Staying Sharp: Bridge to Somewhere

[Guest guest]

Staying Sharp: Bridge to Somewhere By: Phil

Scott Source: NRTA Live & Learn

 

Just before Katrina slammed into the Gulf, retired math teacher John

Brumfield loaded up his car in New Orleans and drove out of the

hurricane's kill zone, to Jackson, MS. And as soon as the weather

cleared, Brumfield went back to what he's been doing four or five times a

week since college: playing bridge. His bridge partner in Jackson was

another New Orleans evacuee, and until he returned home five weeks later

the pair played against a couple of Jackson residents. " It's a fun

game, " says Brumfield. " A very competitive game. I enjoy the

logic of it, you could say. And I've made a lot of friends playing

bridge. We run around together, do dinner parties and that kind of thing.

People in Jackson play in our tournaments in New Orleans, so I knew

several people there. "

It's especially good to have friends during hurricanes and evacuations,

but bridge, a partnership card game that originated in the Middle East in

the 19th century, has even more going for it: It can sharpen your wits,

help ward off Alzheimer's, and even make you physically healthier.

 

Your Brain on Bridge

Bridge works its magic through sheer complexity. Players must

remember each player's cards, which builds memory skills. They must plan

ahead, strategize, and use logic, all of which challenge and stimulate

the brain. Plus bridge is played in groups. According to a study of

adults 50 and older published in the Journal of Gerontology,

social interaction markedly decreased intellectual decline.

In a study published in the June 19, 2003 issue of New England Journal of

Medicine, researchers followed the leisure activities of 469 senior

citizens for five years. Those who regularly played cards showed a

greatly reduced incidence of dementia, while those who exercised

exhibited little change from the normal population. Daryl Fisher, who

taught English, speech, and debate at a New Orleans private school before

moving to Rolla, MO, could have told you that from his own experience.

" When I taught bridge to retired adults, " he says, " you

could see their interest in life perk up as they made friends and got

hooked on the game. "

Immunity Booster

A more bridge-specific University of California, Berkeley, study in

2000, coordinated by Marian Cleeves Diamond, a professor of integrative

biology there, shows that playing bridge increases the number of immune

cells. For her research subjects, Diamond chose a group of 12 female

bridge players at a club in Orinda, CA. The women, in their 70s and 80s,

were divided into three groups; two groups played bridge for 90 minutes,

the third didn't. Blood samples were taken before and after play.

 

The two bridge-playing groups showed a significant increase in CD-4

positive T cells, which seek out and destroy foreign bodies in the body.

The third group displayed only a modest increase. The study, which

Diamond presented at a New Orleans meeting of the Society for

Neuroscience, suggests that brain activity might be able to stimulate the

immune system.

Reasons to Love It

" Bridge is casual and funny and serious all at the same time,

and you make lifelong friends, " says Jennie Sauviac, who has played

since 1972 and teaches bridge at the Louisiana Bridge Center.

" Family pictures are a must. " Daryl Fisher agrees. " Lots

of get-togethers for couples revolve around bridge friends, " he

says. " Groups get together every month or so to have a social

evening to cook dinner and play a friendly hand of bridge outside the

club scene. Sometimes a romantic interest can develop, " he adds.

" People have ended up marrying someone they met at bridge. Sometimes

it's their second or third marriage. " Sounds great--so long as the

first two marriages didn't end because a spouse was always off somewhere

playing bridge.

Wanna Play?

If you'd like to learn to play bridge or find others who already do,

a good place to start is the nonprofit

 

American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). It

has 170,000 members, 3,200 bridge clubs, hosts 1,200 tournaments a year,

and offers free online lessons.

You don't even have to leave the house to play bridge. Log on to

 

OKBridge.com, which has an annual fee, or

 

BridgeBase.com, which is free. You can

play 24 hours a day with other addicts around the globe.

Phil Scott is the author of

 

 

Hemingway's

Hurricane. He has written for

Scientific American and New Scientist and regularly covers

brain research for NRTA Live & Learn.

This article appeared originally in

NRTA Live & Learn, Fall 2007.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Lyn,

going to explore this... you just might have passed on a new hobby

to me :-)

At 12:31 PM 15/03/2008, you wrote:

 

Staying Sharp: Bridge to

Somewhere

By: Phil Scott Source: NRTA Live & Learn

[Guest guest]

At 10:53 PM 3/14/2008, you wrote:

I used to play bridge all the time when I was in school. Even got these

really small cards so we could sneak and play it in study hall! Am still

trying to convince my DH to learn how to play. Well, at least they have

online ways now...

Lynn

Thanks Lyn,

going to explore this... you just might have passed on a new hobby

to me :-)

At 12:31 PM 15/03/2008, you wrote:

 

 

Staying Sharp: Bridge to Somewhere