Train your brain to continue driving despite advancing age? The idea is far from absurd. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that brain training in older people increases the likelihood that they will still drive ten years later. Their study published in The Gerontologist followed for ten years more than 2000 healthy people aged 65 and over.
At the start of the experiment, the participants were divided into four groups: the first three received brain training in reasoning, memory and speed of execution, respectively, and the fourth group, called “control”, did not. no specific training.
The reasoning program included, among other things, puzzles and learning to solve problems. During memory training, participants had to categorize everyday words, such as a shopping list. The speed of execution program, also called “shared attention”, was carried out by computer. These were exercises of perception: for example, an object appears briefly on the screen, then questions are asked about what the participants saw.
Keep your freedom
Each program lasted 10 hours, with an additional “boost” for certain participants of the “shared attention” session, chosen at random. In the ten years after the initial training, participants were asked seven times about their driving. And the results are final. Adults who have taken reasoning or speed training programs are between 49 and 55% more likely to still drive after ten years. For those who have also followed the “boost” in “shared attention”, this figure climbs to 70%. “Stopping driving has many implications for the lives of seniors,” says Lesley A. Ross, assistant professor in human development and family studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Indeed, to cease this activity means to give up a certain freedom, and to recognize a form of decline. Allowing the elderly to keep the use of their vehicle is therefore essential for their comfort of life.
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