'Mind gym' to get Londoners working it out for their workout

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2006

LONDON (AFP) — Britain's first gym for the mind was to open for one night only in London with mentally challenging games on offer instead of treadmills. The national Science Museum will Tuesday offer memory-enhancing tips alongside traditional mental challenges such as chess and Rubik's cube as well as trendy relative newcomers such as the Japanese puzzle Sudoku.

The mind gym event was brought together to look at "cognitive fitness", the idea that mental exercise can delay age-related memory loss and help increase intelligence. "It's an exciting idea that stimulating the brain may help stave off mental decline," said Clive Ballard, professor of age-related diseases at King's College London. "However, there is little research evidence so far to support it so we do need better...