GPS navigation can keep you on track, but side effects could be devastating ∣ Ervolino

Birds do it. Bees do it.

Humans, unfortunately, are forgetting how to do it.

And by “it,” I mean getting from here to there without relying on the Global Positioning System, better known as GPS — that modern miracle which, according to a recent university study, has been linked to cognitive decline and symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Good grief.

Is nothing good for you, anymore?

Apparently not, even though, as far as I’m concerned, GPS is the most helpful acronym to come along since ATM.

Granted, it’s not foolproof.

Bill Ervolino's challenge: Eat (or toss) everything edible in the house before buying more

Six months ago, I spent two hours trying to get to a dinner party in Cranbury, N.J., — about 50 miles from my house — because my GPS insisted on redirecting me to Cranberry, Pa., which is 410 miles away.

In days of yore, many of us relied on maps to get to unfamiliar destinations. Then came MapQuest, the early internet-era alternative to the glovebox Atlas, which not only provided a map to wherever you were going, but told you, step by step, how to get there.

Mind you, MapQuest wasn’t foolproof, either.

I once asked the website to give me directions to the house directly across the street from mine, and, seconds later, it provided me with the “best” route, consisting of eight convoluted steps.

Minus maps (and MapQuest), confused motorists have long relied on logic, luck and helpful gas station employees — a dying breed.

The last time I told a gas station employee that I was lost, he said, “I don’t do directions.”

And I had just filled my tank!

(I was tempted to drive off without paying and yelling, “I don’t do money!” But, I didn’t.)

Ervolino: From skirts to shirts to going topless, men's fashion is confusing

Astronomy is yet another navigational aid.

ME: “Is that the North Star?”

PASSENGER: “That’s what I thought, but it’s heading toward the airport.”

Once I got a phone with GPS, I didn’t have to read maps, follow the stars or scribble directions on the back of my electric bill.

I just did what my phone told me to do. And, therein lies a problem.

My grade school teachers taught me that I had five senses. Sadly, “sense of direction” wasn’t one of them. Like a lot of folks, I’m hopeless when it comes to navigation.

I get lost backing out of the driveway.

Certainly, over time, humans can develop a skillset that may help us get from place to place, especially if we pay attention to our surroundings, look out for landmarks and don’t allow a disembodied voice to dictate our every move and do all the work for us.

A Canadian study published earlier this year concluded that using a map, rather than a device, actually improves overall brain health.

That study, done by researchers at McMaster University, seemed to align with the popular belief that our brains, like our muscles, need to be exercised to become stronger.

For years, we’ve been told that we can stave off cognitive decline by playing word games, doing crossword puzzles, engaging in lively conversations and giving our brain cells a good daily workout.

We can now add GPS-less driving to the list.

Unrelated studies done on rodents have shown that forcing them to explore complex environments had a positive impact on new neuron growth in their hippocampus, a part of the brain that plays a major role in learning and memory.

(New York City rats have reportedly become so smart that three of them are going to be on “Jeopardy” next week.)

I did have an experience three years ago when I was driving home from Tappan, N.Y. in a bad storm and lost my GPS connection. After two or three wrong turns, I proceeded to get so hopelessly lost it took me forever to get home.

Part of this is because I had relied on my GPS to get to Tappan. Three hours later, I had no recollection of the route I’d taken.

Nowadays, to be safe, I chart my route beforehand and take a written version with me.

I also avoid asking other people for directions because most of them are terrible at it. My father was one such person.

“Make a right,” he once told me, “and then take that road all the way to the end. Then, three weeks before the end, make a left.”

The first time I tried giving my parents directions to my house in N.J. was another nightmare.

This was pre-GPS and their navigational skills were even worse than mine.

After 10 minutes of dictating my directions over the phone to my mom, I said, “Then, you get on the George Washington Bridge…”

She stopped me and asked, “Do we take it north, south, east or west?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I moaned. “It’s a bridge. Take it to the side you aren’t on.”

They got lost, anyway.

Maybe it’s hereditary.

Maybe we should all just stay home.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Sure, GPS navigation makes life easier. But it doesn't help your brain