Active use of the Internet in old age reduces the risk of dementia

Researchers from New York University have established the existence of a correlation between the use of the Internet by elderly people and the development of senile dementia. To do so, they followed a group of 18,154 people between the ages of 50 and 65 for eight years. Twice a year their cognitive abilities were tested, plus statistics on Internet use were collected.

The study found dementia in 4.7 percent of the subjects, but more importantly, its occurrence clearly correlated with frequency of Internet use. Those who regularly went online had a 50% lower chance of developing dementia than those who hardly ever used computers. But it’s not as simple as that: we’re talking about the amount of time online from 6 minutes to 2 hours a day. Those who did not close the browser for more than 6 hours a day – on the contrary, the risk of getting dementia is even greater.

Scientists admit they can’t explain this observation, except indirectly. Work on the Internet can be very diverse, which stimulates different parts of the human brain and thus alleviates their degradation. So it’s probably not the Internet itself, but its content, which can be replaced with something similar to combat the early onset of dementia.

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