Search

Puzzles are mental exercises that enhance cognitive function. Functional cognition is critical for older adults to be able to engage in activities of daily living (ADL) and is linked to positive aging. This paper reports participation by Hispanic older adults in puzzle working and explores the relationship between the reported need for assistance with ADL and puzzles participation. Survey findings from 156 older adults reveal that puzzle working not only provides an opportunity to exercise their mind to solve cognitive challenges, but also elicits emotional and social benefits. The reported need for assistance with ADL is not a statistically significant predictor of participation in puzzle working, indicating that regardless of the level of assistance senior adults need for ADL, they can participate in puzzle working. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hypertension is prevalent in older women and is associated with increased cognitive impairment. Exercise has demonstrated beneficial effects on cognitive function, but the impact of exercise on older hypertensive women remains unclear. We investigated the effects of an aerobic walking program on memory, subjective cognitive complaints, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in older hypertensive women. Methods: A quasi-experimental study with a pretest–posttest design was conducted. Older hypertensive women were randomly assigned to the aerobic walking group or a control group with routine care. The intervention group received a 24-week aerobic walking program. Data were collected at baseline and 24 weeks after enrollment. Participants' characteristics, memory, subjective cognitive complaints, and plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor were analyzed. Results: The aerobic walking group (n = 30) reported improvements in total recall, delayed recall, and subjective cognitive impairment after 24 weeks of aerobic walking. Compared to the control group (n = 28), the aerobic walking group showed significantly greater improvement in delayed recall at 24 weeks. However, aerobic walking had no significant effect on subjective cognitive complaints or brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Conclusion: The aerobic walking training significantly improved memory performance among older women with hypertension. A longer randomized controlled trial with a larger sample is necessary to confirm and further explore the effects of this intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]