Friendly Chats Benefit the Brain Just as Much as Crosswords, says Study

Want to have a healthy brain? Then don't discount the value of chatting with a friend or neighbor. This advice comes from University of Michigan psychologist Dr. Oscar Ybarra, who believes that a few minutes of talking, face to face or by phone, boosts intellectual performance (including memory) as much as doing Sudoku or crossword puzzles. Dr. Ybarra's research is set to be published in the February 2008 issue of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Dr. Ybarra's findings are likely to be accepted intuitively by people who work with the elderly and who can notice the improvements that can come from increased social interaction. Dr. Ybarra said that his research was in response to the common assumption that to keep the brain sharp people needed to engage in intellectual endeavors. Ybarra said:

"There's a widespread belief in this culture that the way to maintain your sharpness is to do technical and intellectual activities. But this study suggests an alternative to Sudoku or crosswords could be simply talking to one another."

This builds upon earlier work by Ybarra that noted:

"When people interact with others, basic processes such as working memory, speed of processing and verbal knowledge come into play. But social interaction also entails responding to others with our vision, hearing, touch and even smell. It is hard to conceive of a math problem or a novel affecting us in all these ways."

However as with many such studies one must wonder if it is the social contact that leads to enhanced cognitive abilities or is it that those with sharper minds that are inclined to be more socially active? Indeed:

Still, it is not simply a matter of more social contact's leading to a sharper mind. People in better shape mentally are probably more inclined to be social in the first place, the study said. Which is cause and which is effect is not clear, and each may be a bit of both.

The important point is to not do just one of these activities at the exclusion of the other. There are cognitive benefits to be gained both from social interaction and from mental stimulation.