Exercise Away Your Risk of Alzheimer's

If you haven't listened to John Medina or read his Brain Rules book, you need to look in to it. These are some tips from his website. You will have to check out the rest for more.

Active people have half the risk of Alzheimer's of sedentary people. It's even less for general dementia. The following is brain rule number 1.

BRAIN RULE RUNDOWN

Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.

The human brain evolved under conditions of almost constant motion. From this, one might predict that the optimal environment for processing information would include motion. That is exactly what one finds. Indeed, the best business meeting would have everyone walking at about 1.8 miles per hour.

Researchers studied two elderly populations that had led different lifestyles, one sedentary and one active. Cognitive scores were profoundly influenced. Exercise positively affected executive function, spatial tasks, reaction times and quantitative skills.

So researchers asked: If the sedentary populations become active, will their cognitive scores go up? Yes, it turns out, if the exercise is aerobic. In four months, executive functions vastly improve; longer, and memory scores improve as well.

Exercise improves cognition for two reasons:

Exercise increases oxygen flow into the brain, which reduces brain-bound free radicals. One of the most interesting findings of the past few decades is that an increase in oxygen is always accompanied by an uptick in mental sharpness.

Exercise acts directly on the molecular machinery of the brain itself. It increases neurons’ creation, survival, and resistance to damage and stress.

For more rules click this link.

I Should Have Had The "Goodbye" Talk Years Ago

I was just sitting here trying to think of the last time I had a normal and clear conversation with my dad. It may have been a few years ago. After receiving the news that he had Alzheimer's disease, I should have had the heart to heart conversation with him back then about how much I love him and think the world of him. I have so much to tell him now that I didn't get to tell him then. He is mentally gone now and all though it's not too late to tell him, it's too late for him to understand.

When is the appropriate time to say "goodbye"? It usually happens after they pass away and most people feel guilty because they didn't get to tell their Alzheimer's loved one everything they wanted to tell them before they pass. Well, I feel guilty I didn't get to say it before he entered the Alzheimer's vortex.

There should be a rule or a time frame that all of this should take place so they can reciprocate their feelings. I feel cheated. I never got to hear his last "I love you". I haven't heard it in years. I will never hear it again and he is still physically present. It is definitely a weird reality to experience. It's just not fair!

Alzheimer's Reality

It's been a sad week. My dad took another down turn with his memory. I have a hard time going to visit him. It just makes me want to cry every time and I hate seeing him the way he is. When I am away from him, I mourn him. When I see him, all the sadness, worry and pain comes right back. What do I do?



Recently, my mom is having a really hard time with the reality that my dad is basically gone and . He is still here physically but he doesn't really know who anyone is anymore. She is missing him so bad and wishes she can just have one last dance with him. She has been listening to Barry Manilow recently and all of his romantic lyrics are bringing back a lot of memories for her and she just cries all the time now. She enjoys reminiscing but it's very painful at the same time. I have a hard time listening to her tell me all the stories from their past because I don't want to cry. I fight it back.



Alzheimer's is a nasty disease. Let's continue to raise the awareness.

An Apple A Day Keeps Alzheimer's Away

An apple a day? Well, it's more like an apple or two a day or you may prefer to juice the apples instead. None the less, this is something I will make sure to include in my daily diet.

A recent study shows drinking apple juice may improve memory by preventing the decline of an essential neurotransmitter known as acetylcholine.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals released by nerve cells to transmit messages to other nerve cells. They are critical for good memory and brain health.

"The findings of the present study show that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods such as apples and apple juice can help reduce problems associated with memory loss," says researcher Thomas Shea, PhD, director of the Center for Cellular Neurobiology & Neurodegeneration Research at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, in a news release.


Click here for full story.

A Simple Smile Says A Lot

The other night I went to visit my dad. I always say "Hi dad" right away so that he knows I am there to see him, as I look right in his face as I say it. Sometimes he says hello back or sometimes he just looks at me and says nothing at all.

He was sitting at the kitchen table so I sat directly across from him so I could talk to him. He has a cold so he is a little congested and I don't want to make him talk since his throat probably hurts, so I didn't say much. I just sat there and looked at him wondering what is going on inside of his head and how much of our conversation does he really understand. I am not sure what stage of Alzheimer's I would say he is in at this point. Moderate? Severe? Not sure.

I guess it doesn't matter what he understands, just as long as he knows that I love him. I looked at him in his face for one last time before I told him I had to go and he looked back at me with a big smile on his face as if he is trying to tell me that he knows who I am and he loves me, he just doesn't know how to form the words.

That was enough for me. That is all that matters.


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