Category Archives: Seniors
SuperAgers Super Memory Brains Alzheimers Reading Room
SuperAgers retain their sharp memory well into their 80s and beyond. Sceintist are identifying clues as to why they have the memory of person in their 50s.
8 Best Foods to Buy at a Farmers’ Market: Organic Gardening
Summer unofficially kicks off this weekend as we enjoy this Memorial Day weekend with our family and friends. Many of us are likely to attend at least one barbeque or social outing. Keeping this in mind, here are a list of foods you should consider purchasing locally and/or organic. After all-it is your health!
Have a safe Memorial Day weekend and remember to update your family health history and exercise your brain! Why not make it family game weekend and play some Scrabble, card games, hangman, anagrams, crossword puzzles? All these activities are a great and fun way to exercise your brain and utilize the principles of brain plasticity or neuroplasticity. Hey- Your brain-use it or lose it!
8 Best Foods to Buy at a Farmers’ Market: Organic Gardening
Notables Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease
Here is a photo gallery of some noteworthy individuals stricken with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Gallery | Notables diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease | accessatlanta.com.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Dutch Village Dubbed ‘Truman Show’ for Dementia Patients – ABC News
An innovative concept for Alzheimer’s patients, a nursing home disguised as a village.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Dutch Village Dubbed ‘Truman Show’ for Dementia Patients – ABC News.
Spring Brain Cleaning and Anagrams
Image via Wikipedia
Spring has sprung and is here in full force! Allergies, pollen, blossoms, and maybe even the spring cleaning bug. How about a spring cleaning for your brain? Get rid of those cobwebs that crowded your brain during your winter hibernation and return to the business of forming new brain pathways while building a cognitive reserve through neuroplasticity or brain plasticity. Let’s build a buff brain! Challenge yourself with something new or just do something differently or change the order of things in your daily, morning or evening rituals. Yes, it can actually be that simple-anything that causes or forces us to think differently is beneficial! It doesn’t matter if you are a senior, a baby boomer, a gen X or Y, approaching 50, 40, or even 30. We all need to embrace the concept of lifelong learning. It’s as simple as ABC-Always Brain Challenging-that is what we believe at BrainMasters!
Equally important to exercising the brain is the caring for the brain. This includes physical exercise and eating healthy brain foods. By engaging in physical exercise and consuming healthy foods we become active participants in the anti-aging, longevity, and anti-Alzheimer’s Disease campaign. I know everyone is busy-we all are. Surely, we all can allocate 30 minutes each day to exercise whether it is a walk, yoga, biking, or playing Wii Fit-just get moving! If you have a dog, then walk it; after all pets need exercise too!
Now that you are armed with this powerful new knowledge, it is time to exercise your brain and form new pathways! Here are some spring themed anagrams. Form as many new words as possible, and let us know how you do!
ALLERGIES
DOGWOODS
FESTIVALS
BLOOMING
GRILLING
FLOWERS
FLORAL
BLOSSOMS
NATURE
OUTDOORS
Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program
Alzheimer's Disease (Photo credit: AJC1)
UCLA introduces a new Alzheimer’s and dementia care program that targets the needs of the patient as well as those of the caregiver who often is a family member.
The UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care program will have three main components: creation of a dementia registry; a needs assessment of patients listed in the registry; and individualized dementia care plans based on those assessments.
Click on this link to watch a short introductory video on this exciting program.
Want a Healthy Brain For Life?
If you are reading this, then you are committed to your brain health! As you know, we must not take our brain health for granted. Just like our bodies, we must properly care for and nurture our brains. This includes physical exercise, proper brain nutrition, social interactions, and of course brain exercises.
You do not have to be an athlete or have a health club membership to exercise. Walking is free and requires no special skills or equipment. Studies have shown some significant brain benefits just by walking 3x/week for 35 minutes! Individuals actually experienced an increase in the size of the hippocampus. You may ask, “What is a hippocampus?” The hippocampus is the area of your brain responsible for memory. That’s pretty important, don’t you agree? After all, who of us isn’t interested in improving our memory skills? So, get some exercise!
Eating a healthy diet is also crucial for good brain health. Foods like fresh fruits and vegetables-berries, apples, green leafy veggies, omega 3 fatty foods like salmon, nuts-walnuts and almonds, lean meats, green tea. Try to avoid sugar! Sugar just doesn’t have any health benefits. Several new studies are actually suggesting that Alzheimer’s is diabetes of the brain. Do yourself and your brain a favor and get rid of the sugar!
Social connections are an integral part of maintaining brain health. Do you actively participate in social groups? How about starting a book, movie, investment, or cooking club? Do you have any hobbies? How do you spend your time when not at work? What fun activities have you done lately? Be involved with people and remember that humans are social creatures.
The last crucial component necessary to maintain a healthy brain throughout your lifetime involves brain exercises. By engaging in new and challenging mental activities, you are able to form new neural pathways. Forming new pathways in the brain, helps improve our overall cognitive skills. So, if you are an expert at crossword puzzles or sudoku , it’s time for something new. Ever considered learning a new language or learning to play bridge? Both are excellent ways to exercise your brain. Of course, you can always enroll in a BrainMasters class where we will most assuredly exercise your brain!
Do You Know Your Family Health History?
Just how well do you know your family health history? I suspect many of us know bits and pieces but not the full picture of our genetic history. I strongly suggest you research and record your family health history during this holiday season. Since we celebrate with our families during the holiday season, it’s an excellent time to get your family health history. Grab the video camera, your smartphone, or an old school tape recorder and pose the following questions- “Does anyone in the family have a history of Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, heart disease, stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, thyroid disease, or any other chronic disease?” Did you know that with any of these diseases you have an increased risk for developing memory problems and other cognitive deficits?
By doing a little research into your genes, you have the ability to map out a healthier lifestyle. It’s never too late to make positive lifestyle changes whether you’re a senior, a baby boomer, in your 40’s or 30’s, or in college. I challenge you to do some research and discover the age of your oldest living blood relative. By the way, mine was 115 or 116. I find that truly amazing! Try to brainstorm as a family what this relative did to achieve such healthy aging and longevity. Don’t be surprised to discover that these relatives probably have some things in common. They were active and kept moving, stayed engaged and connected with people, and consumed a healthy diet. No junk food or fast food on a regular basis. Strive for that kind of lifestyle to achieve optimal health. Don’t forget to include regular exercise as a part of a healthy lifestyle! Why not take advantage of every possibility to lessen your chances of developing memory loss or suffering a cognitive decline? Remember, memory loss does not have to be a part of the normal aging process! Be in command of your health and your life!
So, take charge of your health! Engage your brain with challenging and fun brain fitness activities. Let’s build your cognitive reserve through some mentally stimulating activities. Learn a new game, learn a new language, enroll in a class, participate in a social group, and EXERCISE! Try some BrainMasters’ Brain Boosters! One of the secrets to longevity is to achieve a healthy balance between a healthy mind, body, and spirit!
Let us know the age of your oldest relative, too! Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza and Happy New Year! Now is the time for YOU commit to your health!
BrainMasters 