I wanted to write about a decades long study out of Yale with 660 people that studied having positive attitudes about aging actually have a positive health impact…more on that later…because I was distracted by a headline that read “My 75-year-old husband wants “you know what” every day. What do I do?” so, I had to read that instead and found out that hypersexuality can be a symptom of dementia. The more we learn…the more we learn to see the signs. And on that topic, of memory, not sex – back to the study.
A positive mindset towards aging is associated with lower blood pressure, longer healthier lives and a reduced risk of developing dementia. And of course, if you are more positive, you are far more likely to take preventative health measures like exercising, which helps us live longer.
Dr. Richard Restak, neurologist and clinical professor at George Washington Hospital University School’s latest book “The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind” includes tools, mental exercises, sleep habits and diet tips that can help boost memory. The book explores the connection of memory to creative thinking, the impact of technology, and how our immediate recall and long-term memory is tied to intelligence, concentration, achievement and exercises to strengthen it should be practiced daily.
Restak’s tips:
- Pay attention – when you learn someone’s name for the first time, or hear something new, to encode the new information try visualizing it
- Write a List and then toss it – instead of pulling out the list at the grocery store, do your best to memorize it and use your mind instead (and maybe check the list before you leave the store)
- Navigate by memory – ignore your Google Maps and Waze – at your peril, but wouldn’t it be fun to find your way the old-fashioned way once in a while
- Play games – yes, bridge of course, but also chess, and any game that makes you “store” information and recall it
- Read novels – because you have to remember character names and plots (History books are cheating because you already know the outcome)
- Rely less on technology – every day we hear about a new tech feature meant to make our lives easier, especially for seniors, but here is solid scientific guidance that we need to use our heads more than our phones
