21 November 2012, a study in Japan is showing that seemingly mindless (unintelligent) chit chat with friends and loved ones actually increases your mind’s capabilities by increasing blood flow.  It could also explain people who have long lives.

Some very old sisters were studied.  Reporters asked them what their secret to their long lives were, and they admitted it was mindless chit chat, for at least four hours everyday.  Their mother was part of the mindless conversations and she lived until she was 111 years old!

The sisters think their chit chat works because they laugh a lot.  However, the scientists studying them discovered it was simply talking with a loved one that did the trick.

The researchers monitored the flow of blood into their brains as they talked to different people.  They found no change in blood flow when they talked to strangers, but when they talked to loved ones there was an immediate increase in blood flow, even without laughter.

Here’s what the Japanese researchers concluded:  Families that repress interaction are more likely to have problems, and shorter life spans.  Therapeutic chit chat must also be conducted in an informal environment, it doesn’t work if the environment seems formal or serious, even if it’s done with loved ones.  Mindless chit chat with loved ones greatly reduces dementia in older people, because the increased blood flow helps keep the mind fresh and exercised.