A landmark study by Dr. Jefferey Cummings connecting the effect of a lack of mental stimulation and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia has proven that playing poker, and other critical thinking card games, can reduce the diseases by a dramatic 50%. This comes after a series of studies showing that keeping a mentally active lifestyle after retirement, which is contrary to the traditional leisure lifestyle, is of the utmost importance in battling the cognitive degeneration of the mind.
The Poker-Alzheimer Connection
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal Dr. Cummings references a 2009 French study that included 5,000 men and women over the age of 65 who enjoy "playing cards just twice a week resulted in a risk reduction of 50 percent for all dementias." This is a result of performing critical thinking exercises on a regular basis and avoiding the laid back purposeless life of retirement, all through playing cards.
Poker at its core is a critical thinking game where well thought out decisions must be made all the time and players sense the need to think critically. Dr. Cummings focuses on the need to avoid the "norm" of retirement, which is to become laid back and mentally inactive. Playing poker and other card games into retirement can take the place of working beyond normal retirement age, which through Dr. Cummings' study has proven to significantly reduce the risk of dementia.