Researchers have established that when people are mentally engaged, biochemical changes occur in the brain that allow it to act more effectively in cognitive areas such as attention and memory. This is true regardless of age.
研究人员已经证实，当人们在精神上投入时，大脑会发生生化变化，从而使其在认知领域，比如注意力和记忆方面发生更有效的作用。这一事实与年龄无关。
People will be alert and receptive if they are faced with information that gets them to think about things they are interested in. And someone with a history of doing more rather than less will go into old age more cognitively sound than someone who has not had an active mind.
如果人们面对的信息是让自己思考感兴趣的事，人们将保持警觉，接受能力强。而一个做得更多的人，到了老年时的认知能力会比一个没有活跃头脑的人更健全。
Many experts are so convinced of the benefits of challenging the brain that they are putting, the theory to work in their own lives. “The idea is not necessarily to learn to memorize enormous amounts of information.” says James Fozard, associate director of the national Institute on Aging. “Most of us don’t need that kind of skill. Such specific training is of less interest than being able to maintain mental alertness. Fozard and others say they challenge their brains with different mental skill, both because they enjoy them and because they are sure that their range of activities will help the way their brains work.
许多专家都非常相信挑战大脑的好处，他们正在把这一理论应用到自己的生活中。国家老龄化研究所副所长詹姆斯·福扎德说：“这个想法不一定是为了学会记住大量的信息。我们大多数人都不需要这种技能，这种特定的训练不如保持精神警觉有趣。福扎德和其他人说，他们用不同的心理技能挑战自己的大脑，既因为他们喜欢这种技能，也因为他们确信自己的活动范围将有助于大脑的工作方式。”。
Gene Cohen, acting director of the same institute, suggests that people in their old age should engage in mental and physical activities individually as well as in groups. Cohen says that we are frequently advised to keep physically active as we age, but older people need to keep mentally active as well. Those who do are more likely to maintain their intellectual abilities and to be generally happier and better adjusted. “The point is, you need to do both,” Cohen says. “Intellectual activity influences brain-cell health and size.”
同一研究所的代理所长吉恩·科恩建议，老年人应该单独和集体进行心理和身体活动。科恩说，随着年龄的增长，人们经常建议我们保持身体活动，但老年人也需要保持精神活动。那些这样做的人更有可能保持他们的智力，总体上更快乐，适应得更好。科恩说：“关键是，你需要两者兼而有之。智力活动影响脑细胞的健康和大小。”
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