like that. I'm not sure it "helps" that much, though, since I have a terrible memory lately!

[Burton]

My wife and I have a Wii console and we're hoping that the balance and reflex games will have a positive effect on trying to stay as sharp as possible. I guess those are not strictly for the mind. I'd like to spend more time with quality reading and crosswords.

We both play some card games on the computer too - I wonder how effective those are?

[Britlady]

I'm not yet of an age where this is a huge concern, but I too have issues that I am keeping an eye on. My grandmother suffered from dementia, and my mother shows mental health issues that concern me-namely an ongoing, deep depression that my grandmother also suffered from prior to her more rapid decline. She is also having memory problems from time to time.

On my father's side the problems are all physical, and I have started to show the initial stages of decline. My father has a congenital ankle deformity that presented as he got older, that put extra strain on his knees. He's a wreck now physically, riddled with arthritis and in a great deal of pain.

All told if I take after either of my parents, I'm not looking forward to growing older.

[Silva]

We also have a WiiFit plus with a balance board and some of the games do take a lot of thought, especially the ones where you have to get the rolling balls through holes on the platform by altering the tilt of the platform. It's so much fun! I'm sure we all strive to be as alert as Klicky's grandma, but for those of us who don't make it, keep thinking positively!

[Ninjin]

I play a variety of flash puzzle games online. I love to test my wit and figure out how to solve a level in a flash game. Gotta love that feeling you get when you solve a puzzle on your first try.

[Bashfulsnowhite]

First, I would be sure to get enough sleep. Then I'd have some quiet so I could think about what is going on around me. Then -- I'd read current events, join a forum to see what other people are thinking about, and voice my own opinion. The hardest thing is really letting someone else know what I am thinking. I have strong opinions.

[QueenB]

This is something that I have trouble with. I try really hard to stay busy, read, exercise (dancing is my favorite) but sometimes I just feel so exhausted for no reason. Keeping mentally active keeps you sane I always feel better when doing something productive.