http://www.aarp.org/health/brain/takingcontrol/engage_your_brain.html

Taking Control of Brain Health:

• Individuals have the ability to choose a lifestyle that will maximize brain power and the ability to learn as one ages
• Engaging in active learning will help maintain the healthy brain in later life
• Active continuous learning and change that requires new skills and abilities, hobbies and activities with the brain remodeling itself is the key to a healthy brain
• Successful aging is associated with stimulating mental activity which includes social interaction
• Cognitive training sessions have been found to improve memory, concentration and problem-solving skills in adults 65 and older
• These effects were powerful and long lasting removing 7-14 years of normal cognitive decline
• These skills can enhance functioning on similar cognitive tasks but have little transferability to other areas of cognition.
• This training has been shown to improve older adults’ abilities to sustain day-to-day activities.
• Staying mentally active can compensate for gradual cognitive declines and allow the brain to work better by building more networks and connections in the brain
• Neurobics, developed by Dr. Lawrence Katz, encourages people to use their brains in non-routine ways
• Routines become automatic behaviors which decrease brain activity
• Increasing attention to tasks by developing new ways to complete routinized tasks increases brain activity.

Research Articles:

Sorrell, J.M. (2008). Remembering: Forget about forgetting and train your brain instead. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing, 46(9), 25-27.

Access article at http://sorrell_article_JOPN.pdf

• As people age, memory loss and its link to Alzheimer’s disease are a concern for older adults.
• Proust believes that retrieving memories should be done through intellect and aesthetic experiences (using senses)
• He uses an example of looking at a photograph from a long-time ago which elicits memories and unique experiences in detail
• Current research proposes the idea that most aging adults who experience memory loss have an overload of information and difficulty sifting through unnecessary information to find the important information.
• “The ability to forget may actually aid the ability to remember”
• By suppressing irrelevant/distracting memories, less brain activity is used to recall needed information
• “Brain Training” has been used to address memories and the ability to articulate past experiences
• Programs addressed at working memory have also been shown to improve problem solving skills and fluid intelligence vs. crystallized intelligence
• Fluid intelligence is applied to problem solving and is important in everyday life
• Crystallized intelligence focuses on skills used for specific tasks
• There are memory training courses provided by the UCLA Center on Aging which is aimed at people with age-related memory problems who have a goal of maintaining/enhancing their memory who do not have dementia.
• Weekly 2-hr sessions were used to teach strategies to improve memory, including remembering names and faces and number recall
• Activities that included group decisions, memory quizzes, skill building exercises and healthy lifestyle choices were used.
• Time to share personal concerns and experiences with a group was another beneficial piece to this program

Websites with brain training activities:

Brain Age 2 for Nintendo DS

Must purchase Nintendo DS and game for healthy brain activities

Brain Gym International

International course that teaches 26 Brain gym movements which have been shown to increase Concentration and Focus, Memory, Academics: reading, writing, math, test taking, Physical coordination, Relationships, Self-responsibility, Organization skills, and Attitude

Brainwaves Interactive Exercises

This is a collection of books to buy with brain activities. Each book provides an example of what the book contains on this website.

Happy Neuron: Brain Fitness for Life

This website helps brain fitness through entertaining games that are scientifically supported to challenge the brain through a comprehensive program stimulating attention, language, memory, visual-spatial and executive function skills. There is a free trial membership and free games to try.

Lumosity

Provides specifically designed courses through the website to improve brain functioning through games. Assessments used to determine progress and ability after creating account.

My Brain Trainer

After obtaining a membership, this program provides short challenging exercises that provide analyzed results and useful tips.

Sharp Brains

This website includes research, resources, newsletters and brain teasers to increase one’s knowledge about brain functioning and to enhance different cognitive skills. 

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