Bingo a Positive Activity for Healthy Ageing

Playing Bingo can actually be good for your brain health and social well-being according to past research by Chicago's Rush University Medical Centre and a study conducted at Southampton University. In fact, it could be the key to achieving good mental and physical health along with independence in old age.

The game involves the use of good rapid hand-to-eye coordination which is well demonstrated by older players despite the fact that it had been thought that these skills decline as one gets older. Furthermore, Bingo, unlike chess or bridge which both require information to be stored in the brain for future use, relies on the ability to have fast reactions in identifying the numbers that come up in order to win a prize.

A study conducted over the past year by Julie Winstone from the University of Southampton has shown that long-term mental activity over a long period can avoid the onset of decline in mental abilities. Ms Winstone tested two sets of bingo players over the 12-month period. One set was aged 18 to 40 and the other one comprised players aged 60 to 82. She divided the groups in half, into bingo and non-bingo players. The conclusion was that bingo players were faster and more alert than non bingo players. Furthermore, it was found that older people often scored more highly in certain tasks.

Playing bingo is also a social activity, which is a key factor in slowing down the ageing process. Any social activity is good for keeping you young however, such as going out for meals with friends or having a night away, doing voluntary work, or visiting relatives.

The research from Chicago University showed that people in their 80s maintained greater independence and needed less assistance in getting about for example, if they had taken part in social activity in late middle age. As such, Bingo is an ideal game for older people as it maintains both alertness and social activity.

The researchers wrote in their report, due to be published in a future issue of medical publication, the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences: "Higher levels of social activity are associated with a decreased risk of becoming disabled."

According to the Chicago study, older people for whom social activity played a key part in their lives had twice the chance of avoiding physical disability that affected their daily functioning, than those who did not engage often in social activity.

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