Brain training: do reading, games, and learning count towards prevention?

I do crosswords and Sudoku almost every day and I enjoy reading. Does this really help prevent dementia, or is it just a comforting myth?

It's not a myth — but it's good to know what science actually says, without overstating it either way.

What the WHO recommends

The guidelines distinguish two things. Cognitive stimulation — daily activities that challenge the mind, such as reading, storytelling, playing games, and also structured group programmes — can be encouraged to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Cognitive training — repeated exercises aimed at specific abilities (memory, attention, speed) — can be offered to older adults with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment. Both are conditional recommendations with still limited evidence: the benefit is probable, but studies do not yet allow for strong certainties.

The lifelong context

More important than any game is the underlying principle, which the WHO frames in a lifelong perspective: lifelong learning, access to education, and cognitively stimulating work and environments should be promoted for everyone, to optimise brain health. Education and intellectual activity build what is called "cognitive reserve" — a kind of buffer that helps the brain cope better with ageing.

In practice

Continue with crosswords and reading — and add novelty, which is what challenges the brain most: learning something genuinely new (a language, an instrument, a manual skill), changing the type of game from time to time, or attending a class or senior university. And if you can do these activities with other people, even better: the social component adds its own benefit.

What you don't need to buy

You don't need paid "brain training" apps with miraculous promises. The evidence does not distinguish commercial products as superior to free and enjoyable activities — and enjoyment matters, because it sustains the habit for years.