WELCOME TO MONTH 5 ABOUT THE SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANS OF REDUCING YOUR RISK OF DEMENTIA HERE ARE THE LINKS TO THE PODCASTS https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Cy64wgDGufk9Q11y7s5Mm?si=8WSXGViwRfmsFxS9TEGRQw&nd=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUcNV_5Qj6s&feature=youtu.be Welcome. This is the fifth podcast on how to increase your brainability and reduce your risk of dementia - keeping engaged and purposeful to keep your brain healthy. But before we go on though, here are a few facts about dementia. Dementia is not accelerated ageing. Memory slips are not a sign of dementia. Importantly, dementia becomes problematic when these four functions are affected.
One or more of these four failures or problems can signal the presence of dementia. In addition, normal brain ageing does not cause significant problems. When we are in our late teens, information-processing speed peaks than declines. At 35, short-term memory begins to weaken and decline. Emotional understanding peaks in middle to later adulthood. In our 60s and after, vocabulary abilities continue to increase. And, in our 60s, 70s and beyond, accumulated knowledge and facts about the world, peak at this late time in life. Keeping engaged and purposeful contributes to accumulated knowledge and brain health. For example, here is a story about Ed. Ed was a model of someone who managed to keep engaged and purposeful and live successfully in his later years. At 88 years of age, Ed managed to keep focused on the aspects of his life that were important to him. This included caring for his dog Charlie and taking newspapers and his garden produce to the care home staff. The care home was where his wife Norma lived during the last two years of her life. Ed would visit Norma daily at the care home and was well liked in his circle of relatives and friends because of his dry sense of humour, his positivity, and his philosophical attitude. He had a ‘can do’ approach to issues or problems and this contributed to his ability to be able to live independently in the three years after Norma was not around. Ed was always curious. He researched new seeds, new seed companies and new and different approaches to nurturing plants. He donated much of his garden produce to his family and friends. While Ed never was a formal community leader holding a position in some organization, he regularly participated in local events. He remained able to live alone successfully. Suspicious phone calls were detected by him and he was able to deal with tradespeople around the house. He benefited by his ability to communicate and work with them to the satisfaction of all. Ed had an engaged and purposeful life up to its end. What aspects of Ed’s life at 88 years strikes you as important and might help prevent dementia? We know that increasing our contact and interaction with other people helps us avoid isolation and depression. It is now known that people who consistently engage in a diversity of social activities exercise neuropathways in their brain in a way that protects them against dementia and other age-related brain problems. Your brain benefits from its neuroplasticity. By this we mean, new circuits form when your brain is asked to perform a new task. A physical task, such as dancing, a thinking task such as learning a new language and a thinking and emotional task such as chairing a community of a voluntary organization. These all take advantage of your brain’s neuroplasticity and keep it tuned up. Despite ageist claims, at any age you can learn and develop new circuits but your brain needs to be challenged. However, there is no guarantee this will be preventive as it is not known yet how to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease. However, as outlined in our Brainability book and these podcosts, many other actions increase your brainability and reduce risk of dementia by at least a third. It is never to early and never too late in your life course for dementia prevention. Throughout life, you must engage your mind. Exercising your brain is just as important as exercising your body. Activities that challenge your brain on regular basis keep your mind active and healthy and may help slow decline your ability to think as you get older. Here are some things to try.
The good news is that there are different sources of support to help people who want to keep engaged and purposeful. First, you can ask what, as an individual, you can do to keep engaged and purposeful? For example, you can spend time on what you enjoy doing. Second, you seek support from your friends and family? For example, they can join you if we want to go for a walk. This also increases keeps you socially engaged. A third question you should ask to keep engaged find out what can you do in your community? For example, many communities have grecreation centres that brings you in contact with citizens of all ages. After asking what you can do to keep engaged and purposeful, how can friends and family support you with this and seeking out activities and supports in your community, in a sense, a last resort is to go to the health service to seek advice and support. For example, if you are having trouble with your hearing, after a visit to your family physician she or he may refer you to an audiologist. In summary, it is important to nurture your contacts. No matter your age, feeling lonely and socially isolated can be harmful to your physical, emotional, and cognitive health. New and stable social ties can help you feel more engaged and connected. Try:
Best regards. LARRY CHAMBERS |
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