Study: Vision to linked mental decline in seniors

clipped from bodyandhealth.canada.com Problems seeing things close-up can speed up the rate of mental decline in the elderly, a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society indicates Researchers examined the link between vision and level of mental functioning in 2,140 Mexican-American adults over the age of 65. What they found was that seniors who had problems with near vision (but not with distance) showed the steepest decline in mental functioning over a 7-year period The exact reason for the link between near vision and rate of mental decline is unclear, but the researchers speculate that not being able to see things close up affects the level of brain activity by decreasing both active and passive visual stimulation. Keeping your brain active through activities such as reading or doing crosswords, and even by passively processing visual information, increases nerve activity in the brain and has been shown in studies to have a preventative effect against dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Good news for the nearsighted, but not so good for those who are farsighted. Guess we'll all have to try hard to stay mentally active. Fortunately I find that clipping and writing remarks & comments is mentally stimulating! (for me, anyway)