70 is the new 25!
A recent news segment airing on Spectrum News 1 has highlighted the importance of creativity for the aging brain by featuring our Food for Thought program. Participants in our most recent adult brain health program at Oasis Senior Center were able to exercise their creativity and speak on the benefits of integrating creativity more thoroughly into their daily lives. Watch the segment below!
About our Food For Thought program:
The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity’s Food for Thought Adult Brain Health Program is based on scientific research into brain functionality and its direct support of the scientific fact that creativity exercises the brain in the most complete and complex manner. Projects are designed to exercise four specific brain functions: memory, executive function, visual function, and visual language. Each rotation has four weekly studio classes that are 90 minutes each. Our Teaching Artists provide stress-free, nurturing guidance to help participants utilize their own innate creativity.
Using creativity causes the brain to adapt, providing exceptional exercise for our brains and strong defense against Alzheimer’s disease. When we combine creativity with using our hands while visually engaged, we use multiple areas of our brain all at once. Brain research shows that making art improves cognitive functions by producing new neural pathways, thus enhancing cognitive reserves that actively compensate by using divergent strategies.
Studies indicate that while brains inevitably age, creative abilities do not necessarily deteriorate. The aging brain responds well to art by allowing the two hemispheres to work in tandem. Using one’s creativity throughout a lifetime positively impacts the retention of intelligence gained from accumulated knowledge and life experiences.