Researchers have found a link between digital literacy (using email) and reduced cognitive decline. Web browsing and emailing to friends and family can improve seniors’ memories, the research indicated.
This significant finding was drawn from an English longitudinal study of aging. The study followed 6,442 men and women between the ages of 50 and 89 years of age over a period of eight years and was reported by the Gerontological Society of America.
The study was led by Andre Junqueira Xavier, PhD, at the Universidade do Sul de Santa Caterina in Brazil. The researchers’ findings indicate that digital literacy increases brain and cognitive reserve or leads to the use of more efficient thinking networks that could delay cognitive decline.
As we age, we all see some changes in our thinking and memory. You may forget a person's name or a word, but often recall it later in the day. You might misplace your glasses, keys, or wallet occasionally. Maybe you find that you need to make lists more often to remember appointments or tasks. These changes in memory are generally minor and don't block your ability to live independently, maintain normal activities and a social life.
MCI, or Mild Cognitive Impairment, is used to describe cognitive changes (generally memory loss) exceeding what's expected for an individual of a particular age. It can be thought of as a stage between normal forgetfulness due to age and the development of dementia.
In MCI, memory problems may be hardly noticeable to the person. Writing reminders can help compensate for these mild changes.
Maybe most important is that a diagnosis of MCI means you're able to perform your usual daily activities with minimal change and relatively little difficulty. When this is no longer the case, dementia may be the right term to describe the condition.
Dementia isn't a specific disease. It describes a group of symptoms affecting intellectual and social abilities severe enough to interfere with someone’s daily functioning.
Memory loss usually occurs in dementia. But memory loss alone doesn't mean dementia. Dementia means problems with other brain functions as well, and that more than one dementia symptom is present. However, if during a medical evaluation, these reversible causes of dementia are ruled out, the probable cause of dementia symptoms may be due to Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's causes brain changes that gradually get worse. Two abnormal structures called plaques and tangles are prime suspects in damaging and killing nerve cells, causing a steady decline in memory and mental function.
In older folks, Alzheimer's is the most common cause of progressive dementia symptoms. Symptoms are similar to the dementia symptoms listed above, which is why the terms are often used interchangeably. However, dementia is simply a set of symptoms, whereas Alzheimer's describes what in causing the symptoms.
The data in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging measured delayed recall from a 10-word list of learning tasks across five separate measuring points. Higher wealth, education and digital literacy improved delayed recall. People in the study with functional impairment, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, symptoms of depression, or no digital literacy (didn’t use email) showed decline.
This is said to be the first study to show that the ability to use digital actions, such as web browsing and exchanging emails can improve memory. Or at least retain it.
Of seniors 65 and older, 70 percent are said to use the Internet on a typical day. One in three seniors are on social networking sites like Facebook and Linkedin. But email proves to be the main source of online communication for seniors. In 2011, 86% of Internet users ages 65 and older used email, with 48% doing so on a typical day. After several years of very little growth among this group, these gains are meaningful for the baby boomers.
Tait Trussell is an old guy and fourth-generation professional journalist who writes extensively about aging issues among a myriad of diverse topics.