The hippocampus is closely tied to spatial navigation, a central component in cognitive functioning, and critically involved in age-associated cognitive decline and dementia. This study evaluated a novel, cognitive computerized spatial navigation training (CSNT) program targeting the hippocampus, with expectation of mitigating possible cognitive decline with bed rest (BR). During a 14-day BR study with 16 healthy, older men (mean age = 60 ± 3, range = 55-65 years), half received CSNT for 12 days in 50-min sessions and half were controls (watching documentaries). This design uniquely controlled diet, sleep, and other personal and environmental activities. Although there were no cognitive declines in controls post-BR, CSNT participants demonstrated significant increases in executive/attention ability and processing speed, and continued spatial navigation testing showed improvement to 400 days post-BR. This intervention may prove useful to mitigate cognitive declines known to occur in long periods of immobilization and could have broader implications in protecting against age-related cognitive decline.
The study examined unique predictive relations of personality traits with three components of subjective well-being (WB) in a normative sample (N = 272; 70% females) of Slovene elderly (M = 71.82 years, SD = 6.03). Investigating the concurrent relationships, we relied on the Big Five personality model and the Keyes’s model of WB, which entails emotional well-being (EWB), psychological well-being (PWB), and social well-being (SoWB). We also considered the participants’ background characteristics (age, gender, marital status and educational level), and their subjective health status in predicting the components of WB. The respondents filled-in a scale of subjective health, constructed for the purpose of the study, the Big Five Inventory and the Mental Health Continuum – Short Form. The demographic characteristics did not significantly contribute to any aspect of WB, whereas self-reported health significantly improved the prediction of EWB and PWB. The Big Five uniquely predicted all of the components of WB, over and above demographics and subjective health. Agreeableness was a significant single predictor across the components of WB. Higher levels of conscientiousness and lower levels of neuroticism contributed to EWB. Conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness predicted PWB, and openness predicted SoWB.
While regular physical activity has been shown to positively impact health and physical functioning across all age groups an active lifestyle may in particular have beneficial effects in advanced age. The objective of this article is to provide a brief overview of a contemporary research on the benefits of physical activity for psychological health and quality of life in the elderly. Older adults are more vulnerable than other age groups regarding mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. Many cross-sectional and experimental studies discussed in the article confirm the importance of a physically active lifestyle for preventing or reducing mental health problems and improving the quality of life among elderly people.
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