Older people, New Experiences

[Howard Hartman]

HHS HealthBeat May 15, 2012 Older people, new experiences Listen to Tip Learning something new might open other possibilities for older people. Researchers who gave older people training in thinking skills and puzzles to solve report the older people then felt more open to other experiences. Josh Jackson of Washington University in St. Louis looked at data on people with an average age of 73 who had 16 weeks of training, including figuring out patterns and doing Sudoku and crosswords. Jackson says the important part was the doing new things: “It looks like those things are positive. So to the extent that people can get out in the world, try new things, exercise their minds – that’s all for the best.” This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Older people, new experiences 05/15/2012 01:01 AM EDT Directories of HHS Accounts U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services · 200 Independence Avenue SW · Washington DC 20201 · 1-877-696-6775