Memory Minders

Stimulating Enrichment Services
to Enhance Memory & Wellness

The Music of our Memory

The music begins, memories flood in and we’re transported back in time. Just listening to a song from our past can take us to a specific place, time and feeling. It’s as though it just happened. The connection between music and our brains is profound. We all experience it; research confirms it and now music is assisting people with memory loss and other conditions.Blue note

Music has long been employed to excite, calm and encourage people since our earliest times. King David in the Bible played and listened to music for multiple purposes. From athletes preparing for the big game, a surgeon desiring a relaxed operating room or companies advertising with it, music has many uses. We collectively and individually utilize music to worship, heal, soothe, stimulate and remember.

MemoryMinders encourages participation in various music related activities as a form of mental fitness, a stress reducer and relaxation technique. We can also apply music to remember when we associate an event, person or feeling with music. I personally find music so valuable in many applications each day.

We can help ourselves with music but also our loved ones as well. Anyone remember making a mix tape for someone you cared about? These days it’s called a playlist. It’s a list of favorite songs created for various reasons. I have playlists for all sorts of purposes-exercise, relaxation, holidays and vacations to name a few. Music provides the soundtrack of our lives. It can benefit anyone-even someone with memory issues.

A nationally recognized program, Music & Memory has been assisting those with memory issues and other conditions find joy and memories again through music. This program can now be accessed for Ozaukee county residents living at home through the Dementia Friendly Ozaukee County workgroup. If interested in how you or a loved one can participate in the program, click for further details or contact Kathy Glaser at (262) 284-8120.

Let’s all include music in our daily lives to assist our brains and memories. Play an instrument, sing or learn new songs to stimulate your brain and help you remember. Use music and make your moments memorable!

Music and Memory Community Program information

 

 

 

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Get Moving & Sleep Well to Live Longer!

Most of understand we should move and sleep more for better health. A new study shows it will help you live longer too.Move & Sleep more

A study recently published of over 200,000 Australian people aged 45 and over concluded replacing sedentary time with more active time or even sleep resulted in a longer life span. The best results were seen with replacing sedentary behavior with walking or moderate to vigorous exercise. The results demonstrated that for each hour of sitting in a day, you increase your morality risk by 3%. If sitting was chosen instead of active exercise, that risk increased to 5-17%.

Sedentary time was defined as sitting or TV/computer time combined. This means working at a desk, sitting on the couch, watching TV, or using a computer/electronic device with a screen. This sedentary activity was contrasted to sleeping, walking, standing and moderate to vigorous physical activity.

The study used statistical modeling and not actual replacements of one activity with the other. However, the results clearly lend support to the theme that moving and sleeping is better than sitting to live longer. This also supports new practices of standing desks in office spaces. Most feel standing increases productivity; now, it seems it will increase your life span as well.

The study also concluded that for those who sleep < 7 hours a night, replacing sitting time with sleeping time or even standing proved beneficial. It essentially says we need to sleep rather than sit and watch TV or be on a computer/phone/other electronic device.

I cannot stress enough the importance of getting adequate sleep for your brain. We know the impact sleep has on our memory, but this study now proves that inadequate sleep can lead to earlier mortality. It also reinforces that our wake time should be active. When we begin this pattern earlier in life, it will strengthen this behavior through our older years. The study estimates based on British and U.S. data, people aged 70 and older spend approximately 65-80% of their wake time being sedentary. This clearly needs to change, not only for those older than 70 but for those of us who are younger as well.

So get up, get moving and sleep well to enjoy a longer life!

Journal Reference: Emmanuel Stamatakis, Kris Rogers, Ding Ding, David Berrigan, Josephine Chau, Mark Hamer, Adrian Bauman. All-cause mortality effects of replacing sedentary time with physical activity and sleeping using an isotemporal substitution model: a prospective study of 201,129 mid-aged and older adults. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2015; 12 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s12966-015-0280-7

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Forgetfulness Two Ways

“I can’t remember anything anymore!” complains an overworked, busy mom. “No, I didn’t forget, you never told me” says the elderly husband to his wife. Both these people are forgetful, but the situations are entirely different. What each represents and how they are addressed varies, but are also somewhat alike. Let me explain.Why can't I remember

Friends and new acquaintances often kiddingly comment on how they could use MemoryMinders help with forgetfulness. It’s typically a comment similar to above regarding their memory not being quite as sharp. They are busy professionals, moms or people juggling multiple responsibilities. The reason for their forgetfulness is distinct and an easier fix than that of the older person.

The older person in the example above is having a hard time remembering that they forgot something. This is an entirely different type of forgetfulness. This person may or may not realize there’s an issue and either doesn’t want to acknowledge it or will do so only after being convinced there is a problem. For this individual, the underlying issue and the subsequent action plan are much more complex.

The most important thing for both of these individuals is to pay attention. The overworked mom or professional needs to stop multitasking. But often this person won’t stop multitasking for various reasons. It’s gratifying to assist these individuals to minimize their forgetfulness. But they need a desire to adjust their life to achieve and sustain mind and memory wellness.

Paying attention also holds true for the second, older individual. A senior citizen must focus more intently for entirely different reasons. Their older brain needs extra time to process, which is a normal part of aging. There also may be an underlying condition in their brain causing diminished memory. But similar to the younger person, the older person also must also possess a will to be proactive regarding their mind and memory wellness, not dismiss or deny the issue.

I often get calls and inquiries from children and friends of people with memory issues. They desperately want their loved one to join one of our groups or receive help from MemoryMinders. I encourage them and we discuss how our strategies are like an exercise class. You have to be motivated for it to help. A prerequisite is a desire to enact lifestyle changes to reach your goal. Some really don’t want to change. For others, their memory loss may be too far progressed as evidenced by denial of any issue.

The common goal for both of these people is to acknowledge their memory issue and choose to take action. Both situations represent those we can and love to serve at MemoryMinders. Whether it’s speaking to a small or large group, facilitating small group sessions or working one on one with individuals, we can help.

If you or a loved one has a desire to remember more and enjoy a healthier mind, contact us for how MemoryMinders can craft an action plan to help. Be aware and take care of your memory, because life is better when we make our moments memorable!

*(Ironically, though complete, I forgot 🙂 to post this early enough for my email subscribers to receive it Monday morning.  My apologies-I fall into the first category.  This is why I do what I do, while trying to follow my own action plan for memory wellness!)

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Memorable Senses

Swatting away at pesky wasps while kids slurp slushies, there’s a whoosh then a sudden cry of a little girl. As though in slow motion, I see her foot slip out of the corner of my eye. I cannot grab her fast enough. I think her chin hit the bleachers as she fell. “Did she bite her tongue or break her teeth?” is my immediately thought. She falls on her side; quickly scooped up by Grandma. Sitting in the bleachers last weekend, this momentary flash is a perfect example of sensory memory.

We often miss most of what we experience via our 5 senses of vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Every moment, sensory stimuli bombard and overload our senses. As children, we learn to selectively ignore most of these stimuli-except situations like the sudden cry of a child. Then we are on full alert.

The initial component of memory, sensory memory occurs within milliseconds.  All we hear, smell, taste, see, or feel is rapidly assessed and judged if it’s important enough to move into our short term memory. When we learn to tune out much of our sensory memory, we help our brains filter. But we can also hinder our memory. By paying closer attention to our senses and sensory memory, we can retain valuable information for our overall memory. We then use this sensory information in various ways to help us remember.Look listen feel

After a thorough checking over, my little friend was fine although I’m sure she’ll have a lovely commemorative bruise. Thankfully, her chin never did hit the bleachers. Thinking back on this bleachers moment, it was memorable due to all the sensory memories I recall. The sound & vision of her sudden slip, the wasps incessant circling, her frightened cries and our bustling to assist her all combined to create the memory.

Use the stimuli of all your senses to assist your awareness each day. Not only will it help you pay attention and remember, it will make your moments more memorable.

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That’s Why I Like Raspberries!

I knew there was a reason I like raspberry and dark chocolate!

We all have heard that dark colored fruit, dark chocolate and red wine (in moderation) are good for your brain. It’s partially due to the component resveratrol that is naturally found in these foods. New research has found resveratrol may reduce the buildup of a biomarker associated with worsening dementia and progressing Alzheimer’s disease.

Research just released in Neurology shows that purified resveratrol, found naturally in dark fruits such as red grapes, raspberries, dark chocolate and red wine, has been shown to possibly slow progression or build-up of a common biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease.

A double blind study of 119 participants with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s Disease was sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and conducted with the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study from 2012 to 2014 at 21 participating centers across the U.S. Participants who received the purified resveratrol had a lower amount of biomarker Aβ40 (among others) in their blood and spinal fluid. This is an important indicator as it appears the resveratrol has crossed the blood brain barrier and showed long term results. In addition, the resveratrol was safe and tolerated well by the study participants. Further study is being recommended by researchers.

While clearly more research is needed to evaluate if resveratrol can have an impact on Alzheimer’s or those at risk for Alzheimer’s Disease, I for one will continue to eat my raspberries and dark chocolate!

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