Call us to schedule a visit today! 503-585-6511
Willson House - Serving Salem's Seniors Since 1910!
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Board of Directors
    • Giving Opportunities
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Willson House
    • Willson House
    • Willson House Staff
    • Willson House Life Enrichment
    • Willson House Testimonials
    • Willson House History >
      • Willson House Namesake
  • Jason Lee Manor
  • New Page
  • Support Community

For a Healthy Brain Get More Sleep

1/21/2014

0 Comments

 
healthy brain needs sleep
You know you function better and have a better outlook on life when you wake up from a good night’s sleep.  According to an article written by Dr. Rob Winningham, Psychology Professor & Chair of the Psychology Division at Western Oregon University, “memory ability can be negatively affected when people don’t get enough sleep. Insomnia affects up to a third of all Americans in any given year and it can be quite debilitating.”

According to an article published on February 16, 2010 in Biological Psychiatry, chronic insomnia may lead to a loss in brain volume.  The study compared the white and gray matter volumes of 24 older, chronic insomnia patients to 13 normal sleepers.  Insomniacs had  smaller volumes of gray matter in three brain areas — and the more serious the insomnia, the greater the loss of volume regardless of how long they had suffered from the disorder.

However, the article goes on to say “researchers are not yet able to pin down whether sleeplessness precedes gray matter loss or the other way around.”  Clearly, more research needs to be done on the subject.  Until more information is known, we need to do all we can to increase the amount of sleep we get—starting tonight!

Dr. Winningham says there are 12 things you can try to get more sleep which may improve your overall brain health.  They include:

1. Keep regular hours.
2. Exercise everyday but not in the evening. Walking everyday has been associated with better sleep in older adults suffering from memory problems (study done by McCurry et al., 2005)
3. Don't drink alcohol after dinner; it will impair the quality of sleep.
4. Avoid nicotine and caffeine, which are both stimulants.
5. Don't nap during the day or do so consistently.
6. Unwind in the evening.
7. Don't go to bed starved or stuffed.
8. Don't associate the bedroom with wakefulness. Don't eat, drink, and watch television in bed. If you can't go to sleep then get up and do something else besides worrying about not going to sleep.
9. Don't ruminate in bed. If you have thoughts that you would like to remember, jot them down and stop thinking about them.
10. Control light at night and in the morning.
11. Get exposed to more light during the day (some studies have even used light boxes to help older adults sleep better)
12. Make sure sleep apnea is treated

For more information on Brain Health visit this website on a regular basis. You’ll find recipes, brain training classes, healthy brain tips and brain exercises which all work together to help you have a healthier brain and a better quality of life!  Call Mary Reitan, Community Outreach Director for more information at 503.502.4509.

0 Comments

    Archives

    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Alzheimers
    Anniversary Party
    Brain Health
    Brain Training
    Breast Cancer Awareness
    Can You Spare A Buck
    Caregiver
    Carnival
    Charitable Giving
    Child Development Center
    Christmas
    Cognitive Stimulation Workshop
    Craft Fair
    Dementia
    Donations
    Emergency Call System
    Emergency Call System
    Exercise
    Fundraiser
    Grandparents Day
    Health
    Hoarding
    Holidays
    Intergenerational
    Inter-generational
    Jason Lee Manor
    Memory
    New Employee
    Personnel
    Raffle
    Rummage Sale
    Scholastic Book Fair
    Secrets Of Aging Well
    Seniors
    Sleep Quality
    Special Events
    Staying Active
    Stress
    Sudoku
    Support Groups
    Tea Party
    Tree Of Life Celebration
    United Methodist Retirement Center
    United Methodist Retirement Center
    Veterans
    Willson House
    Willson House

    RSS Feed

Willson House - A Residential Care Community
1625 Center Street NE, Salem, Oregon  97301
Phone: 503-585-6511 - E-mail: info@WillsonHouse.org