For most senior citizens, it is part of the process of getting older that their mental performance decreases. For example, they become more forgetful or do not remember new things so quickly. This is not a disease. A certain decline in cognitive abilities is a completely normal phenomenon. To prevent cognitive decline you need to know the followings:
Thinking, learning, communicating and remembering can, however, also be significantly more restricted so much so that older people find it difficult to cope with everyday life. Then there is dementia. The most common form is Alzheimer’s dementia, followed by vascular dementia with circulatory disorders of the brain.
Over time, those affected need more and more support and can no longer live alone. Around 47 million people worldwide are affected, and with them relatives, friends and entire health systems; In 2050 it should be up to 135 million people. Due to the increasing life expectancy, dementia diseases are already a topic of enormous relevance.
Forgetfulness Is Not the Same as Dementia
Mild cognitive impairments (mild cognitive impairments) are milder than dementia, but more serious than the usual age-appropriate decline in “brain fitness”. They are quite common in the elderly. Around 7 percent of the 60 to 64 year olds are affected, and 25 percent of the 80 to 84 year olds.
The restrictions on thinking and remembering are still manageable, so that those affected can still master their everyday lives independently. Nonetheless, the mild cognitive disorders are sometimes perceived by those affected as a heavy burden. And they can be scary because they can be a harbinger of dementia.
Need For Prevention
There is currently no cure for the much feared loss of mental faculties, be it easy or difficult. Therefore, professionals and those affected are very interested in whether there are effective preventive measures. Based on this demand, a market for commercial products for brain training has also developed. Effectiveness sounds plausible because mentally active people have a lower risk of dementia. But can you really train the brain in a targeted manner and prevent mental deterioration through exercises?
Brain Fitness for Healthy People
One of the interesting candidates for the professional world is computerized cognitive training. The training units can be various exercises, games or even excursions into virtual worlds and are completed on the computer or a mobile device. The advantage: low-threshold access, low costs, standardized interventions. In addition, those affected can often carry out the tasks very easily from home.
Computer-aided cognitive training improved mental performance slightly immediately upon completion. However, this result is fraught with uncertainty. And it is unclear whether this arithmetical effect can also be felt by those affected or whether it is a sustainable improvement.
Train and Repair
Review from 2019, examined the effect of computer-aided cognitive training in a group of people: people who already have mild cognitive impairments. This also increased the risk of dementia. The team of authors wanted to know whether “mental fitness” is maintained through computer-aided cognitive training or whether it reduces the risk of dementia.
For this purpose, the results of a total of 8 randomized controlled studies with 660 participants over 60 years of age were used. The interventions lasted between 12 weeks and 18 months. Here, too, the participants in an intervention group were compared with those in a control group who took part in alternative activities. Only in one study did the control group do nothing. Allocation to the groups was made at random.
However, after evaluating the study data, the review authors were unable to make any statements as to whether computer-aided training can improve or at least stabilize the cognitive abilities of people who are already slightly impaired. Due to methodological weaknesses, small numbers of participants and poor comparability of the studies, the summarized results do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the effect of computer-aided cognitive training.
