Exercising our Brain

Just as continuing to exercise our bodies is important as we age, so is exercising our brains.  Researchers have discovered that keeping our brain active can increase its vitality and may even help to generate new brain cells.  The Alzheimer’s Association cites the following four areas to help reduce the risk of cognitive decline: physical health and exercise, diet and nutrition, cognitive activity, and social engagement.

A Harvard Health Publication reports on “6 simple steps to keep your mind sharp at any age” that outlines ways to help prevent cognitive decline and reduce your risk of dementia.  The first suggestion is to keep learning because challenging your brain with mental exercises is “believed to activate processes that help maintain individual brain cells and stimulate communication among them.”  The second step is to use all of your senses as the more senses that are involved in learning something; the easier it is to remember it. 

Believe in yourself is the next tip and reminds us that we need to continue to work on improving and maintaining our memory and not just accept the fact that old people forget.  Also they suggest prioritizing your brain use by organizing and designating systems to remember daily, routine things and save your brain for more important tasks such as learning new things.  Another step when you want to remember something is to repeat it out loud or to write it down.  Lastly they say to space out something you want to remember over a longer period of time rather than just repeating it over and over again all at once.  In other words, think about it again in an hour, then a few hours later and then once a day, etc. 

The Alzheimer’s Association suggests that to keep our brains healthy we need to stay curious and involved.  They recommend daily exercising our brain with activities such as:

·         Reading, writing, and doing crossword or other puzzles

·         Attending lectures and plays

·         Enrolling in continuing education courses

·         Playing games

·         Gardening

·         Memory exercises

Source:health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/6-simple-steps-to-keep-your-mind-sharp-at-any-age 

alz.org/we_can_help_stay_mentally_active.asp

At SYNERGY HomeCare, we are one of the most trusted names in home care in Colorado serving the front range since 2006. We have grown to 5 offices and will be adding 2 more locations in 2015 and our successful growth can be summarized by one word, "Service".   Our mission is to ensure that every client is treated with the upmost respect and dignity, and we strive to incorporate those beliefs into all of our home health care services. We are available 24/7 to listen to your unique story and provide you answers to all your questions.