Engaging in a hobby like reading a book, making a patchwork quilt or even playing computer games can delay the onset of dementia, a US study suggests.

    美國一項研究表明：從事一些業余愛好，如讀書、縫制百衲被，甚至是玩電腦游戲，都能減緩癡呆癥發病。

    Watching TV however does not count--and indeed spending significant periods of time in front of the box may speed up memory loss, researchers found.

    但是研究者們發現，看電視起不到這一作用--在電視機前消磨大量時間反而可能加速失憶。

    Nearly 200 people aged 70 to 89 with mild memory problems were compared with a group who had no impairment.

    研究者們將近200名70歲至89歲、有輕微失憶問題的老人和一組沒有此癥狀的老人進行了對比。

    The researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota asked the volunteers about their daily activities within the past year and how mentally active they had been between the age of 50 to 65.

    明尼蘇達州梅奧醫療中心的研究者們詢問了參與調查的志愿者過去一年的日常活動，以及他們50歲至65歲期間頭腦的活躍狀況。

    Those who had during middle age been busy reading, playing games or engaging in craft hobbies like patchworking or knitting were found to have a 40% reduced risk of memory impairment.

    那些中年時忙于讀書、玩游戲或是忙于拼布、編織等手工愛好的人，其記憶力衰退的可能性降低了40%.

    In later life, those same activities reduced the risk by between 30 and 50%.

    隨著年齡的增長，堅持同樣的活動能降低30%至50%的失憶可能性。

    Those who watched TV for less than 7 hours a day were also 50% less likely to develop memory loss than those who spent longer than that staring at the screen.

    與看電視時間超過7小時的人相比，每天看電視少于7小時的人失憶的可能性也要低50%.

    "This study is exciting because it demonstrates that ageing does not need to be a passive process. By simply engaging in cognitive exercise, you can protect against future memory loss. Of course, the challenge with this type of research is that we are relying on past memories of the participants, therefore we need to confirm these findings with additional research." said study author and neuroscientist Dr Yonas Geda.

    研究報告的作者、神經科學家約納斯·格達博士說："這一研究結果令人激動，因為它證明老化并不一定是被動的過程。只要進行認知性的鍛煉，就能預防失憶。當然，此類研究的挑戰在于我們依賴的是參與者對過往的記憶，因此還得另有研究來證明這些發現。"

    Sarah Day, head of public health at the Alzheimer's Society said: "One million people will develop dementia in the next 10 years so there is a desperate need to find ways to prevent dementia. "

    老年癡呆者學會公共健康主管莎拉·戴說："未來十年將有一百萬人患癡呆癥，所以我們迫切需要找到預防癡呆癥的方法。"

    "Exercising and challenging your brain--by learning new skills, doing puzzles such as crosswords, and even learning a new language--can be fun. "

    "學習新技術，玩玩縱橫字謎之類的智力游戲，甚至學習一種新語言，借此訓練和挑戰你的大腦，都會很有趣。"

    "However, more research, where people are followed up over time, is needed to understand whether these sorts of activities can reduce the risk of dementia."

    "但我們還需要更多的研究來跟蹤調查，看看此類活動究竟能否降低患癡呆的風險。"