Having hobbies is a nice way to pass the time, and now a new report reveals they can even be good for your health and actually lower the risk of dementia. A new study, which reviewed previous dementia reports involving two million people discovered that leisure activities can reduce chances of cognitive decline by as much as 23%.
The study looked at activities people engage in for enjoyment, breaking them down into mental, physical, and social categories. It found that mental activities, like reading or writing for pleasure, watching TV, crafting, playing games, or musical instruments, can decrease dementia risk by 23%, the biggest decrease of all the activities.
Meanwhile, physical activities like walking, dancing, running, etc., drops the risk by 17%, and social activities like attending a club or class, or simply seeing family and friends or talking with others, reduce the likelihood by 7%.
“This meta-analysis suggests that being active has benefits, and there are plenty of activities that are easy to incorporate into daily life that may be beneficial to the brain,” study author Lin Lu, PhD, of Peking University Sixth Hospital, shares. “Our research found that leisure activities may reduce the risk of dementia.”
Source: Study Finds
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