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Q Get moving. Physical activity on most days of the week
helps your body keep mental stress in check - plus, it supplies
your brain with much needed and vital oxygen flow within the
blood stream during exercise.
Q Giving yourself a break. If you must live with a stressful
situation, for example job stress which cannot be changed, take
mini-breaks. Whether it is a 20-minute a day time-out or several
days, take time to relax and enjoy the things and people you
find pleasurable.
• Let go of grudges and past mistakes.
This point contributes more to a healthy mental outlook on
life. Holding grudges is not healthy and can lead to increased
levels of anxiety, depression and can ultimately even contribute
towards illness. Let go of grudges and move past any mistakes
that have been made. This is done for your own benefit and not
for the benefit of the ‘wrongdoer’.
• Form stronger connections with people.
Probably our most useful weapon against aging is staying
socially connected. The support we receive from our friends
and family helps maintain our mental health. Research shows
that those who are engaged with family and community
we age, some things remain relatively the same. We retain our
general level of knowledge, especially with regard to previously groups take longer to show the symptoms of Alzheimer’s
learnt information. Our ability to change and be flexible disease than those who are socially isolated, so stay or become
remains similar despite our level of patience declining. i.e., we connected. If you are not a social person who makes friends
are still able to handle similar situations we faced in the past easily, join a book club, bird club or a volunteer group.
with flexibility and adaptability, however we no longer choose • Enjoy a more fulfilling and happier life. Look on the bright
to do so or no longer choose to exercise the level of patience side. A positive outlook and positive emotions contribute to a
required for the task. The proverbial ‘old dog’ can learn new healthy mind and body. Focus on the good in the world and the
tricks provided we want to! We might need a little more time to activities and people that make you happy.
learn them than previously, due to cognitive decline, but we are
still able to learn.
HOW CAN I HELP MY MEMORY?
WHAT CAN WE DO TO KEEP OUR MINDS HEALTHY? • Be realistic and do not expect to remember everything.
Just as we exercise our bodies to keep them in working order, In today’s technological world, we are all overloaded with
so must we exercise our brains to stay mentally agile and information. Therefore, when necessary, use lists, reminders and
adapt to our environment. The ‘use it or lose it’ theory applies other memory aides. For example, write down appointments
here because if we keep stimulating the brain, it continues to in your diary or on your cell phone and keep a list of chores in
be active and adapt to the inevitable elements of aging. By your pocket.
engaging in mentally stimulating activities, we can maintain, • Develop routines to help you remember. Take medicines
or at the very least slow down the effects of aging on our brain the same time every day. Leave your keys in the same place.
functions. Therefore, give your brain a workout daily. Solve a • Visual memory tends to be better than auditory memory.
puzzle, learn a new musical instrument, read a challenging
book, play a board or card game, attend a lecture or talk, or That is, it is easier to remember what you see than what you
write a short story. These all contribute towards maintaining hear. Using both at the same time will enhance memory. For
your mental alertness. example, if you need to pick up fruit at the shops, visualise the
fruit in the aisle.
We can stimulate our mental alertness in the following ways: • Association. By associating, we enable our brains to utilise
• Improve concentration and focus. Keeping the brain active prior knowledge and build upon that. Scaffolding on prior
and involved through tasks requiring concentration and focus knowledge and learnt behaviour work wonderfully for both the
help ward off early signs of mental aging. young and the aging.
• Handle stress more effectively. Stress not only wears the • Increasing attention improves learning and memory. When
body down, it can also affect the way we think, our moods, and learning something new, limit the distractions (for example
ability to remember. When we are stressed, it affects memory
and learning. Stress can also cause or contribute to depression turn off the TV and choose a quiet place), and focus your
and anxiety, which in turn leads to overall negative well-being. attention. Be realistic about the time that you are able to sit and
focus.
To deal with stress, first identify its causes and determine what • Allow yourself additional time and have patience. As we
changes you can make to avoid it. For example, if rush-hour get older, we require more time to learn
traffic is causing you stress, change the time of your driving or something than we would have when
change your route to avoid heavy traffic. However, not all stress we were younger.
can be avoided; sometimes we are trapped in stress-provoking
situations, such as having a stressful job. We then need to The most important thing to
engage in other methods of stress reduction such as: remember is that aging is a
Q Talking about it. Sometimes talking through your stress normal and natural process. We
with a friend or therapist helps to put things in perspective. cannot stop time, but we
Writing in a journal can also be very rewarding. can change how we view
Q Taking time to relax. Whether it is by taking walks, playing the progression of time and For more information please call
golf, reading a book, or meditating, find ways to release your how we engage with the Dr Ruane’s Practice on 083 376 1995.
stress and take a break. changes that are inevitable.

38 Kyalami Estates • CONNECT • Issue 1 • 2019