Older people face a lot of instances of memory loss. It gets frustrating to them to keep forgetting things every now and then. Memory lapses can happen at any age. So many times you will feel that you have forgotten something. The memory lapse which occurs due to age or any other reason is called cognitive decline.
Medical fraternity agrees upon the following ways to keep cognitive decline under check.
- limit alcohol intake and smoking to bare minimum. If you can give up, nothing like it.
- get sufficient sleep.
- keep exercising regularly.
- maintain good social connections.
- keep learning
First four points given above are generally known and accepted, but the fifth point is the one which we shall focus in this article.
Do older people need to learn
Reading and learning should never stop. There is never an age or state of mind where you can stop learning. So if someone is suggesting that elders cannot learn, they are giving wrong advice.
Take for example the famed College Street Coffee House of Kolkata. Intense debates and adda sessions where people of all ages participate. Moreover, people keep coming back for more. A perfect example of learning and listening at the same time. A debate is the perfect tool for brain activity and exercise. Plus you also need to prepare for a debate.
So without a doubt we can say that learning is the best exercise for all ages.
What can older people learn about
For many people reading a newspaper and watching news has become part of a routine. Though an excellent activity it lacks the capability of true learning. Picking up a new hobby, learning to play a music instrument, learning a new language and participating in contests are a few examples. Each of these activities has its own challenges. Learning a new language is not easy even for students, what to mention about elders. So learning a new musical instrument. But we have an easier solution in mind.
What is abacus
Abacus is an ancient calculating tool. It is an instrument with beads on a string. The need for a calculating instrument was as old as commerce itself. Traders, govt clerks, army generals, store holders all needed a tool to calculate faster than counting and fingers.
Abacus in one form or the other was used in each ancient civilisation like Egypt, Greece, Persia, Rome, China and Japan. The earliest reference of Abacus is during Mesopotamian civilisation in around 2300 BC. Even though we have calculators today which are much easier, the abacus is still in use in some parts of the world.
In India, abacus is widely taught to children as an activity in private institutes. There is a higher form called Abacus-based mental calculation where a person performs calculations using an imaginary abacus in the mind. It is a high level cognitive skill which puts the brain through a complex series of exercises.
Abacus for elders
We at Lekhnee Academy have abacus courses specially designed for elders. We have 20 years plus experience in conducting abacus classes for children of all ages. During this lockdown we moved to online classes too. Under the able leadership of Ms Meena Kumar we have moved from strength to strength to become one of the top institutes of Delhi NCR.