Daily exercises to keep one’s memory sharp

Memory, or its steady decline, remains as one of the sources of anxiety for aging adults. Many people believe that failing memory is part of old age, and they dread having to experience a condition which could practically render a person helpless. However, researchers have found that there are many methods and activities that adults can do to keep their minds in relatively good condition as they age.

Image credit:
health.kioskea.net

For instance, experts recommend learning a new activity, like ballroom dancing. Learning something new is generally good for the brain, and it could be about anything. Still, choosing to learn something that also requires some physical activity easily compounds on the benefits to the body and the brain.

Image credit: teachmetango.com

Weaning oneself off dependence on technology may also do the brain some good. Choosing to use a pen and paper over the keyboard may actually be good for the brain as people have been found to be better at remembering the orientation of a new character if they write by hand. In addition, research in children has also showed that writing by hand activates more regions in the brain.

Apart from vigorous activity, periodic breaks are also recommended. Researchers have found that people who take timely breaks during long study sessions recalled more of what they studied.

Image credit: npr.org

Meanwhile, studies have shown that meditation can also produce some changes in the brain. People who take time to meditate have also been found to be more attentive and have more self-awareness and empathy.

Some decline in cognitive function is normal as people grow older, but through simple tasks such as the ones listed above, adults can lessen age-related forgetfulness and avoid unwanted frustration and helplessness.

BrightStar Care provides more advice on staying healthy on its official website.

REPOST: 7 Ways to Protect Your Memory

Health.com shares 7 tips on how individuals can fend off forgetfulness as they age:

How to protect your mind now

It happens to all of us: You stop at the store and forget the one thing you went for. You blank on your co-worker’s husband’s name—Is it John? Jim? And where are those darn keys?!? It’s normal to be forgetful once in awhile, especially if you’ve got a lot on your plate.

But even if you’re years away from worrying about senior moments, research shows that memory loss can actually begin as early as your 20s, and it continues as you age. Thankfully, taking a few easy steps throughout your day can help you stay sharp—and maybe even help you remember where you put those keys!

Step No. 1: Eat toast for breakfast
Skipping carbs may harm your memory. A Tufts University study found that folks who eliminated carbohydrates from their diets performed worse on memory-based tasks than those who included them. Why? Your brain cells need carbs, which are converted in your body to glucose, to stay in peak form, says study co-author Robin Kanarek, PhD, professor of psychology at Tufts.

Pick whole grains and other complex carbs—they’re digested more slowly, so they deliver a steadier stream of glucose. Grab a whole-wheat muffin or slice of toast with a scrambled egg and cup of berries for a breakfast that’ll jump-start your gray matter.

Step No. 2: Take a kickboxing class before work
Exercise increases the blood flow to your noggin, bringing much-needed oxygen and glucose for fuel, explains Sandra Aamodt, PhD, co-author of Welcome to Your Brain.

In fact, you can learn vocabulary words 20% faster if you try to memorize them after doing an intense workout rather than a low-impact activity, suggests a study in the journal Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. Up the ante even more by taking a dance or kickboxing class—anything that requires you to remember a routine.

Step No.3: Change the font on your morning memo
Is Times New Roman your go-to? Try using a different, slightly difficult-to-decipher font—it’s been shown to improve your long-term retention, according to research published in the journal Cognition.

Focusing on a new font may make your brain’s processing center work a little harder, upping your recall. Change to Comic Sans Italicized (the font used in the study) for a quick fix that you may not notice but your brain will.

Step No. 4: Do a Web search during lunch
Spending an hour a day looking online for something you’re interested in (like researching spots for your next vacation) may stimulate the part of your frontal lobe that controls short-term memory, according to a recent study from the University of California, Los Angeles.

"The neural circuits involved in decision-making, visual-spatial, and verbal skills become very active when you do an Internet search," explains Gary Small, MD, lead author of the study. Don’t just mindlessly surf, though: If it’s too easy, Dr. Small says, it won’t be effective. (Facebook won’t do the trick!)

Step No. 5: Eye your parking spot
Always forget where you parked your car? When you stop at the grocery store to pick up your dinner, try this exercise: Get out of your car, notice where you’re parked, then move your eyes side-to-side every 1/2 second for 30 seconds while standing in place.

Practicing this simple eye movement may increase your long-term memory by up to 10%, say researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University in England. "That little extra boost might be just what’s needed to help you recall an important piece of information," says Andrew Parker, PhD, the study’s lead author.

Step No. 6: Drink a little with dinner
While being a heavy tippler can lead to memory loss, a new study finds that drinking in moderation may actually lower your risk for memory problems. In an analysis published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, participants who downed seven or fewer alcoholic drinks total per week had the lowest risk for cognitive impairment, compared with women who didn’t drink at all and those who imbibed more.

Researchers believe alcohol’s anti-inflammatory properties may be the reason. Or it could be that people who drink moderately also tend to lead a healthier lifestyle. Cheers to that!

Step No. 7: Floss before bed
It’s good for your smile—but it may also do wonders for your mind. When you don’t floss, your gums become inflamed, making it easier for bad bacteria to enter your bloodstream, explains Jonathan B. Levine, DMD, an associate professor at New York University and author of Smile!

Once in the bloodstream, the bacteria can cause inflammation throughout your body, including in the brain, which can lead to cognitive dysfunction. So floss daily (twice is ideal) to keep the absentmindedness away.

Brightstar Care is a leading provider of homecare and medical staffing services in the US and this blog regularly provides updates on topics related and important to the company. You can follow Brightstar on Facebook for more stories and updates on the health care industry.

REPOST: Early flu season accelerates; no peak yet, CDC says

NBC News reports that flu season is here once again, and it's quickly going from bad to worse:

The nation’s early flu season continued to grow in the U.S. this week, with no sign yet of a peak in the spread of coughing, achy, feverish illness, health officials said Friday.

"I think we're still accelerating," said Tom Skinner, a CDC spokesman.

Twenty-nine states and New York City reported high levels of flu activity, up from 16 states and NYC the previous week. Flu was widespread in 41 states, up from 31 states, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of the week ending Dec. 29, 2,257 people had been hospitalized with flu, and 18 children had died from complications of the illness, CDC reported.

“It’s about five weeks ahead of the average flu season,” said Lyn Finelli, lead of the surveillance and response team that monitors influenza for the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “We haven’t seen such an early season since 2003 to 2004.”

That’s the year that Joe Lastinger’s 3-year-old daughter, Emily, fell ill with the flu in late January and died five days later.

“That was the first really bad season for children in a while,” said Lastinger, 40, who lives near Dallas, Texas. “For whatever reason that’s not well understood, it affected her and it killed her.”

During that season, illnesses peaked in early to mid-December, followed by a peak in flu-related pneumonia and deaths in early January. It was over by mid-February and was considered a “moderately severe” season for flu, according to the CDC.  Finelli and other CDC officials say it’s too early to tell exactly how bad this year’s season will be.

But over at Google Flu Trends, which monitors flu activity in the U.S. and around the world based on internet search terms, this year’s season has already topped the bright-red “intense” category.

And at Flu Near You, a new real-time tracking tool that’s gaining about 100 participants each week, about 4 percent of the 10,000 users say they’ve come down with flu symptoms.

“That’s huge,” says John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston. “Last year, we never got near this.”

Brownstein is one of the founders of the project coordinated by Children’s Hospital Boston, the Skoll Global Threats Fund and the American Public Health Association. Though it’s still in its early stages, it already has generated new, interesting and, most of all, immediate data about this year’s flu season.

“It’s what we call ‘nowcasting,’” Brownstein said. “It’s a more up-to-date view.”

CDC data, which is based on visits to doctors for influenza-like illness, can lag two weeks or more behind real-time activity.
By contrast, Flu Near You can paint an immediate picture of what’s new with flu.

For instance, Brownstein said his data show that cough is the most frequently reported flu symptom this season, at 19 percent. It’s been followed by sore throat, 16 percent; fatigue, 15 percent; headache, 14 percent; body ache, 10 percent and fever, just 7 percent.

More telling, for people who reported both flu symptoms and vaccination status, of those who got the flu, three out of four were not vaccinated, while a quarter had gotten their flu shots.

Brownstein cautioned that can’t be used as a true measure of this season’s vaccine efficacy because of variables in reporting. But the CDC says that in the 2010-2011 flu season, vaccine effectiveness was about 60 percent for all age groups combined.

The agency has received reports that people who were vaccinated still developed laboratory-confirmed strains of flu. CDC officials said it’s not possible to know whether that’s happening more this season than usual and that the agency is “watching the situation closely.”

Overall, this year’s vaccines appear to be well matched for the two strains of influenza A and one strain of influenza B that are circulating this year, CDC officials have said.

The dominant strain this year is the H3N2 strain, which can cause more serious illness. Flu seasons can vary widely, but some years are severe, with hospitalizations of up to 200,000 people and between 3,000 and 49,000 deaths during a season.

As of December 14, the latest CDC figures available, about 127 million doses of flu vaccine had been distributed, from about 135 million doses produced for this season.

Joe Lastinger was one of the first to sign up for the Flu Near You tracking program after its test phase. The health care executive and father of three surviving children said it gives participants information they can act on about flu in their communities.

“I’m always excited about getting ahead of it,” he said. “This is a tool you can use. If everybody starts reporting these symptoms, you’re ahead.”

Information about vaccination is particularly important, said Lastinger. Flu vaccinations weren’t routinely recommended for healthy children Emily’s age back then, and Lastinger and his wife weren’t worried about it.

“For us, vaccination was the thing we should have done, had we known,” he said. “Flu needed to be up there on our parent radar of things to worry about. We think it should be on every parent’s list.”

As a trusted provider of caregiving and medical staffing services, Brightstar Care continues to help families care for the ones they love.  Stay updated on health care news and find more stories of families and caregiving by following Brightstar on Twitter.