by Bob McCluskey on December 18, 2009
As our population ages, senior citizens driving vehicles on our streets becomes an increasing concern. An aging friend recently told me, “I had to stop driving to [a neighboring town] because when I got there I couldn’t remember why I had come half the time. Then I couldn’t remember how to get back home.”
When memory loss reaches this point there is little we can do except to encourage our friends and loved ones to stop driving. This can be a traumatic and discouraging time for everyone involved. Many experts believe that there is nothing that can be done to forestall these crises. Nevertheless, I have some advice that may actually delay the trauma, and which is likely to surprise you.
My advice is to encourage your aging friends and loved ones to drive as much as possible before memory loss makes it impossible, especially before the onset of memory loss begins. Even after it begins we may be able to slow it down by allowing our aging friends to drive under safe and positive circumstances.
It is common for caregivers to try to minimize the opportunities that aging folks have to drive. For example, as our relatives and acquaintances grow older, we tend to run errands for them or, when they need to go somewhere, we drive them. On these occasions, we should look for opportunities to let them do the driving, with us as passengers and, where necessary, navigators. This not only gives them driving practice, it gives them confidence and gives us the chance to evaluate their driving ability fairly.
Driving is the type of activity that works well to stimulate memory. It requires a combination of physical operation, concentration, perceptual judgment, and recall of landmarks and goals. Any skill which involves these factors will tend to decline unless it is practiced.
The next time you think about calling an older person to ask if they would like to go out for a drive, why not suggest that they do the driving. You can assure them that you will be patient and will be there to help if necessary. Suggest that you go somewhere that they are very familiar with, maybe more familiar than you are. For example: “Why don’t you take me out to that little church in the country your family attended when you were a girl.” Now you have set up a positive driving experience that will also reinforce memory. Let me know how it goes!
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by Bob McCluskey on December 17, 2009
Neurons in the brain
You may have noticed that my blog is sometimes sponsored by companies that provide “brain games” for the purpose of minimizing memory loss and even improving memory. I allow this because my training and teaching experience in the field of psychology have convinced me that mental exercise is an effective way to minimize the effects of aging on memory.
The recent Bronx Aging Study shows that participating in activities that stimulate the brain can delay memory decline, even in older people. None of those who participated in the study had dementia when they began. During the study they reported how often they participated in six mentally stimulating activities: reading, writing, doing crossword puzzles, playing a card game, participating in a group discussion, or playing music.
Researchers followed up on these folks for a period of five years. The more mentally active a person was, the longer it took for memory decline to occur. On average, each day of mental activity resulted in a 36 day delay in the onset of memory loss. A person who participated in 11 activities per week enjoyed 1.29 years of healthy memory compared to the person who participated in only four activities per week.
Of course, many of the activities that enhance healthy memory during later years can be done for free. It would be reasonable to ask why a person would want to spend even a few dollars a month to subscribe to a service that provided such activities. Perhaps the best answer to that question is another question: what are you doing now to enhance your mental health as you grow older? What are your loved ones doing now?
Millions of people spend billions of dollars to join health clubs, gyms and other programs that provide them with incentives to participate in physical exercises that they would not do otherwise. In addition, they leave their homes and drive their cars to locations at which they do the same things they could do at home. Subscriptions to brain enhancing services are not only less expensive than health club fees, but take less time and can, for the most part, be done with a computer at home.
In short, I accept the sponsorship of companies that provide memory improvement services because I believe in them. Many of us are aware of news reports indicating that living to 100 will soon be commonplace. At the same time, we live in fear of Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. Exercising the brain is not just another aging theory. These exercises work, and they are affordable. Most all of us are interested in anti aging strategies, and this is a good one! If you have comments or questions, you can send them to me by using the comment form below.
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