Talk to your grandparents about the Internet. Tell them that surfing the web is like yoga for their aging brains. Point them to a new study by UCLA scientists which found that web-savvy seniors registered double the brain activity during Internet searching than seniors who had no experience using the Internet – suggesting that technology can enhance the way we think.
A group of 24 seniors, ages 55 to 76, were hooked up to a functional MRI while reading a book or surfing the web. Both activities triggered brain areas involved in language, memory and visual abilities, but Internet searching also stimulated brain areas involved in decision-making and complex reasoning. That’s because the Internet requires more active engagement, like choosing what to click on in order to pursue more information.
Apparently, there’s a learning curve with Web surfing:
