LUMOSITY

A few mornings ago, I realized I'd been working with Lumosity for a little over a year.  Lumosity, as you may remember, is a web-site dedicated to keeping your neurons plastic and your cognitive skills relatively intact.  Actually, I am deadly serious about my time with Lumosity, although I'm beginning to think I may need to fork over a few dollars and begin the version that offers more games as well as a more precise and personal analysis of my progress...which, unfortunately,  seems to have slowed down recently.

If you're wondering, yes, cognitive skills are a huge topic of conversation at this particular Age & Stage.  During the past week nearly everyone has talked about the "60 Minutes" segment on Sunday, May 4th, which detailed a study begun over 30 years ago in which 14,000 residents of Leisure World, located south of Los Angeles, filled out a detailed questionnaire which included information on their health, their activities, lifestyle and etc.  It was the "Leisure World Cohort Study."  

Within the past few years, and funded by the NIH, a research team began tracking down those 14,000 people in order to begin studying them again now that many are in their 90s.  What factors are involved for those who are still going strong?  How about those not doing so well?  And what happened to those who died?

Our conversations showed that most of us were interested to learn that:  Vitamin E, A, C, and Calcium seemed to have no effect on living a longer life.  Alcohol (moderate--one to two drinks per day) reduced the risk of death by 10-15%.  In other words, enjoy your wine, or drink of choice, and live a bit longer.  One to three cups of coffee (with caffeine) also contributed to a longer life.

Another surprising and welcome bit of research shows that, as we age, we should maintain or even gain a bit of weight.  Being a skinny little thing does not make for a long life...Thank you, Lord!

Oh, did I mention that old bugaboo--exercise?  Yes, it definitely contributes to longevity, but the good news is the level can be moderate.  Time-wise, 15 to 45 minutes a day is best.  Anything over 45 minutes and you're just getting sweaty for nothing.  Also, you can break up your exercise during the day.  Have a 15 minute stroll in the morning, work in the garden in the afternoon, and exercise with Jane Fonda before bed.  Perfect!

So, you may be thinking, where does Lumosity fit into this whole thing?  Well, activities such as word games, cards, book clubs, brain games all seem to help people stay a bit sharper as they live a bit longer.  If Lumosity can do that for me, even at $5.00 per month, it just might be worth it.

PS:  I did it.  I just subscribed to 12 months of Lumosity, and got a better deal than I expected.  New Games, new stats...it's my kind of good.  Do try it and see what you think...

Margie
margiestaggs44@gmail.com