Aging and Life Enhancement
By Kathryn Kilpatrick, M.A.
The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance. ~Nathaniel Brandon
It is back-to-school time, reminding us of the early days of reading, writing and arithmetic homework assignments. Maximizing our functioning as we age often requires being proactive in many areas, including physical and cognitive functioning as changes are noted. That requires awareness, then getting information and suggestions from the most updated research and creating a personalized plan.
Perhaps you have some minor concerns or some more noticeable changes in your memory. Does it include mixing up words or names, trouble finding the right word, losing your train of thought, misplacing items more frequently or just drawing a blank? It might just be your lack of attention, a tendency to multitask or a hearing loss. What if it is something more?
If a family member or a friend has been diagnosed with dementia or perhaps Alzheimer’s disease, you may have seen a progression from changes with normal aging to something more concerning. But are you aware that current research indicates lifestyle choices play a significant role BRAIN HEALTH?
What are some things you might want to assess in your lifestyle choices, based on current research?
Sleep: 7-8 hours are recommended. If you need a nap during the day, make it a short one. Prior to bedtime, it is best to stop using electronic devices a few hours before and do not eat anything substantial.
Challenge your brain: Find something NEW and a bit challenging. Change it up instead of doing your favorites. If you do puzzles, switch to something new and harder.
Update your food choices: Add healthier options. Sugar is not your friend! Hydration is essential… 6-8 glasses of water a day. Keep track and you may need to add another 8 ounces every few days until you get to that amount. Don’t like water? Flavor it with fruits. Some people like lemon but others favor cucumber water. My favorite herbal teas account for at least 3 or 4 cups of my water consumption each day.
Socialize: Make new connections. Variety provides more cognitive stimulation. If you know someone who is unable to leave their home, consider visiting and engaging them in some activities that might interest them.
Is it possible that a lack of stimulation or an awareness of the importance in one or more of the above areas can be contributing to their challenges? Consider interacting with them to provide more engagement, observing their patterns and perhaps helping that person to incorporate some changes with assistance and encouragement.
Are you a person who wants to learn more about what can be done proactively? Talking to friends close to my age, it is not unusual to have someone mention one or two of the above issues. Maybe this is a pattern you are noticing in another person, yourself or they have mentioned it about themselves.
When I was working with families and clients as a speech-language pathologist, it became obvious that the starting place is attitude in any “rehab program.” It is going to take awareness by first acknowledging the concerns for yourself or perhaps someone you know. Are there inconsistencies, good days and bad days or just a subtle but gradual decline?
Recently, there have been comments and concerns about President Biden’s debate performance. Contrasting that with his State of the Union address and the hostage release situation, changes seem evident, but what is the bigger picture based on the most recent research regarding brain health? What may be contributing to the inconsistencies? How can the recent research on the pillars of brain health that focus on lifestyle choices apply to those experiencing periodic memory glitches or those wanting to be more proactive by maximizing successful aging?
As a speech-language pathologist in home health, working with primarily stroke patients, I would often question families about the person’s memory issues prior to their stroke. In more than a few cases, families said they did not notice anything but it was not unusual after a few sessions for them to recall some memory glitches.
At about the same time, I started to explore the topic of brain health more intensively when my very smart mother (who skipped four grades in school) worried she was slipping in her memory, even after addressing the hearing issues.
Not everyone may want to hear what you have to say so it is important to assess how and to whom to best share the basic updated research information or resources you have found, especially if changes are becoming a greater concern on their part or yours.
Before the outstanding research in recent years about the pillars of brain health and the potential of reversing memory loss in the early stages, I found some enlightening information in the Blue Zones, Nun Study and the London Cab research.
All of these lead to my workbook, Walking the Path to Memory Fitness One Week at a Time, which offers practical suggestions regarding many of the key areas of brain health with a proactive approach and practical strategies.
Look for future blogs that will provide suggestions from current research on how to best modify and upgrade your lifestyle choices including Sleep, Nutrition, Diet/Hydration, Stress Management, Exercise, Mental and Social Engagement, and more.
When your desire is to focus on enhancing your cognitive functioning to enable a better quality of life, moving forward at any age, integrating some of these recommendations while adapting a holistic approach is a good place to start.
Don’t just sit there and worry. Be proactive. Do something – anything – about what’s worrying you so you can gain information, focus and control over the situation. ~Mark Twain
