Creative hobbies keep the brain young, study finds — here are the best ones to pursue

Key Highlights

• 7 KEY BEHAVIORS THAT COULD SHIELD YOUR BRAIN FROM PARKINSON’S DISEASE Scientists collected brain data from people with advanced experience in tango, music, visual art and strategy gaming, but they also recruited non-experts for comparison.
• In addition, a third group of beginners underwent short-term training in StarCraft II, a strategy video game, so researchers could see how learning a new creative skill affects the brain over just a few weeks.
• A new study found that creative activities can help the brain stay biologically younger.
• (iStock) All participants underwent EEG and MEG brain scans that were fed into machine-learning "brain age" models, or brain clocks, which estimate how old the brain appears biologically versus chronologically.
• Researchers then used advanced computer models to explore why creativity might protect the brain and found that the hobbies help strengthen the networks responsible for coordination, attention, movement and problem-solving, which can weaken with age. SCIENTISTS UNCOVER HOW SOME 80-YEAR-OLDS HAVE THE MEMORY OF 50-YEAR-OLDS People with years of creative practice showed the strongest reductions in brain age, but even beginners saw improvements, with strategy games boosting brain-age markers after roughly 30 hours of training."One of our key takeaways is that you do not need to be an expert to benefit from creativity," Dr.