Brain Effort News Today

>> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt good evening, and welcome. after a dangerous confrontation in the skies, a warning tonight from russia to the u.s. not to fly aircraft near its airspace throwing the onus on the united states for that midair collision between a russian and american plane over the black sea yesterday. the u.s. making clear its pilotless surveillance plane was flying legally in international airspace when it was knocked from the sky by a russian...

>> reporter: you dont have to get lost in the desert to get the brain benefits experts suggest changing your usual route, turning off the gps on routine trips, and getting lost on purpose for the challenge of finding your way. for kathy, who has a family history of dementia, her good old map and compass could be the key to keeping her brain sharp dr. john torrez, nbc news, cade creek, arizona >> good for her. we have a lot to cover in our second hour of "chris jansing reports. lets g...

bloody war in ukraine. is that what was behind this weeks confrontation with the u.s. drone and what does it say by him asking billionaires to save the russia economy. and the roller coaster on wall street shows no signs of stopping the s&p 500 is actually up what it all means for finances of everyday americans. and donald trump and his allying ramping up on ron desantis. and vladimir putin is under exterior and growing pressure both at home and abroad. mired in a war thats gone ...

three feet of snow in parts of the northeast. in the west evacuations after storms bring rain and floods to california. now crossing the country. stocks falling on wall street amid fears another major bank could fail. the terrifying accident at a texas zoo. a tree falling on multiple people including a child. what were learning. the high-stakes hearing. the judge in texas who could ban the abortion pill nationwide, even in states where abortion is legal. what happened in court? ...

>> extremely convenient, but they take the thinking out of it they take the brain effort out of it. and it may be doing us a disservice in the long run >> reporter: losing navigational skills can lead to cognitive decline, even dementia, but reading a map stimulating the hippocampus. >> by turning off the gps and using a map instead to navigate through unfamiliar routes, were training that part of the brain. and its less likely to decline. >> reporter: people who participate in orr yen tiering s...

All of the above. i do it for exercise and because i love the puzzle. solving the puzzle. >> reporter: new research from mcmaster university in canada shows solving that puzzle is part of keeping her brain healthy. scientists have found that using gps does too much brain work for us. >> theyre extremely convenient but they take the thinking out of it. they take the brain effort out of it, and it may be doing us a disservice in the long run. >> reporter: losing navigational skills can lead to cog...