Keep Your Brain Stronger for Longer

When I was a student, the neighbour of my shared accommodation was a lovely old lady. Usually at least once a week she used to have a few elderly friends visiting her and the group of them played cards. I was always impressed how fit, alert and lively they were, what with them surely being all in their 80s. Once I mentioned it to my neighbour and she laughed. "Bridge", she said and then a long lecture followed. Obviously she had played bridge for most of her adult life and strongly believed in the card games benefits for her mental fitness.

Many years later, I happened to come across an article in a science magazine, which seemed to prove her right. Particularly bridge seems to stimulate the right parts of the brain to keep the grey cells fit and active and what's more, it also seems to have a positive effect on the immune system. The same article also concentrated on brain games in generally and that certain benefits for people with MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) couldn't be denied any longer, if the exercises offered the right variety and quality and that's where Keep Your Brain Stronger For Longer ties in very well IMO.

The book starts with an interesting introduction, where you learn about the author's background and motivation and get an idea of the various puzzles and exercises Keep Your Brain Stronger For Longer will offer you.

I'm a fan of this sort of problem solving fun and worked my way through most of the book's 201 exercises. I found the puzzles much better, than a lot of the stuff out there, as they are not too difficult, which they shouldn't be, considering the book is aimed at people who suffer already from mild MCI.
Also, the variety of exercises is impressive.
There are puzzles with words, eg. you have to build words with certain endings or letters,
logic problems, eg. you have to try and figure out a solution with the help of clues,
sequencing puzzles, eg. putting four words in a sensible order,
memory puzzles, where you first see items and then have to remember them,
rows of numbers where you have to figure out the pattern and then finish them,
shapes which you have to copy into a grid, and so much more.
Considering there are 201 exercises in the book, the fun is endless. The solutions are provided at the end of the book.

Of course, the general key to success for mental fitness involves as well a healthy diet, regular physical exercise and social interactions, but overall, the book offers an excellent variety of fun puzzles and exercises to train memory, sequencing, calulation, language and much more, which hopefully helps to keep the brain stronger for longer.