Surfing the net can sharpen the minds of older adults

The in crowd: Keeping social activities up means sharper minds for health info. - Filepic

Surfing the net, going to museums or joining a club might have an unexpected side effect: improving the ability of older people to understand drug labels and doctors’ instructions, says new study.

“We found that the effects of Internet use and cultural activities, along with other social activities, including civic activities and leisure activities, added up,” says lead author Lindsay Kobayashi of University College London. “The more social activities people engaged in, the better it was for their health literacy.”