Healthy body and brain

You know the feeling. You meet someone in the grocery store who greets you warmly and calls you by name. Your mind goes completely blank and you haven’t the vaguest idea what his name is. Or you’re at the garden center and want to be sure to get a particular annual that’s always worked well for you in the past. But what is it called?    

We laugh off these instances as senior moments and hope that it’s only that and not something else. While we begin to lose brain cells in our 20s, it’s not until we’re older that we notice that we sometimes can’t recall things as easily as we did before. By age 50, even occasional forgetfulness gets worrisome.

“A memory problem is serious if it truly impacts your daily life, such as forgetting how to do things you’ve done many times or losing the ability to follow instructions, as in a recipe,” said Steve Chenail, a registered physical therapist and therapy supervisor at VNA Northwest. “Chances are that minor memory problems don’t mean that you’re developing dementia.”

Age, of course, does make a difference. “As we get older, physiological changes can cause glitches in memory,” Chenail said. “We don’t learn and recall information as quickly as we once did. Decreased blood flow can interfere with memory and affect cognitive abilities, as can some medications.”
 

Healthy body, healthy brain

Fortunately, even if you routinely have to search for your car keys, the activities of daily life and the knowledge, wisdom and good common sense gained through long experience usually remain unaffected.

And there are steps you can take to improve memory and overall brain function.

Lifestyle is the key and many of the good things you do—or know you should do—to keep your body fit and trim have a positive effect on your brain as well.

“Walking 30 minutes a day is one of the best things you can do for brain function,” Chenail said. “It increases the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain and stimulates the production of chemicals that increase attention and memory.”

A University of Michigan study found that walking in a natural setting rather than an urban one appears to be especially beneficial. A nature walk—leaving the iPod at home—is more restful and leaves you more focused.

A diet high in omega-3s from fish, flaxseed or fish oil supplements, limited in saturated fats but including lots of fruit (especially blueberries) and vegetables can also help boost brain function. So can eating a healthy breakfast.

Pay attention to your posture. Breathe deeply, and if you know how to meditate, do so. If meditation isn’t your thing, set aside a few minutes each day to sit quietly and concentrate on your breathing. Keep stress in check.

Use it or lose it 

Most importantly, stay active and involved and focus on doing, not on remembering. Look to the future rather than dwelling on the past. Spend time with people you enjoy and engage with the world. A rewarding social life will go a long way to keeping your mind alert.

If you have the time and the pocketbook, travel is great for your brain function. Experiencing new sights and making your way through unknown territory is broadening at any age.

Challenge yourself. Do something different that works your brain. This is a perfect time to learn a new language. Volunteer for a cause you believe in where your talents can be well-used. Keep a journal or write your life story.

Crosswords are the classic prescription for keeping your brain sharp, but if you’re more of a numbers person, try sudoku. Chess, bridge, Scrabble and board games are good, too. A study in England showed playing bingo on a regular basis helped elderly people to stay sharp, minimized memory loss and improved eye-hand coordination.

A leading proponent of challenging the brain was the late Lawrence Katz, Ph.D., a neurobiologist at Duke University. Katz was the creator of neurobics—think of it as brain aerobics—a range of puzzles, brain teasers and mental exercises designed to, as he put it, “experience the unexpected and enlist all the senses.”

Katz emphasized the importance of teaching the brain to do new things through such simple exercises as eating or brushing your teeth with the non-dominant hand, getting dressed with your eyes closed, taking a new route to work or switching seats at the dinner table and putting the senses to work in new ways, such as listening to music while smelling flowers or gazing at passing clouds while your hand works a lump of modeling clay.

In other words, don’t always fall back on the tried and true. Try a different way. Just for fun.

Headquartered in Bantam, VNA Northwest (www.vnanw.org) provides home health care and hospice services to residents of 19 communities in northwestern Connecticut. Writer Cyd Emmons is a communications consultant to not-for-profit organizations.