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ENJOY LEARNING TO PLAY BRIDGE
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Press/Media Release: 10 September 2010
PLAY BRIDGE - KEEP YOUR MIND FIT, MAKE FRIENDS AND
HAVE FUN
Recently the BBC showed some members of the Oxford Bridge Club playing their favourite game to show the
benefits it has on the mind.
Research has proven that undertaking some form of activity which tests mental agility on a daily basis
can help protect our older population from dementia. Additionally research shows that social interaction
amongst the elderly can stave off cognitive decline. The card game bridge provides both mental stimulation
and social engagement.
Although the game is not a cure for dementia, research proves that bridge can help keep the brain
healthy. In 2003, the Washington Post reported on findings by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine that
showed seniors regular involvement in pastimes stretched their minds: “Seniors who regularly engaged in
pastimes that stretched their minds… lowered their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other
dementias by as much as 75 percent, compared with those who didn't exercise their minds….[The] team also
solved a chicken-and-egg problem… Do mental activities really prevent dementia, or does dementia cause
people to lose interest in mental activities? By screening out anyone who might have had dementia at the
outset from their analysis, the researchers showed that leisure activities influenced dementia in their study,
and not the other way around.
Additionally, a November 2000 study by the University of California, Berkeley found that playing
contract bridge leaves people with higher numbers of immune cells: “Bridge was ideal for what we were after.
It is the closest activity to a challenging card sorting task that also contains multiple factors that should
stimulate the dorsolateral cortex. Bridge players plan ahead, they use working memory, they deal with
sequencing, initiation and numerous other higher order functions with which the dorsolateral cortex is
involved.
Bridge is an excellent way to make friends and keep your mind healthy.
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