10/5/2015
AAMC health column: Five tips for keeping your brain fit ­ Capital Gazette
Lifestyle / Health & Seniors
AAMC health column: Five tips for keeping
your brain fit
Rebecca Gondak
Correspondent
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Did you know that even five minutes of relaxation can give your brain a big boost?
OCTOBER 4, 2015
L
ooking for strategies for tuning up a tired brain?
Age­related memory changes can begin to arise in late middle age, which is considered 48 to 62
years old.
These changes can increase anxiety and negatively affect one's feeling of competence. However,
studies suggest that elderly animals are just as capable of growing new connections between brain
cells as younger animals, and this also appears to be possible in humans.
To help, even the healthiest people can try these brain exercises. They might seem simple, but they
work.
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•Keep a daily planner: Whether it's electronic or an old­fashioned book, a planner can be a
crucial brain saver. Too many people try to keep all their information in their heads and it just
doesn't work. If you are forgetting appointments or simply having trouble staying organized, a
planner is a simple solution.
•Take brain breaks: Brains get tired, a condition known as "cognitive fatigue." So instead of
getting frustrated when you can't concentrate or your mind wanders, take a break. Start out by
taking brain breaks at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day. Sit quietly, close your eyes, stop all activity and
check your cognitive energy level. Even five minutes of relaxation can give your brain a big boost
and can help you re­prioritize your day.
•Have a place for everything and everything in its place: This age­old adage still holds
true. In our demanding, stressful world, it's easy to forget the little things. Make a list of the most
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10/5/2015
AAMC health column: Five tips for keeping your brain fit ­ Capital Gazette
common items you misplace and then designate a place for them that's easy and obvious, perhaps
a basket by the door for keys and the phone. Often we misplace items when we are distracted or
multi­tasking so just concerting mental effort on identifying a proper location will increase your
likelihood of keeping things organized.
•Remember how to remember: Do you have trouble remembering people's names? Rather
than focus on your frustration, think instead of what you can recall. Can you remember what
letter the name starts with or how many syllables the name has? Where do you normally see this
person? Instead of giving up when the answer doesn't come to you immediately, these ways of
"thinking around the name" help with word retrieval and will lead you to your answer.
•Connect the new with the old: Remembering new information can be hard, especially as we
age. One of the best ways to help recall new memories is to connect them with something you are
already familiar with as those associations spark recall. For example, if you parked on level 4B in
the parking garage, you can associate that with having four kids who get Bs in school.
Try some of these tips to help you with your day to day recall. If you have more significant
concerns about your language and cognition, it is worth following up with your primary care
physician.
Rebecca Gondak is a speech language pathologist with Anne Arundel Medical Center
Rehabilitation Services. She can be reached at [email protected] or 443­481­1140.
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This article is related to: Anne Arundel Medical Center
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