By Elizabeth Eby

When I think about being fit and keeping in shape I usually think about the gym, but the Alzheimer’s Association reminds us that keeping fit from the neck up is even more important.   

Studies show that people with well-developed analytical skills and positive mental attitudes are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.  Stress, depression and isolation are hard on the brain and many seniors struggle with these problems on a daily basis.

Loneliness, Anxiety, and Dementia

I work with seniors and I am constantly impressed with how social interactions positively impact people who usually spend time alone. Word confusion and short-term memory improves as elders participate in group activities. To help promote conversation, I keep pitchers of ice water and paper cups handy so they can help themselves to something to drink. Hydration helps with speech problems, slows fast talkers down, and eases speech for those with dry throats.

I’ve noticed that people start to eat more when they have company and somebody helps to prepare the food.  I suppose this is something like the way I feel when my husband is traveling for business and I’m eating alone every night. Without companionship, I may bolt down a sandwich or just nibble junk food. With companionship, eating becomes a pleasurable activity—something to look forward to.

Maintain Your Brain

The Alzheimer’s Association has a 10 point program to maintain your brain.  It includes diet, exercise, and nutrition-- but it also specifies having fun. According to its Website www.alz.org, “Keeping your brain active and engaged increases its vitality and builds reserves of brain cells and connections. Read, write, play games, do crossword puzzles.”  Social and leisure activities that combine physical action and mental stimulation are highly recommended.  These activities can lead to boisterous family entertainment or just quiet times on the porch or in front of the fireplace. 

Get Out the Board Games

Checkers, chess, and other board games are perfect afternoon activities. One of my friends got out the Monopoly game and commissioned her son to carve houses and hotels out of erasers to replace the missing pieces. He had so much fun that he replaced all of them and her daughter made a necklace out of the boring Monopoly pieces that originally came with the game. (Clever girl, a string of houses and hotels is so more valuable then pearls these days.) The whole extended family got involved and they made their own Chance and Community Chest cards and renamed the streets to capture family history. Everyone had a great time.

When was the last time you played charades? What about word games?

We got my somewhat stuffy, conservative uncle to play charades when we used bible stories for a theme. However, I had even more luck engaging him in word puzzles. I pick up a new paperback scrambled letter or hidden word book every week at the grocery store. 

Games on the Go

While driving, we’ll try to find license plates from all the states. Try finding Hawaii and Alaska; it can be challenging, but that’s what’s fun! We also “collect,” or search for, customized plates while driving. My current favorite is “Zoeeee” but Uncle Tom liked “2cold4U.” I have to admit, we don’t remember all the license plates, so I bought a little notebook to keep in the glove compartment. 

To make the game last longer, we decided that a plate wouldn’t count if we didn’t see it together. These games get us talking and laughing as we go about town. We also play it when we are walking. Tom carries the notebook and I bought him some small beanbag-like quarter pound weights with Velcro wrist snaps. We do chest presses as we walk and talk. Those weights help us work our bodies while we work our brains!

Dancing Works Your Brain

Tom and I have gone square dancing and folk dancing a few times.  I went online to find the square dance club; the folk dancers have been meeting at the recreation center since I was a kid.  There’s a line dance group that meets at the bowling alley.  It’s hard to make time to go regularly but we have a lot of fun when we do. We both like having the opportunity to dress up.  My husband picked up an old set of Arthur Murray dance records at the flea market and the whole family enjoys playing them.

Believe it or not, dancing works your brain while it works those muscles! Dancing takes coordinated effort—and when you learn certain routings or types of dances; you force your mind into recalling each step as you move. Fred and Ginger had the right idea!

Talking & Eating

Remember “Feed them and they will come?” When I decided to institute a once-a-monthfamily game night—without TV, I knew I needed more than popcorn to get my kids to come. Uncle Tom makes pizza dough while I make sauce. Working together makes the conservation flow differently than when we sit down together for coffee. (In addition, kneading the dough and rolling it out is good for his arthritic fingers.)  The kids bring toppings so there’s always an interesting variety, and we take turns running the oven.

During this time, we talk about our lives, daily challenges, recent news—you name it. The key to the evening is to encourage conversation. Engaging with others is much more mind-friendly than a night in front of the boob tube.

I know I’m lucky to have a large, reasonably well-adjusted extended family nearby.  Often it’s just three of us: me, Uncle Tom, and my husband. And sometimes one or none of us feels social. We do make an effort to have dinner together and spend a little time in the living room reading, listening to music or playing cards several times a week.  From time to time, one of us will pick up a jigsaw puzzle and we just leave it on the card table until someone else finishes it. Our public library has a shelf where we can trade old puzzles for new ones. Even solitaire stimulates the brain. 

I know I’ve talked about all of this in terms of Uncle Tom’s health. The activities also make my life more fun and ease the guilt I sometimes feel about my role as Tom’s caregiver (sometimes it’s difficult). We are living in a time when new information about aging and dementia is always available. It seems a shame not to use this information to protect our own brains.