Marilyn Ringel, a Mahjong player since childhood, agrees with Wikipedia’s description. “Even though it requires a skill, you are only as good as your tiles,” she says. “The skill is that you really have to pay attention to what other people have because you don’t want to play into their hand,” she says.

Like Riccardi, Ringel enjoys the social interchange with other players. “It’s a great combination of concentration and socializing,” she says. “You talk, you laugh, you have a lot of fun with everyone.”
Expert Approval
Riccardi and Ringel are on the right track according to several experts. Dennis Foth, Ph. D., professor and academic director of University of Alberta’s Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education, recently conducted research on the ability to reverse mental declines that come along with aging.

“A lifetime of good mental habits pays off," Foth says in an article written by Ryan Smith and published on the University of Alberta’s Express News website. "People who are curious at a young age are more likely to be mentally active and stay active as they age. And we found it is never too late to start. With a little effort, even people in their 70s and 80s can see dramatic improvements in their cognitive skills."

Some of the activities he suggests that may improve mental capacity include playing card games, doing crossword puzzles, learning how to play a musical instrument, taking continuing education courses, reading, and surfing the Internet.

Judah Ronch, Ph. D., vice president of resident life, mental health and wellness at Erickson Retirement Communities agrees with Foth but stresses that whatever activity a person chooses must interest them in order to be effective. “No one activity is good for everyone. Research shows that people who do what they prefer to do have greater mental stability. They should engage in activities that are interesting to them and that they are motivated to do,” Ronch says.

To learn more about other cognitive exercises, check out another recent Erickson Tribune news story, “Nintendo Taps into Emerging Market.” If you click on Tribune News in the left-hand column, you will be directed to the article.

Completing the Equation       
Mental activity is only part of the cognitive fitness equation, as physicians still stress physical exercise and proper diet in addition to brain stimulation. The physical-mental balance is a popular area of research, of which the Erickson Foundation is on the forefront. 

 Erickson has partnered with two projects to take cognitive fitness studies one step further: the Memory-Fitness project with Gary Small, M.D., Director of the UCLA Center on Aging; and the Mind-Body program with George Rebok, Ph.D. professor and associate research professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.