Healthy Brain

Tips to keep your brain healthy

Researchers know factors that cause dementia - Lifestyle changes CAN reduce your risk

Key Lifestyle Changes to focus on:

Use it or Lose it:

Cognitive Skills include: Thinking, Memory, Listening, Paying Attention, Language

Use it and Improve it:

Use these skills makes them stronger. To improve a specific skill, you need to practice THAT skill. A task should be challenging, but not impossible.

Not using these skills makes them weaker.

Passive activities - watching tv, sitting in the background during group events - weakens cognitive skills

Specific Activities matter:

Do activties that are new and creative.

Learn a new hobby - painting, a new language, woodworking, gardening,

Watch a basketball game - write down points, fouls, key player names

Write things down -

keep a journal - thoughts, goals, memories

Keep a list - plans, things to do, groceries

Play Games - Try new games. Continue playing the ones you enjoy

Crossword, sodoku, riddles, puzzles

Scrabble, pictionary, taboo, mad libs, cards

Search the internet:

Look for information about a person and write down their history

look up personal interests, hobbies, topics of interest - read, write it down, discuss it with friends

learn to do something new - craft or project

Repetition matters

Your brain needs practice everyday ● For example… ○ To get better at writing, you need to write everyday ○ You cannot write only 1 or 2 days (5) Intensity matters ● Effort and time will increase your skills ● It takes many hours to improve your brain (6) Time matters ● Now is a good time to start! ● Your brain will continue to change for a long time (7) Salience matters ● Do activities that are important to you ● Your brain will improve more ● Be social! ● Continue to do social things with others ○ Spend time with family or friends ○ Go to church ○ Volunteer in the community ○ Have a real conversation every day

Some activities to help reach your communication goals: (1)    Speaking Read out loud everyday o R epeat passages until Scripts o Write down easy phrases you use everyday o Repeat them un Loudness Meter o til easy Use Noise Meter Pro app o Gives feedback on voice loudness Naming Practice o Name objects or people in: o house o magazine o photos o Create a set and repeat o Describe each thing named (2)Reading  Audiobooks o Read while listening Or o Read passages independently o Listen to check understanding  Audiobooks found at: o Audible: reading app o Bard: Website, free audiobooks o LibriVox: Website, free audiobooks  eBooks o Make text bigger o Increase white space (3) Writing  Speech to text function o Speak words into phone or tablet o Copy the word o Use to check spelling  Texting or Email o Write one a day o Use spell check and word prediction o Use text to speech function if stuck  Scrabble Tiles o Copy letters o Try to make words with tiles o Check spelling on phone  Copy and recall o Copy any written text  Birthday cards  Greeting cards  Books  Emails  Texts o Try to write message without looking at text (5) Listening Comprehension  Podcasts o Try to recall important details o Put important events in order o Multitask for a challenge  Listen without watching the TV o Write down sport game scores o Keep track of soap opera plots o Check understanding by looking at TV (5) Conversational Tools  Prepare for conversations ahead of time o o o o Take pictu res of people or activities to use Create photo albums Make scripts on topics that Bring pen and paper Remember : You are in char could come up ge of your recove personal goals and challenge yourself! ry . Set