Just two hours a day spent keeping the mind and body busy is as effective at warding off dementia as drug treatment, research reveals.

Simple activities such as gardening, doing crosswords or sudoku, making snacks and singing helps keep the brain healthy, and even slow the course of dementia in sufferers already diagnosed with the condition.

It confirms longstanding theories that keeping the brain active helps keep it healthy.

Researchers in Bavaria trialled a two-hour therapy session, called MAKS, in nursing homes for six days a week for a year.

Sessions began with a 10-minute “spiritual” introduction, in which the 98 participants discussed topics such as “happiness”， or sang a song or hymn.

They included gentle exercise, such as bowling or croquet, half an hour of solving puzzles in groups and 40 minutes of everyday activities such as preparing a snack, simple gardening work or doing woodwork, as well as uplifting activities such as singing.

The impact was “at least as good as” treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors, typically prescribed to treat dementia, study author Professor Elmar Graessel, from the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, said.

据英国《每日邮报》12月1日报道，一项研究显示，每天两小时的身心忙碌能有效避免麻醉药品引起的痴呆症。

一些简单的活动，如园艺工作、玩填字游戏或九宫格游戏、做小吃以及唱歌能帮助大脑保持健康，甚至能减缓痴呆确诊病人的病情恶化。

【每天身心忙碌两小时可预防痴呆】相关文章：

★ 全职白领做兼职时应注意什么问题?

★ 时尚烟盒吸引女烟民 酷似香水遭抨击

★ 科学家称玩嗨了有助于学习

★ 吃胡萝卜真的可以增强夜视能力?

★ 联合国:2100年全球人口将达到109亿

★ 利物浦大学用中文标注别“舞弊”！校方公开道歉了…

★ 请原谅自己,善待自己

★ 200年前疾病又卷土重来，我们防得住吗

★ 飞机抵达“目的地”，乘客全都傻眼了！BBC主持人笑岔气……

★ 搞怪又好玩的时尚门挡