Memory Quiz for Smokers

If you want to keep your wits about you as you age, quitting smoking should be a top priority. A recent French study showed that middle-aged smokers are more likely to have memory difficulties than their non-smoking peers.

During the study of more than 10,000 people ages 35 to 55, smokers ranked in the lowest 20% for the cognitive tests compared to non-smokers. Ex-smokers were 30% less likely to have poor vocabulary and verbal frequency scores than current smokers.

In light of this study, we thought we'd put together a quick little quiz for you to test your memory. Answer the next few questions (quietly, unless you're not worried about people staring at you at work) as fast as you can:

* What was the name of your 5th grade teacher?
* Where are your keys?
* When is your mom's birthday?
* Don't look—what was the title of this post?

If you were able to answer these pretty quickly, then you're doing well and quitting smoking for good can only improve your memory. If you struggled on some these answers, here's some fun puzzle web sites to tease your brain and improve your memory.

Puzzles.com
Thinks.com
Sudoku.com
Bestcrosswords.com

How has your memory been affected (or not) from smoking? Do you think quitting smoking will help your stay sharp? [HealthDay]