A new study from the University of Waterloo in Canada shows that drawing can enhance memory in older adults. Melissa Meade, a Ph.D. candidate in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Waterloo, said: "Drawing resulted in stronger memory in older adults compared to other known research methods."
Participants can "code" each word by writing, drawing, or listing attributes associated with it. After completing the task, the researchers assessed their memory level. It was found that both groups had better memory efficiency when using drawing instead of writing to "encode" new information, and this effect was more pronounced in the older group.
People's ability to remember new information typically declines with age, due to the progressive deterioration of key brain structures involved in memory, such as the hippocampus and frontal lobes. Drawing is especially beneficial for the mitigation and prevention of memory decline in the elderly, by making better use of those areas of the brain that are not damaged.
Many elderly people have a unique feeling for painting, especially the elderly who have just retired. It is a rare pleasure to invite three or two friends to paint together. Why do the elderly prefer to draw this kind of activity? Let's find out what is attracting them.
1. Old people who often draw are not afraid to be alone.
You must know that after retirement, the most fearful thing is loneliness. After suddenly taking a break from busy work, if you can't quickly adjust your state, you are prone to psychological problems.
The old people who have been learning to paint for a long time will not have this concern, a brush and a piece of paper, one or two hours of time is fleeting. In the world of painting, the elderly will not only no longer feel lonely, but can even feel a different kind of fun from it.
2. The elderly who learn to draw will not be irritable and irritable, and it is easier to find the beauty around them.
Old people who have been learning painting for a long time, they have divided their life into their own imaginary fragments. Therefore, when they see the bustling city, the dazzling night scene, and the beautiful pictures, they will find the beauty in it more easily than others and feel a state that others cannot understand.
In the long run, their lives will be surrounded by beauty, and their minds will be more peaceful and peaceful.
3. The elderly who learn to draw are not easy to age, and they are more likely to live longer.
Human aging begins with the aging of the brain. Old people who often learn to draw can slow down the aging process of the brain, which is of great significance for prolonging life. At the same time, in the process of learning to draw, it can effectively stimulate the cerebral cortex, increase the secretion of brain neurotransmitters, accelerate the transmission of information between brain cells, increase the blood supply to the brain, and improve the function of the brain, thereby maintaining health.
In fact, the benefits of learning painting for the elderly are far more than that. In life, we will inevitably be troubled by various emotions, such as joy, anger, sadness, and joy, and painting, as a vent for emotions, undertakes these very well. In the process of learning to paint, the old people not only enriched their spare time but also enjoyed it, polishing their emotions into works.
For the elderly, although the coordination ability of hands and feet will decline with age, compared with young people, the rich experience and calm mentality of the elderly are more rare.
In addition to mastering skills and enriching life for the elderly, by learning painting the elderly can gain applause and recognition from the people and friends around them through their works, which makes the elderly feel deeply that their existence still has value. This kind of change in mentality is the biggest benefit of learning painting for the elderly.
