Spring Arbor Living Blog

Mental health and memory are closely tied to physical health. Physical and emotional vitality are important to maintaining mental health. As you or your loved one gets older, and become less able to do some activities, replacing lost activities can help keep a positive attitude and sense of well-being over time.  If you can no longer run, try walking for example. But just as physical health needs upkeep, so does memory and mental health.

Protect or improve your memory and mental sharpness by:

• Challenging your brain daily. Read, learn a new musical instrument or language, do crossword puzzles, or play games of strategy with others. Just like an active body, an active brain continues to develop and thrive, while an inactive brain loses its power over time.
• Help your memory. Write down dates, names, and other important information that you easily forget. Use routine and repetition. For example, keep daily items such as keys and eyeglasses in a specific place. No matter what your age, having too much on your mind can keep you from remembering new information. And as you age, it is normal to take longer to retrieve new information from your memory bank.
• Preventing depression, which is a common yet treatable cause of cognitive decline in older people. In addition to getting regular physical activity and social contact, avoid the depressant effect of alcohol and sedative use, eat healthy meals and snacks, and include meaningful activity in your daily life.
• Not smoking. Cigarette smoking may speed mental decline. This connection was identified in a large study comparing smokers and nonsmokers age 65 and over.

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Dr. Potter, chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center says:

Stay mentally active. What actually happens is that as we get older, synapses in the brain are stimulated by mental activity, so this helps to preserve mental ability. Just being well-educated is a good idea. Education and mental stimulation helps to create and preserve and develop new connections. So taking a course later in life is a good idea.

Following a good heart-healthy diet is good for memory because what's good for your heart is good for your brain. And you can actually stimulate develop of new brain cells with physical activity.

Dr. Mastrianni, Associate Professor of Neurology; Co-Director, Center for Comprehensive Care and Research on Memory Disorders at the University of Chicago Medical Center says:

There things one can do to avoid developing Alzheimer's disease or memory decline associated with aging.  Lifestyle changes that have shown benefit include routine physical exercise, staying socially active and eating a heart-healthy diet. At least 30 minutes a day of physical activity gets your heart pumping and improves oxygenation of brain cells.

Social activity may include staying actively working, or volunteering in local organizations or clubs.  Research suggests that having a large network of social interactions helps to maintain good brain function and even delay Alzheimer's disease.

Finally, eliminating unhealthy practices such as cigarettes, too little sleep, and too much stress can't hurt and are likely to help your brain function better.

Dr. Shulman, assistant professor of neurology and associate director of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology at the Pearl Barlow Center for Memory Evaluation and Treatment at the Silberstein Alzheimer's Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center says:

There are four main pillars of keeping healthy memory or maintaining brain fitness: healthy diet, exercise, keeping mentally stimulated and avoiding depression. There is no single entity that we can modify that will decrease the likelihood of someone developing Alzheimer's. It's a combination of applying all of these.

The issue with avoiding depression is a controversial one: Is depression itself a risk factor for dementia, or is the early sign of depression the earliest sign of dementia itself? It looks increasingly like it's a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, and there's a whole host of complicated reasons, but it does seem that if you keep stress-free and depression-free, that in and of itself is insurance for healthy aging.

Original article My Health News Daily

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