From the Editors July 4, 2011 Issue

To defeat dementia

The Editors

A recently concluded five-year study of a thousand initially healthy seniors yielded some remarkably upbeat findings. Go to church, volunteer for a charity, have lunch with friends—in other words, get out of the house and interact with your neighbors—and you’re 50 percent more likely to ward off signs of dementia. For the most socially active seniors, the ones getting out of the house all the time and doing more for and with others, the statistics are even better. They are 75 percent more likely to fight off mental impairments.

Each spiritual truth lets in the light. The right resolve to remain active and alert comes into focus.

Whether or not the findings of this study stand the test of scrutiny, we think it is always a good idea to heed what Christ Jesus saw as the two great commandments. The second of the two is perhaps especially applicable here: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mark 12:31).

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