Improve Your Memory with one pill a month! Lose ten pounds in the next two weeks without having to exercise! Eat one teaspoon a day and your memory will forget it ever had any problems! Sign up for this course and reverse memory loss in 24 hours! Discovered – a magic bullet to solve all your memory problems!

Sound familiar?? These are all recent headlines in leading newspapers
and magazines. If you believe any of these then do I have a deal for
you!! Seriously though, if you read something and it seems too good to
be true, it most likely is.

Ads promising to drastically improve your memory, almost overnight,
are everywhere. I always cringe when I read them, knowing that
thousands of people will respond, hoping for a miracle. The fact of
the matter is, there is no magic panacea for combatting memory loss.
Are there some things that can help? Absolutely. But they take work on
our part – eating better, staying physically fit, engaging in mentally
stimulating activities, socializing, reducing stress and more.

Currently there are no medications on the market that cure memory
loss. Even the drugs designed specifically for dementia can only help
with the symptoms – and even then, only for some people. Are these
drugs worth a try if one is diagnosed? In most cases, I think the
answer is yes. We shouldn’t though, expect results immediately. Again,
they can help with the symptoms but they are not a cure.

Can a pill cause us to lose weight without any effort on our part to
exercise and eat better? Of course not! If there were, I’d be taking
them everyday!!

Can we take a course and learn everything we need to do to reverse
memory loss? Most likely not. We can certainly learn to do things
which can help with memory loss but as for reversing it, again without
any effort on our part, no way!

So next time you read an ad and it offers a miracle cure, ask yourself
the following questions:

• Is it too good to be true?
• Will I get results with little or no effort?
• Is it sponsored by a credible source?
• If it’s a workshop, is the facilitator legitimate and does she/he have experience in the field?
• Do I really need to pay money to improve my memory or do I instead need to change my diet, exercise more, engage in mentally stimulating activities, spend time with optimistic friends and family and work on reducing stress in my life?

I think we all know the answers!!

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend everyone – and a big thank you to
all those who have served our country in the armed forces. We owe you
a great deal of gratitude!       

Written by Kristin Einberger of www.brain-boosters.com

“If older adults can maintain their cognitive ability, they will require less care and possibly delay or even eliminate the need to go to a nursing home. Cognitively stimulating activities may also postpone symptoms of dementia, which could also delay the need for more intensive care.”  This is an excerpt from an article Dr. Rob Winningham wrote in the Journal of Mental Health and Aging. 

Sudoku is just one of the many things you can do to improve your memory. In last week's blog post, you received a couple 6 square puzzles (read it here if you missed it). Now you can download the answers here to make sure you were correct.

What are some other cognitively stimulating things you can do to help improve your memory?  Following is a list of 20 things according to Dr. Winningham in his book, “Train Your Brain: How to Maximize Memory Ability in Older Adulthood"

    •    Read a book
    •    Order a subscription to a newspaper
    •    Do crossword puzzles
    •    Join a club or other organization
    •    Visit with friends
    •    Take a class at a local community college
    •    Go to a sporting event
    •    Try to develop a new hobby
    •    Take different routes to frequent destinations
    •    Go to a different grocery store
    •    Take a trip to a new place
    •    Go dancing or take a dancing class
    •    Volunteer
    •    Join a book club
    •    Try learning a foreign language
    •    Get a part time job
    •    Gardening— consider becoming a master gardener
    •    Read new magazines
    •    Listen to music
    •    Play new board games

Studies have shown that the more stimulating mental activities people are involved in each day, the slower the rate of decline in their memory. So make it a habit to increase your mental fitness by taking your brain for a 20 minute workout each day! 

On October 2nd, Willson House hosted Dr. Rob Winningham, Psychology Professor at Western Oregon University, as he presented a workshop to over 80 people to explain that we have the power to increase our memory by making changes to our daily lives right now!   

“Numerous studies have reported that older adults who engage in a greater number of cognitively stimulating activities are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.   A study published by Dr. Wilson and colleagues found that people who participated in the greatest number of activities were 47% less likely to develop dementia in the next 4.5 years”, says Winningham.

We all know that if we don’t exercise our body we begin to lose muscle tone and strength.  The same thing happens to our mind if we don’t use it— we lose cognitive ability.

Here are some highlights from Dr. Winningham’s presentation:

    •    Adopt a healthy lifestyle by maintaining a nutritious diet filled with high antioxidant foods, staying active and managing risk factors such as diabetes, smoking, being overweight, and having high blood pressure.
    •    Sugar isn't as bad as we thought it was— it's much worse!  Dr. Winningham said Alzheimer's disease could be called Type III Diabetes, adding, "Sugar is toxic for the brain."   Insulin resistance = memory loss.
    •    Begin challenging yourself daily with a new hobby, taking a class, learning to play an instrument or speak a new language, playing Sudoku, exercising or taking a 30 minute walk each day.
    •    Engage in activities that force your brain to concentrate for a sustained period of time.  There are some great iPad apps for cognitive stimulation such as Lumosity, Fit Brains, Sudoku2, Tetris, Brain Lab, Stroop Effect, and MemBlock which is the iPad version of the 80's game, Simon.
    
We learned that, although no guarantee is made, there really is something that we can do today to minimize the effect of memory loss on our life and the lives of those we love.

Dr. Winningham, professor of psychology and Chair of the Psychology Division at Western Oregon University, will speak at Willson House on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 from 6pm to 7:30pm. 

This FREE education workshop “How Memory Works, Why We Lose it, and How We Can Improve it”  is sponsored by ComForcare Home Care and ProPac Pharmacy and open to the public.  Because seating is limited, FREE tickets are required and available here.

Dr. Winningham has nearly 20 years of experience researching memory issues and has conducted research in how the brain changes as it ages.  He has developed programs to improve older adults’ cognitive and physical well-being and has trained over 4,000 instructors in North America to offer similar programs.

For more information or to reserve your ticket to the presentation, click here or call Celly at Willson House (503) 585-6511.  Willson House is located at 1625 Center St. NE in Salem.