{"id":5313,"date":"2020-03-18T17:59:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T17:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=5313"},"modified":"2020-03-19T13:52:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T13:52:55","slug":"poker-could-help-people-with-alzheimers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/poker-could-help-people-with-alzheimers\/","title":{"rendered":"Poker could help people with Alzheimer\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alzheimer\u2019s is one of the most common causes of deaths worldwide and has been challenging the medical profession for years, with no known cure and millions of people affected. The industry has been working to develop a drug that could at least lessen the impact of the disease on the person, but despite the tireless efforts from the medical professionals the disease has proven to be immune to all interventions. <\/strong>Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/strong><\/a> that causes memory loss, forgetfulness, confusion and makes communication harder for the patients, also affects the person\u2019s ability to eat, read and write. And over time, they become incapable of functioning on their own.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly the prognosis for the future isn\u2019t positive either, with the Alzheimer\u2019s rates expected to grow over 25% over the next decades. Meanwhile, the doctors are trying to at least soften the blow that the disease delivers on people\u2019s brains with different medications and even some activities linked to improved overall behavior and the well-being of the patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An unexpected solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the most unusual practices that could be helping patients with Alzheimer\u2019s is actually poker. Along with activities like consistent exercising, playing poker is now linked to the growing evidence that stimulating activities can actually be helpful in fighting Alzheimer\u2019s since they are linked to preventing the accumulation of beta-amyloid around brain cells and they also help with stimulating the growth of new blood vessels while maintaining the health of existing ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These activities can serve as a preventative measure for avoiding developing the disease altogether. During the stuff of 496 people aged 75 or older, the research showed that those who participated in games, like poker, checkers, chess, and backgammon, along with some other activities like reading and dancing were significantly less likely to develop dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not all there is to it either. The amount of time we spend simulating our brain one way or another has a huge effect on our overall well being. And as another study found, People who completed crossword puzzles four times a week were much less likely to develop dementia than those who did the puzzles just one time a week. Poker, and gambling in general, are a special blend of brain stimulation and social interaction. If you ask any professional gambler or gamblers who visit the casinos often, gambling is as much of social activity as going out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every study suggests that keeping up with the social life has great benefits for the overall health of a person. Many elders spend a lot of time playing casino games<\/a> or chess can actually go a long way if you keep up with it regularly because they blend brain stimulation with your daily dose of social interaction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest review yet to tackle this issue combined the information gathered through 22 studies, involving 29,000 individuals and concluded that cognitively stimulating activities such as poker almost halve the risk of dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Research showed that those who participated in games, like poker, checkers, chess, and backgammon, along with some other activities like reading and dancing were significantly less likely to develop dementia.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Why poker?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The reason why poker<\/a> specifically is so prevalent in these studies is that it does involve a lot of brainwork, thinking ahead and trying to guess other people’s plans. It is an all-encompassing activity that entertains and challenges the person at the same time, which is why it is so effective as an antidote to developing Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One country that is already using this approach heavily is Japan, where the retirement homes use gambling as a way to prevent dementia in residents, one particular retirement home in Yokohama, even offers prizes and fake money to the elderly to encourage them to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Japan is aware of the potential risks associated with gambling, all the poker games and other card games take place in an environment where risks are brought to a minimum, and patients really only feel the positive effects of playing poker or any other gambling game that stimulates the brain and encourages socialization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Doctors are trying to at least soften the blow that the disease delivers on people\u2019s brains with different medications and even some activities linked to improved overall behavior and the well-being of the patient.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2306,1346,848],"class_list":["post-5313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","tag-alzheimers","tag-dementia","tag-mental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5313"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5316,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5313\/revisions\/5316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}