Old age doesn't have to mean forgetfulness and finding it difficult to learn new skills. Mind-training exercises can keep the brain fit until a high age and help to curb the tendency to become forgetful. The researchers compare the mind with "muscles that we don't use, which then become stunted". Memory can be activated with simple exercises, for instance looking for words that begin and end with Z, or search for famous people whose first names start with A. Such exercises promote concentration and the ability to memorise. And, these exercises apply to young people too--experts believe that the degeneration process of the brain already starts at 40 but people only realize this much later in life.
Independent Online March 18, 2004