Researchers say playing bridge may actually strengthen your immune system

By Melissa Borgerding
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Card games have experienced a renaissance in recent years, particularly among teenagers. The latest game trend? Bridge.

Carolyn Merrifield, who lives at Sedgebrook, an Erickson community in Lincolnshire, Ill., organizes one of the three bridge groups on campus. She's been playing bridge since she was a teenager and says she's happy that today's teenagers are re-discovering the game. "I'm excited to see more people interested in bridge. Both of my children learned to play as teenagers. It's inexpensive, challenging entertainment. It's not a difficult game, but it does require skill."

A game to fight memory loss
"There is growing evidence that games, including card games, crossword puzzles, and other leisure activities, have been associated with modest improvements in older adults' cognitive ability," says Dr. Elliott Kroger, medical director at Sedgebrook.

Memory loss as we age is due largely to altered connections between brain cells, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Keeping the brain active with cards, games, puzzles, and other mental exercises may build reserves of brain cells and connections, and even generate new brain cells.

Trumping the common cold
Recent research indicates that bridge may have even greater health benefits. In addition to fighting memory loss, the game may actually combat the common cold. According to a study conducted by the University of California at Berkeley, bridge may boost your immune system, the body's main defense against harmful infections and illness.

The Berkeley study, which monitored test subjects as they played bridge, found an increase in disease-fighting T-cells in the majority of players, proving for the first time that brain activity and the immune system are closely connected.