When establishing exercise habits as part of Alzheimer’s and dementia management, it is important to stimulate the mind and the body. When seniors chose an exercise plan it keeps their body active and moving, while stimulating their mind. An exercise routine establishes a pattern in your day and that pattern will strengthen your memory. This is a vital part of disease management and will help in the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Healthy Lifestyle Changes for Adults Over 50
When striving to make healthy lifestyle changes, exercise is the key. The earlier you begin a regular exercise routine, the more likely you are to obtain overall health and fight the effects of diseases that appear later in life. Studies have shown that there is a correlation between the health of the heart and the brain. Anything that is good for your heart has been found to be very good for your brain. It is never too late to begin a regular exercise routine. Studies have found that up to half of Alzheimer’s disease cases can be lessened or prevented by lifestyle changes.
Fight Alzheimer’s Disease with the Following Changes:
- Quit smoking
- Create a regular exercise routine for the mind and body
- Research and learn about Alzheimer’s disease
- Follow a doctor’s advice to treat and control chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, and obesity.
- Establish a healthy diet that is full of vegetables and rich in lean meats. A popular diet to follow is the Mediterranean Diet.
Slow Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms with a Regular Exercise Routine
Committing to as little as two hours of exercise a week can reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Some exercises to focus on include strengthening, stretching, resistance, and aerobics. Yoga and any balancing exercises are great additions to add to your workout plan. Here are a few ways that you benefit from an exercise routine:
- It boosts brain activity
- It can be fun and rewarding
- It can challenge you
- Provides opportunities for you to learn something new
- Makes you pay close attention
- Helps you remember what you have learned
Key memory tricks are easy to remember when you involve all your senses. We all remember things from our childhood when they include familiar smells, sights, and smells. It stands to reason that we can do the same thing with new memories. The more senses we use, the more likely we are to remember.
Making notes and using organization are great ways to remember important dates and times. A simple calendar or day planner is perfect for jotting down appointments, special days and goals that you have set for yourself.
Verbal repetition is always the best way to remember names and places. Repeating something in your own words will help you place it in your memory easier.
Create a visual to help remember someone’s name. A woman with the name Mary may be married. With a name like Barry, you may think of a berry you like.
Stimulating cues such as alarm clocks and timers will help remind your brain of something you need to do. It might be a cue to take a medicine at a certain time and it might be helpful to set an alarm so that you don’t forget. Placing an object, like a card with instructions in certain rooms will cue you to another activity. For example, we sit out lunch out in the kitchen to remind us to bring our lunch to work. This is a great example of an object reminder.
Object grouping is a memory trick to help us remember which objects go together. Many times, this tip is helpful in trying to remember important numbers such as social security numbers and phone numbers. Another example of this would be a shopping list. This would allow you to create categories that go with the departments in a store.
If you have an aging loved one that is experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s or dementia, please contact us. We would love to help you make this stage of life easier.
Home Helpers of San Mateo County is a locally-owned, trusted home health care agency and offers quality, compassionate senior in-home care services including home care assistance, personal care, companion care, respite care, 24-hour live-in care, Alzheimer's & dementia care, Parkinson's care as well as homemaker services in Burlingame, San Mateo, Half Moon Bay, Daly City, San Carlos, Redwood City, Belmont, Foster City, Hillsborough, Pacifica, Millbrae, Montara, and San Bruno, California.
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