There was a great article in the Detroit Free Press today about the importance of keeping our older generation mentally active so they can battle the causes of demnetia and Alzheimer’s disease. The article, which featured Home Instead Senior Care and the Northville Senior Center, stresses the importance of playing games and engaging in activities that stimulate the mind. Here is the article and link:
Brain games keep minds agile
Classes aimed at staving off memory loss
November 27, 2007
For the past few years, Thomas Smith has walked from one room to another and often ended up asking the same question.
“What did I walk into the room for?” said Smith, 71.
His wife, Judy Smith, sometimes experienced those common memory lapses, too.
On the advice of a friend, the Auburn Hills couple signed up for Cross Train Your Brain, a series of classes designed to help seniors boost their brainpower. The classes are held at the Troy Community Center and led by retired psychologist Betty Coven, 75.
“This is stuff that older people lose,” said Judy Smith, 70. Since joining the class five weeks ago, the Smiths are noticing small improvements in their memories.
As Michigan’s population is projected to continue aging, and as the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in the state is expected to rise by 10,000 to 180,000 by 2010, efforts like that in Troy will become increasingly important, say experts.
Coven’s program is believed to be one of a few for seniors, though in January, the Greater Michigan Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association will hold one-hour Maintain Your Brain workshops throughout the state offering strategies for seniors to improve brain health.
A 2003 New England Journal of Medicine study found that people who played board games, learned to play a musical instrument or did crossword puzzles were less likely to develop dementia than those who rarely did so or not at all.
Experts said activities that also can stimulate the brain include memorizing a poem and new experiences, such as a trip to a new restaurant. They also point to proper diet and exercise for their brain-boosting abilities.
“People who use their brains for games, reading and the like wind up doing much better than people who do not actively use their minds,” said Dr. Sid Gilman, a University of Michigan professor of neurology and president of the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
“When you keep your brain working, using its fuel, that slows down the processes that lead to Alzheimer’s, dementia,” Gilman said. “You yourself have the capability to ward off the worst.”
Younger people also can experience some loss of memory or brain function and can benefit from such activities as well, experts said.
Dementia is generally diagnosed in older people when they display problems with two or more brain functions. It’s a symptom of several diseases, including Alzheimer’s.
More than 5 million Americans age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s, a progressive disease that destroys brain cells and causes changes in thinking, memory and behavior, according to the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago.
Viola Corder suffered a stroke several years ago, but today the 92-year-old plays Rummikub with her Home Instead Senior Care caregiver. The tile-based game, similar to the card game rummy, not only helps her keep her math skills sharp but boosts her hand-eye coordination.
An added bonus: “I win,” said the Birmingham resident.
Home Instead Senior Care, which provides nonmedical care for seniors in their homes in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties, uses Rummikub and other games and activities to assist its clients.
Corder’s caregiver, Denise Golden, said Corder’s memory is sharper.
“When you have to add, you have to do sequences and groups; it helps keep your memory sharp for other things,” said Golden, who spends many of her twice-monthly, three-hour visits playing Rummikub with Corder.
Julie Bennett hopes card games including bridge and euchre help her slow the memory lapses that have cropped up in recent years. The 95-year-old plays weekly at the Northville Senior Community Center and said the socializing helps as much as the strategizing.
“I think it’s just good to be doing something,” said Bennett, who lives in Northville Township. “It helps me to be with people. It keeps me alive. And I notice that I’m getting a little forgetful.”
Coven’s memory class started by accident — as a way to help a few friends sharpen their memories and train for a senior spelling bee.
Now, she offers those 55-and-older six weeks of activities and games to improve their memory and thinking skills. Homework includes going to a new restaurant, writing, learning a new skill and crossword puzzles. The class meets twice monthly for two hours per class.
“We used to think that, as you aged, if you lost brain cells they were gone forever,” said Coven. “Now they know, the more you use it, the more you have; the more you have, the more you use it.”
Her classes also include lectures “so everybody can understand what’s going on inside their skull,” said Coven. Jokes are part of the lesson plan, too.
“Laughter helps you to generate more connections in your brain,” Coven said.
She said the activities have made a difference for several students, and she’s noticed improvement in her memory, too.
“For me, it’s like waking up again,” said Coven. “My memory is a lot better than it was.”
Contact RUBY L. BAILEY at 313-222-6651
