As we get older, we can become more forgetful—usually with minor, everyday matters like remembering names of acquaintances and occasionally misplacing items. These are common occurrences, resulting from a decline in brain activity, and should not be alarming. Fortunately, we can laugh them off as “senior moments” that may begin to surface in our ‘50s and affect most people older than 65.
Sadly, for some people, memory loss does not stop there. Forgetting names of family members and placing items in strange places and losing them can be signs of Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. However, memory lapses do not necessarily get worse. In fact, senior citizens can be better than younger people at some memory-related tasks, such as crossword puzzles.
What can you do, then, to stimulate the nerve cells in your brain? Whether you reside in a private home, a senior living community—in personal care, assisted living or independent living—or a nursing home, you can take measures to better care for your brain and preserve your memories.
Healthy habits for healthy brains
The Alzheimer’s Association and Harvard Medical School concur on several strategies. First, exercise several times per week. Consider walking or gardening, a fitness center routine or a sport involving moderate exercise. Second, eat healthily and consider a Mediterranean diet, which some researchers believe helps preserve memory. But before making any changes at all, consult your physician.
Third, adopt an outlook of lifelong learning. The Your Brain Matters website says that scientists have found that developing new skills (speaking another language or playing the piano) helps build new brain cells and is associated with a lower risk of dementia. Participating in mental activities (games, book clubs, puzzles or attending classes) and keeping up with current events also help to exercise your mind, just as physical activities exercise your body.
In addition, the Alzheimer’s Association and Harvard recommend that you lead an active social life, get a good night’s sleep, relieve stress and not smoke. These healthy behaviors are as important during senior citizen living as they are in earlier stages of life.
Memory support services
If you are concerned that a loved one may have a serious memory problem, you might be interested in our information on when is it time for memory support and what to look for in a memory support program.
At Country Meadows Retirement Communities, our Connections Memory Support Services offers assistance and emotional support to residents dealing with memory loss, as well as their families. Over the past 20 years, Connections has provided care and comfort for more than 10,000 people in our retirement homes. We do this with personalized support plans, a focus on emotional needs, intellectual stimulation and brain fitness through retirement community activities, customized exercise programs and establishing bonds and connections.
If you are in the process of considering or choosing a retirement community or Pennsylvania nursing home, be sure to ask about memory support programs if that is an area of interest for you. Senior communities also offer educational and intellectual opportunities, and an activities director can tell you about their offerings.
We would welcome your visit to any of our retirement home communities. Please contact us to request information or to schedule a visit at one or more of our locations.