India, April 8 -- A new study suggests that spending a lot of time on 'mentally passive' activities like watching TV or smartphone screens may increase the risk of developing dementia, whereas, activities that keep the brain active, such as solving crossword puzzles, may help protect against it.
During the study, researchers followed participants for about eight years to see who developed Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment, a condition that often occurs before dementia.
The participants also answered questions about how mentally active they were at different stages of life. In childhood, this included things like being read to, reading books, having access to newspapers or atlases, and learning a foreign language. In middle ...