5 Awesome Mother’s Day Gifts That’ll Keep Your Mom Thinking

The hype over Luminosity is blown.

Updated 11 years ago, May 8, 2014

A new study out of UT Dallas proves challenging new hobbies are more effective in keeping elderly minds sharp than brain training games and activities. Scott Barry Kaufman, a neuroscientist involved with the study, argues picking up a new skill, “strengthens entire networks in the brain…while brain games improve a limited aspect of short-term memory.” With this in mind, skip the flowers this Saturday and find mom a relevant new hobby. Here’s a list to help you get started.

1. Digital Camera

Learning digital photography had the most beneficial effects on brain function, even a year after the study was completed. It’s difficult and usually liked the least initially, but once the basics are learned it’s mom’s best friend.

2. Quilting Kit

“Quilting may not seem like a mentally challenging task. But if you’re a novice and you’re cutting out all these abstract shapes, it’s a very demanding and complex task,” says Dr. Denise Park.

3. Personal trainer session, Lululemon gift card, or hiking club membership

A study out of University of Illinois found that just 45 minutes of exercise three days a week reduced dementia and increased the volume of the brain. Keep mom hip with a gift card to lululemon, keep her social with membership to a community hiking club, or keep her fit with personal trainer sessions.

4. Gardening gear

A 2008 study found that lower caloric intake actually improves memory retention in elderly adults. No one can control mom’s diet, but you can encourage the productive hobby of gardening, which inevitably leads to better eating.

5. New dress

Believe it, sex can really help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. Too timid to get mom a gigolo? Understandable. Check out the new Michael Kors Mother’s Day collection for new dress ideas. This is the closest you’re going to get to encouraging mom to remain sexually active.

The hype over Luminosity is blown. Skip it and concentrate on long-term ways of keeping mom inquisitive and healthy.