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A participant feature from The Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project

The Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project (THBP) is a collaborative world-first study which aims to determine if tertiary education later in life reduces age-related cognitive decline and significantly decreases risk, or delays onset, of dementia.

You can read more about the THBP here and meet Judy Lennard, a current participant of the study below.

“I am 59 years old and have four children. After the children graduated and moved on with their respective careers, I decided to apply to the University of Tasmania to study Behavioural Science in order to have a formal qualification in an area I knew I had substantial experience and knowledge in. I was accepted and completed the degree in 2016.

Understanding just how much there is to learn was exciting and I could notice in the second year of my degree the impact it had on my mental alertness, memory and recall ability. The second year of the degree demanded the memorizing and recalling of factual information, for example areas of the brain and their functions.

When I participated in the yearly 3-4 hour study that particular year I easily noticed an increase in my abilities to perform the tasks more efficiently. I could feel the strength I had gained in a mental capacity in the same way you feel physical strength improve through regular exercise.”