A latest study has found a link between regular web usage and lower risk of dementia amongst older adults.

So, when the elders ask for help to post a birthday message on Facebook or Instagram, a tech-savvy grandkid should want to assist, as it is going to mean a lift to the formers’ brain health, not only their social life.

The study, published within the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, suggested that seniors who spend the vast majority of their time online can have a reduced risk of developing dementia in the long run.

The study involved 18,154 adults between the ages of fifty and 65 who did not have dementia. Around eight years of follow-up data showed that individuals who used the web had lesser instances of developing dementia as in comparison with those that abstained from the web.

The adults were investigated for his or her web usage and the event of dementia as an element of the study, which was related to the University of Michigan’s multidisciplinary database populated by the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration, CNN reported.

A matter was common for every participant: “Do you frequently use the World Wide Web, or the Web, for sending and receiving e-mail or for some other purpose, reminiscent of making purchases, looking for information, or making travel reservations?”

Researchers further examined at what frequency they used the web, starting from zero to over eight hours a day, and located those that used the web for about two hours or less a day had the bottom risk of dementia compared with those who didn’t use the web.

The study also found that individuals who used the web for six to eight hours were at a better risk of dementia. Nevertheless, researchers added the findings were statistically insignificant.

“Online engagement may help to develop and maintain cognitive reserve, which might, in turn, compensate for brain aging and reduce the chance of dementia,” the study co-author Dr. Virginia W. Chang told CNN.

More research is required to attract a satisfactory conclusion, but earlier studies have proved that cognitive activity and mental stimulation bear positive results on the brain and lower the possibilities of dementia because it ages.

A 2021 study published in Harvard Health Blog said those that were highly energetic cognitively were at a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s–the average age being 93.6 years, five years later than those with low levels of cognitive activity.

“Overall, this is significant research. It identifies one other potentially modifiable factor which may influence dementia risk,” Dr. Claire Sexton, the Alzheimer’s Association’s senior director of scientific programs and outreach, who was not involved in the brand new study, told CNN.

“But we would not wish to read an excessive amount of into this study in isolation. It doesn’t establish cause and effect.”

A girl, affected by Alzheimer’s desease, holds the hand of a relative in a retirement house in Angervilliers, eastern France, March 18, 2011.
GETTY IMAGES/SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP

Published by Medicaldaily.com