What Can Nuns Tell Us About Creativity?

Have you heard about the School Sisters of Notre Dame? This order of Catholic nuns is dedicated to education and firmly believe that the idle mind is the devil’s workshop. So they have vowed to keep their minds active. When not doing their educational work and worship, many of the good sisters play games, do puzzles, follow current events and such.

A number of years ago, this group came to the attention of the medical science world as they were outliving the general population and showing fewer signs of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. A study was begun to monitor their living habits and where upon their deaths many have been donating their brains to science.

The main question being explored in the study is “What factors in early, mid, and late life increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other brain diseases such as stroke?” Other research questions relate to the determinants of longevity and the quality of life in the elderly. Some very interesting discoveries have been made, particularly fascinating for people interested in improving their creative thinking. Read the full article at "Before & After."