A Pint Worth Making
‘YOUVE staggered into work half an hour late, your breath still stinks of the 12 pints you put away last night, your clothes reek of smoke and Debbie from Accounts is giving you knowing looks.
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| ‘If Bob’s had three pints of stout, two gins and a half of creme de menthe, what is x?’ |
Youve got the hangover from hell and your boss is none too happy with you.
Fret not, dear reader, because help is at hand courtesy of researchers from University College London who will publish a report later this month concluding that spending time in the pub is good for your brain.
It is, says the Times, the news that every middle-aged man with a middle-aged girth has been waiting for, not to mention men without middle-aged girths.
The psychologists analysed information on 10,000 civil servants, questioning them on their leisure activities as well as giving them detailed cognitive tests to measure memory and language skills, as well as verbal and numerical reasoning.
And they concluded that there is a clear link between the social aspects of going to the pub and improved verbal and numerical ability.
This, says the Times, contrasts starkly with more restrained activities such as gardening and painting which, the study found, had no benefit to the mind at all.
The studys lead author Archana Singh-Manoux said it was a case of use it or lose it with the brain.
However, we would stress it is social activity alone rather than anything else associated with going to the pub which we examined.
The researchers found that the best way to help the mind was by regular cultural visits to theatres, art galleries and stately homes.
Well, the public bar at the Windsor Castle almost counts.’
Posted: 6th, November 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
