Keeping Your Brain Active & Healthy

We hear about how important it is to keep your brain active and healthy,  but why is this so important? We tell you why and how to achieve these goals in this podcast episode. We are joined by Dr. Pam Tronetti and Janet Rooks who work together at the Parrish Senior Consultation Center, where they focus on the care of patients with dementia. They share their expertise with us on knowing the difference between normal aging and what may be a red flag as well as tips on keeping your brain active and healthy.

*This podcast represents the opinions of Dr. Tronetti and her guests. The content here is for informational, educational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare professional for any medical questions or before making any changes in your personal health regimen. No other use, including without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Parrish Medical Center. This podcast is HIPPA compliant. All people, places, and scenarios mentioned in this podcast have been changed to protect patient confidentiality.This website and podcast should not be used in any legal capacity whatsoever, including but not limited to establishing standards of care in a legal sense or as a basis for expert witness testimony. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of any statements or opinions made on this podcast.In no way does listening, reading, emailing or interacting on social media with our content establish a doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Tronetti does not receive any money from the pharmaceutical industry.

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SPEAKER_02 0:08

Hello everyone, this is Darlene with seniorlivingguide.com. Thank you so much for joining us. Does the idea of searching for senior housing solutions seem overwhelming and you just aren't sure where to even begin? That's okay because I have great news. We offer a one-stop solution to take the stress out of your senior housing search. We have created a senior housing search website, which is super easy to navigate, providing you details on communities including retirement, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, and even home health. All on one website, allowing you to decide which best fits your needs, connecting you directly with those communities. So please visit us online at seniorlivingguide.com to start your search today and start de stressing. And we are going to uh talk today about brain games and keeping your brain active with our guests that we have in the podcast studio today, which um our guests are Dr. Pam Trinetti and Janet Rooks. Dr. Trinetti is an osteopathic physician who specializes in geriatrics. Janet Rooks is a social worker and a dementia care specialist. They work together at the Parish Senior Consultation Center, where they focus on the care of patients with dementia. Dr. Trinetti is the director of aging services at Parish, and Janet Rooks coordinates Parish Senior Solutions, which provides education, resources, and supports for seniors and caregivers. Thank you so much for joining us, ladies. And I'm really excited to talk about this subject because it's really an important one as seniors start to age and even probably not even quite seniors, but just in general, just keeping your brain active and healthy, and there's a lot of different solutions.

SPEAKER_07 1:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

So um so let's get started. So uh as we hear about this, how important is it to keep your brain active and and why?

SPEAKER_06 2:02

Well, memory is is a way of holding on to things that we really the things that we love. Right. Okay. As we age, you know, we never want to lose those things. Ten percent of the people over the age of sixty-five will have some form of dementia. Oh wow. Yeah. And you know, over the age of eighty-five, one and two will l have some type of dementia. So, you know, as every seventy seconds someone will be diagnosed with some type of dementia. By the year 20, 50, it's every 30 seconds. You know, it's kind of staggering. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's a lot of folks. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_04 2:48

But what I think frightens people is as we age, just like we have more aches and pains and we can't run as fast, we can't sing as strongly, you have some little memory gaps and people are afraid. Oh, is this just normal? Is something wrong? What can I do to keep my brain healthy and active? Because our our memories are ourselves. Even if you're a runner, if you can't use your feet, you still have the mindset of a runner. But if suddenly you you can't remember how to do things, you've lost yourself. And and that's how patients will describe it. That's how their families will describe it.

SPEAKER_02 3:27

Exactly. Exactly. What are so what are some red flags?

SPEAKER_06 3:32

Well, you know, you get a little forgetful. Between like the normal and the other thing.

SPEAKER_04 3:39

What are the normal changes? And the first thing, of course, is forgetting the right word or the name if you're under pressure. More than once I have said, Well, this is my friend and colleague, and I looked at Janet and could not remember her name to save my life. But then it came back later. Right. So you're saying, Well, I can't remember the name of something, I can't remember who that movie stars. But then an hour or two later, you know, you remember it. And, you know, when we when we talk to groups, we'll say to people, now, if suddenly you remember John Wayne, you know, don't exclaim that in the middle of the night or during moments of intimacy, because then your husband or wife will be a little bit shocked at, oh yeah, John Wayne. John Wayne. Right. I just remembered it.

SPEAKER_06 4:30

Exactly. You know, and and that, I mean, people will call the office and say, I have I've got dementia. Um, family members are saying I'm having difficulty with they've noticed it. Um but when you have noticed it, you're having problems with paying bills. You're having problems, you know, getting lost when you're going to something that's familiar. You're having problems with the things that were normal to you, routine tasks.

SPEAKER_04 4:57

Um those are the real red flags. Yeah, they really are. When when you when it's kind of annoying, you know, you walk into a room and go, What am I here after? That's normal aging. Right. Uh you leave your glasses on your head. Normal aging. Right. It's when it interferes with your day-to-day life or your family and friends are saying, you know what, we love you and something's wrong. Right.

SPEAKER_06 5:20

But if you walk into that room and you don't even remember that you were looking for something, that's to be concerned about. And we, you know, there's folks that have done that. You know, in the office I have gone down the hall to get something and get distracted. And it's like, oh man, I was going after something and I'll turn around and go back start back into my office because it's like I know that if I go back in there and see something, it's going to trigger it. I don't even have to get back to my office and it clicks. Right. But if someone walks into their that room and they're doing it, well, I'm just going to get involved in something else, that's not a red flag. Or that is a red flag, I mean. That is a red flag. So, you know, but family members are saying, you know, their bills aren't getting paid. There are things, papers are getting cluttered up, that sort of thing. That's a red flag.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Yeah, definitely. So is like stress and anxiety sometimes some of the reasons why people forget things or things like that, is that is that sometimes a mimic?

SPEAKER_04 6:20

Absolutely. All of our caregivers come in and say, I think I'm catching it because I am forgetting how that I that I left something on the stove, I'm forgetting where I parked. Because if you're under a lot of stress, uh to make it simple, it's like the brain can only do two things. It thinks and it feels. Right. If it's so overwhelmed with emotion and stress and anxiety, and you you know you're you're not sleeping right, you're not eating properly, of course you're gonna forget. That's your body's way of saying something's wrong and something needs to change in your lifestyle.

SPEAKER_02 6:54

Exactly. Exactly. Um, so a question if you I so I've heard if you don't use it, you lose it. So what does that mean? And is that exactly true?

SPEAKER_06 7:03

Yeah, absolutely, because the brain is not a true muscle, but you've got to use your brain. Right. You know, um, you've got to keep it hydrated, and you've got to feed your brain. And they've got to be good food. It's not junk, not junk food, not a lot of sugar, not a lot of things, but you know, and you've got to have good rest. When we sleep, that's when the brain rejuvenates. It also purges a lot of stuff. And you know, I keep a notepad by my bed so that when I wake up in the middle of the night and I'm thinking, oh, I need to duh da. I don't get up and write something down. I just roll over if I can make myself a little note. But the brain does need to have those things to function properly.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

That is an incredibly important tip because I think most people, and I'm not gonna I think women, I mean men may be doing it as well, but I think women have all these running lists all the time that they're running in their head, and they wake up in the middle of the night, and unless they write it down and purge it, they keep running and they don't they don't sleep well or they don't go back to sleep.

SPEAKER_06 8:08

It's really interesting because I wear glasses and sometimes I can't read what I've written, but I've gotten it out. Yeah. And sometimes in just thinking about okay, what was on my mind the day before it'll come to me. And it may be to do something at work, it may be something I need to do at home, it may be a phone call I need to make, but I've gotten it out of my thought process during the night. I'll ever go back to sleep. Yeah. I don't have to get up, go into the kitchen, put my glasses on, write it down, because then that interrupts the sleep process and I'm wide awake.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Yeah, that's an excellent, excellent tip. So thank you so much for sharing that. Um so you mentioned nutrition, we always go back to nutrition. We do. Which, you know, if you like junk food and sugar, that's such a bummer. But at the end of the day, that really is such an important part in the aging well, and just in general, but um definitely as you age. Um so what are some healthy things that folks should be eating, especially if they do have concerns about um dementia um as they age? Protein.

SPEAKER_06 9:15

Your brain needs protein to to work. You know, and a lot of individuals are changing their diet, you know, and you know I've changed mine. I know Dr. Pam has changed hers. You know, protein is very, very important. A lot of people have gone vegan and vegetarian. Yeah. And there are foods that you can get the protein without eating meat. There's a lot of plant-based options. There really are. But you know, men need fifty-six grams of protein every day, and women need 46 every day. Now, I'm not saying that that's for everybody across the board. If you're on a special diet due to health issues, uh and there are some health issues that limit protein, you know, check with your doctor. Don't go say, well, I heard on a podcast this is what I have to have. Right. You know, check with your um your doctor about your your protein intake. But for the average f individual, that's what it is. Also, you've got to have healthy carbs, and that's complex carbs. Okay. I'm not talking about your sugars, your simple sugars that's going to break down and that sort of thing. Make sure that it's um complex carbs.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 10:26

Fruits and vegetables. Make sure your plate is colorful. You know, we're very blessed here in Florida that we can get the fresh veggies, the fresh, colorful foods year-round. Organic. Um, are are the the healthy ones as well. And you know, eat healthy. Make sure that you you do that.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

Healthy food is actually really delicious.

SPEAKER_05 10:50

It really is.

SPEAKER_02 10:51

If you prepare it well and you I mean, if you start really eating it, it actually is really, really delicious. Yeah, and don't forget the healthy fats.

SPEAKER_07 10:59

Um those are actually really good.

SPEAKER_06 11:02

They really are. And you know, a lot of people will eliminate them, but you you your brain needs the healthy fats as well.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Yeah. No, I agree. So what do you not eat? What just what's something that you want to kind of avoid that might be in like what types of are there's proteins that you maybe want to kind of avoid?

SPEAKER_04 11:18

No, but when we look at healthy eating, we are focusing now on the inflammatory foods. Okay. Because they're doing a lot of research with inflammation as a trigger to develop the plaques and tangles in the brain that results in Alzheimer's disease.

SPEAKER_05 11:36

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_04 11:38

So uh if you look on a lot of the arthritis websites, the legitimate organizations, they found a connection between inflammation and the joints with certain groups of foods. And again, they're extrapolating inflammation of the brain, of the blood vessels. The key uh easy way to remember it is a Mediterranean diet. Yes. And that is not overdoing the the meats, uh avoid processed food, avoid packaged food.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

Yeah, and and and red meats, I think. Red meats are more typically can be more inflammatory. Is that correct or no?

SPEAKER_04 12:20

It is, but again, we're we walk that fine line because what we're also seeing is uh, well, where's the most cholesterol in your body? It's in your brain. So people are cutting way, way, way, way back because they're being told, oh, you want to lower your cholesterol, so don't eat red meat. Right. But then they're losing out on iron and B12 and sometimes D vitamins. There's all kinds of things. That's why we're supposed to be omnivores. We're supposed to have uh all the different types of foods, but things that are packaged, frozen, instant. If you can't read the ingredients because the names are too long. Yeah. Don't eat them.

SPEAKER_06 13:02

That's exactly when we were talking about this. I I mentioned that to her saying, you know, if you can't pronounce the word and you can't read it, probably shouldn't be in your body. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

It's it's and it's all about balance, clearly.

SPEAKER_06 13:14

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 13:15

It doesn't mean you can never have a donut for the rest of your life. Thank you.

SPEAKER_06 13:18

I was I love the blueberry cake donuts and right now the pumpkin donuts, and you know, but in moderation. Right.

SPEAKER_04 13:28

You know, we have put folks who are eating pastries for breakfast and cookies with lunch and you know, pies at dinner. They're just eating too much. Too much. Your body is spending more energy processing and getting rid of the toxins than it is gaining nutrition. Right.

SPEAKER_06 13:45

And you mentioned about the uh the sugars and stuff. I have some arthritis in my hands. And the other day I I was eating some cookies that were brought in. They were delicious, they were uh bakery cookies and stuff. And I paid for it the next day. I mean, it was just and then it was pushing the water, getting it out of my system and this sort of thing. But you know, is it worth it? Yeah, it was worth it. They were really good. I'm not gonna eat them every day. It's it's the holiday season. You know, and you know, they were really good. Yeah. Am I gonna eat them every day? No. Um, but was it worth it? Yeah. So don't deprive yourself all the time. Don't right, but you know, enjoy it, but know that that it's not necessarily that good for you.

SPEAKER_02 14:29

Right, exactly. Well, I think that that's really super important to kind of find that balance that's really good for you and and make sure you're taking the right vitamins probably in order to help help with that balance as well. So um, those are really good things to notate. Um with with your um So just this one question. So are there normal declines in our memory as we age that have, you know, they're just normal. It's not based on you can eat super healthy, live a super healthy lifestyle, um, and they're just normal.

SPEAKER_04 15:05

Yeah, there's there's lots and lots of factors to everything. Sure. But yeah, you expect some memory loss. And one of the best descriptions I've heard too was uh Dr. Rosemary Laird talked about when you're a kid, uh your brain's like a filing cabinet. What's in that filing cabinet when you're 20? Right. Well, it's what you learn in school and your neighbors and y the songs that you like. When you're 60, it's every job you've ever had, every person you've ever met, every Christmas present you've ever had, every address, every bill you've ever paid, every song you've heard, every TV show you've heard. So have you ever had a filing cabinet that you've had for years and you can barely even open it? So when somebody asks you a question, your brain is trying to go through that overstuffed filing cabinet, trying to find the answer. It's gonna take longer. Right. Uh when they actually do studies of intelligence, because they wanted to know do you lose intelligence as you get older? If you just give the intelligence tests and don't time them, the older people do as well, if not better, than younger people. It's when you put the time pressure the stress and anxiety. Exactly. Then people are trying to hurry up, they're trying to get the their brain to process faster, they can't quite get to the answer. Fast enough. Give the person a little more time, and you can get to the right answer. So you you practice kind of a mindfulness. Let me think about what I'm doing. You know, the we're often overly busy. You know, we walk into the bathroom to get a bath towel, and oh look, the the sink's dripping. Oh, did I brush my teeth? I gotta do, oh, look at my hair. Let me fix that. Ah, what is that? On the oh, I need to empty the wastebasket. And you walk out and you go, wait, I didn't get the bath towel. Am I losing my memory? No, you just try to do too many things at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

That's not attention deficit disorder.

SPEAKER_04 17:00

That's a whole nother podcast. That's a whole nother podcast. That's being a parent too. Like, oh my god, they did to this room. Exactly. You step on a rubber ducky and it's all over. It's all over.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

Exactly. Um yeah, and so you know, you notice it's it's so interesting because even folks that sometimes are over a hundred and they're older, they can be sharp, sharp as tacks. My my grandmother, well, my great grandmother, over a hundred, sharp as a tack. And my grandmother who passed away at 99, sharp as a tack. Um, but you know, I have had my my father passed away at 72 with dementia. So it's just you it's just very strange that you can have, you know, some folks that age well into their hundreds that just sharp as attack.

SPEAKER_06 17:58

Some of that is genetics, right? Some of it is lifestyle, and some of it has to do with the fact of you've just it has to do with it's just the reality of it. Right. And you know, and we've seen some people in their 40s. And you know, sometimes the medication will help, sometimes it won't. Uh we'll make we'll make rec Dr. N my recommendations as far as medication. Um it's the supportive environment. And um it goes back to what I talked about in the beginning. We don't know.

SPEAKER_04 18:35

But and and kind of dovetailing on what can increase your risk, um uh uh there's a dementia called vascular dementia. It's mini strokes. So diet to help control diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure decreases your risk of stroke, therefore decreases your risk of the dementia that's associated with the mini strokes. So when you talk about people with chronic medical conditions, people who are 100 generally didn't have those chronic medical conditions when they're 40 and 50 and 60. Right. So they've been spared that. Right.

SPEAKER_02 19:13

Very interesting. Yeah, my dad actually was diagnosed with the vascular dementia. Um, and when you talk about, you know, when I they said like mini strokes, I'm thinking like he's having strokes, but it's literally just strokes in your brain, correct?

SPEAKER_04 19:27

Yeah, remember what a stroke is. Right. It's a blocked v blood vessel that is feeding an area of the brain. A heart attack is a stroke of the heart. It's a blocked blood vessel that the little area of the heart doesn't get uh the blood flow. So you can have a an area of the brain, the tip of a ballpoint pen, that's its size, and its job was to pay a bill. So one week somebody can pay a bill over the next week. That little tiny thread-like blood vessel gets plugged up. That area of the brain gets no nutrition, oxygen. You've had a stroke in the area of your brain that told you how to pay a bill. Right. So one week you could do it, the next week you can't.

SPEAKER_02 20:03

And there's no knowledge that that's happening. It's not like you're pain, it's not like you know, you're going, oh my gosh, I have a ma m major migraine or I'm not feeling well. It's happening and you don't know that it's happening. It's robbing you. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_06 20:15

And sometimes after the we talk to family members, it could be like they were in a daze. Mm-hmm. It was brought to you. Well, yeah, I've noticed that they sometimes they'll do that, but I didn't know it was anything. I thought they just weren't paying attention to me.

unknown 20:29

Right.

SPEAKER_06 20:29

When you start peeling the layers off the onion, if you will, yeah, there are a lot of you know, uncontrolled diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension and other things that are going on that that can um attribute to the condition.

SPEAKER_04 20:44

Yeah. Yeah, and we we did talk about nutrition. We touched on sleep and how important that is. And we rob ourselves of sleep. We're staying awake too late. We're having caffeine in the afternoon and the evening, and people say, Oh no, coffee never bothered me. Keeps me going. It keeps me. Yeah, but now it's you fall asleep, but the caffeine's circulating in your system and it wakes you up at two in the morning, and then you can't get back to sleep. Yeah. And or you're watching the movie, and I'll just I'll just watch The Godfather for the hundredth time until two in the morning because I don't have to get up and go to work. And so people are sabotaging themselves by not getting that restful sleep, so your brain can process, it can produce the chemicals, it can file away the memories of the day. And uh, you know, sleep health is very important for brain health.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

And it's a restful sleep, it's not that it's the what do they call it, the deep sleep. What is that called? Rem sleep. So getting so getting a REM sleep.

SPEAKER_06 21:45

Or they're napping during the day and it's robbing them of the ability to get that deep sleep because they're getting those little power naps, if you will. And um, and then it when it's bedtime, they they're not sleepy.

SPEAKER_04 21:58

Yeah. Or even if you're not. Napping if you're just sitting there watching TV for ten hours, you're passive, but you don't do anything to make yourself tired.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

Right, right, exactly. Um so when should you start worrying about memory loss? I mean, what are some things that when it interferes with your daily function?

SPEAKER_06 22:20

Okay. Uh when you can't do the things that you used to do. You know, and I mentioned the bill paying and this sort of thing. When people notice it, you know, it's real common when it's uh whether it be a spouse, and I hear that a lot, you know. Well, my husband says, Can I bring my husband to the appointment? He's the one that's noticed this. When other people are commenting, you know, whether it be people at your church, uh siblings, uh children, you know, oh you've said that a dozen times. Uh would you quit telling me the same thing? I know I've got a doctor's appointment. I know that I did this. When it interferes with your ability to do the things when you're concerned.

SPEAKER_04 23:05

Yeah, and and that's what we hear is, well, Mom, I told you three times that we were meeting tomorrow. Or mom, you told me three times that we had to be ready. One of the questions we also ask is, do you have to think through things that used to be automatic? Uh if you used to put together a recipe with both hands, no problem. And now you have to get all the ingredients out and all the measuring cups out and really think, did I put this in? Did I mix this? That's kind of a sign that you're having to work to think through things. Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 23:40

And you know, did you have to give up a job? Did you have to retire early? Did you have to give up that job?

SPEAKER_04 23:48

Because you were struggling with that. Exactly. And and that's a word that we hear, uh it's overwhelming now. Being on the the church treasure is overwhelming. And we'll see, you know, well what it what does the desk look like? You know, are they moving a piece of paper from over this pile and then it goes over to that pile and then they look at it and it's not making any sense. What do I do with it? So then it gets put uh on the pile again. So we're here about piles and piles of papers. And the water bill might not get paid because it's at the bottom underneath piles of papers about uh charities and sweepstakes and everything.

SPEAKER_06 24:27

Are you losing things that are important? Are you losing things, period? Right now. Uh losing things that uh you need to follow up, whether it be the utility bills or this sort of thing. Is the re responsibility that you got too complicated and someone else is trying to step in and we hear that from the children? You know, she just can't she can't do it anymore. He can't do it anymore. Are you having problems driving?

SPEAKER_02 24:53

Yeah, the driving's a big one for sure. Um and remembering, oh, I know I go to this store, I know to go I go to this doctor, I haven't been to this eye doctor in a year, but now I can't remember how to get there. But I've been going there for like ten years. But it's not something you go to frequently. Um yeah, that's definitely I think would be a huge red flag.

SPEAKER_06 25:12

And and when you think there's something wrong.

SPEAKER_08 25:15

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_06 25:15

You know, um other people have noticed it, but when you think there's something wrong.

SPEAKER_04 25:20

Because we'd rather have somebody come in and say, I think there's something wrong, and we find, oh look, it's a side effect of one of your medicine. Oh look, it's a medical problem. Oh, you you have an underactive thyroid, you have a vitamin deficiency, and we can fix it. We'd rather have you come in and be told no, you don't have Alzheimer's. That's our big day, right there than have you wait and wait and wait and wait. And now the medical problems or the sleep apnea or the other problems uh have done some damage.

SPEAKER_02 25:46

And if you catch it earlier and you can get medication, it's definitely better than waiting till later. Correct? Yeah, yes. It's like having cancer and not getting diagnosed and then waiting until it's like stage four. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 26:00

Because sometimes as it goes on, you do have other complications that can rise up.

SPEAKER_02 26:05

Yep. Okay, so um what can you do to keep your brain active? Because we really want to keep that brain rocking and rolling so that you stay as healthy because you can only, you know, you can eat healthy, you can have um, you know, certain genes that are going to help you avoid dementia and Alzheimer's. Um, but if you still ha have, you know, those things going against you per se, what are some things that you can do to keep your brain active?

SPEAKER_06 26:39

Well, you want to do something that's going to cross the midline. Okay. Because the brain has you got your right side and your left side. So you want something that's going to cross that midline. I often tell um folks to, you know, do this crisscross exercise just to cross that midline. Wake that brain up. And it's it's kind of silly, but do it. Because you know, if you write your name, if you're right-handed, write your name with your left hand. You really have to think about it. So I wasn't sure what you meant by midline, so now I'm getting what you're saying. Okay. Write your name with your left hand. Your non-dominant hand. I'm right-handed. Your non-dominant hand. When we sign our name or write our name, for those of us that have a signature, the kids now they're not taught how to write in cursive. I know. And that's our that's our code to do this. Right. Um, but um, you know, you really think about it. You have to concentrate on those letters. Right. Um, but write it with your non-dominant hand. Okay. Practice writing letters. Brush your teeth with your left hand. Absolutely. You know, it you you really have to think about it. You concentrate when you're doing that. Yeah. Those are some really super simple things. Yeah. And you know, and do it every day. Yeah. You get good at it, you'll get good at it. Yeah. Also, um, it it wakes up that brain. Also, um, it's been shown to help with cognitive skills. It's pretty cool. Yeah. Engage in meaningful uh conversation. When was the last time you sat with a friend and had a meaningful conversation?

SPEAKER_02 28:10

Like talking about history and science and things like that, not just like you look cute today like this, or like just really just we finished with an election.

SPEAKER_06 28:24

Um we were in the middle of COVID pandemic. Um that's been on the forefront of all conversations, yes, you know, and people's opinion. Talk about something that has nothing to do with that. That would be amazing. Wouldn't it though? Yes. Not that that's not important in our lives, but have a conversation that has something to do with something else.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

Yes, because there are other things. There are other things, there are other things in life.

SPEAKER_04 28:52

Yes, and one little mini way to do that is have a little book club. Maybe just two people. Oh, yeah. You're both reading the same book two chapters a week, and you talk about the chapters. Yeah. And maybe it'll spark a conversation about the times, the the clothing, the music, the food. Yeah. To again just get that brain thinking about things it doesn't usually think about.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

Yeah. And that you can even do this over Zoom, so you have a face-to-face if you're not meeting in person, but I think the face-to-face is super important. You can do it over the phone, clearly. But I think, you know, my experience that I'm coming to find, I didn't start the Zoom thing really, to be honest with you, until we did COVID. You know, you we do some of these meetings, conference thingies, but not often because we weren't restricted. Right. But now I'm finding that um, and not that I think Zoom is the end-all-to-be-all going into the future because I still think we need that personal interaction. So I'm just putting that out there. But I think that if you don't have the ability to meet face to face, it is such a personal way that you can meet with people that you know you're not right next door to or that in different states, um, what have you, it really has been a way to really connect with people. And you can do that without, you know, just for the average person. Um, and it's a really great way to do that. And you can talk about you can do a book club on Zoom.

SPEAKER_06 30:13

Yeah, and for the for the individuals that don't know how to access Zoom or that, just a phone call. Yeah. You know, I have a really good friend that she and I will watch TV shows, the same TV show. Yeah. And we call each other during the commercial.

SPEAKER_02 30:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 30:27

Now, we love Big Brother and and we'll watch Big Brother. Girl, we're gonna talk. Big Brother and uh and this is my infomercial about Big Brother. So we call each other during the commercial and we will oh this one needs to go, and well, I can't believe they did that. And it is just, you know, and it's it's so much fun. Yeah. And you know, but that is, I mean, we talk about other things in other conversations, right? But during Big Brother, that's what we do. Right. You know, and it is just so much fun. That's so fun. Because that's you know, right. And it's just big brother talk. And uh, but I'm going to she's a big reader. I'm I'm gonna try it with the book. But over the phone of just doing that. I put her on speakerphone and we do this. Yeah. So it's you can do it over there. But it's amazing how it will lead to other things with the book. Right. My church just finished one, we were reading two chapters, and there were 15 of us. And it was amazing how much I learned about the the people that were there that it had not a lot to do with what we had read, but it did trigger other things. And I learned so much about the other people, and some of them I didn't know. Right. And but I know them now. Yeah. No, I think that's I love and care about 'em now because I feel like they they opened up their soul. They share themselves. They share themselves and it was raw. Right. You know, and it and it was it was really, really cool. Right. It really was. So I have you know, I have new friends.

SPEAKER_02 32:02

Yeah. So connecting with people and keeping relationships going, I do definitely think that that's important. Um and having conversations that are not just basic conversations, you know, really deep thought conversations, um, type of things, uh meaningful conversations, I guess you would put it.

SPEAKER_06 32:20

There's also brain games that you can do. Now I know that we that's in our topic, but you know, crossword puzzles. Uh most of the crossword puzzles in the newspaper, they they all have, you know, you common words from day to day. Um Seduco, word search. You know, depending on how good you are at it, you can buy the books. You know, I see a lot of people carrying the word search and their pencils and pens in there, but word search.

SPEAKER_02 32:49

So, you know, going back to my grandmother, and I told you that she had like spot on no cognitive in my great grandmother as well. Um, my whole life, not my great my neither one of them ever worked. Um, they just were blessed enough to never have to work. Um, but that wasn't completely unusual for their their age and time. But um my grandmother every morning would sit and do, she would do Bible study to start her morning every single solitary morning. I remember it growing up as a kid. Um, and she would also do crossword puzzles and do word searches every single solitary. She had books. She did it. That I mean, she literally and she was good too. Yeah. Yes. So I do remember every single solitary morning, that's what she would do.

SPEAKER_06 33:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:32

So interesting.

SPEAKER_06 33:33

And and I have a friend that works at the Space Center, and he does the crossword puzzle, the whole group of them do. And then at lunchtime, if any of them if they've struggled on him, they have the rest of them at lunchtime. Wow. It's just a whole group of them. Yeah. Yeah. That's neat. I thought it was really neat. I I tried, and no, it's not my forte. You know, I uh the most I could get was four words. And y you can't cheat on that. So um other brain games, and you know, it's really important to have socialization. It's been proven that socialization is very, very important to to be around. I mean, you know, we by nature we need to be around people. Um, you know, card games with friends. Now, right now we've got this pandemic thing going on and they're saying I self-isolate. But I heard um on the news they were talking about playing c chess at home and someone else at home. And so you play a chess game in your home and they're in their home.

SPEAKER_02 34:35

So there's so many options. So many things that you can do. With electronics right now. It's just it's bananas. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:42

Yeah. But I'm gonna I'm gonna throw a a caveat in there, and that's that often we get into a rut. We're doing word search, but that's all we've done. And it's kind of like saying, I play the piano, but you only know three songs. You've got to play different keys on that piano. You've got to learn something new, you've got to get out of your comfort zone. Gotcha. So go to a different church, go to a different play than you would go to, read a different kind of book, play a different kind of switch it up for your for your brain.

SPEAKER_06 35:14

Exactly. And learn a new language. I mean, I tried Spanish. I learned a few words. It's funny. Me trying to speak Spanish with this southern accent. Uh Dr. Pam laughed and laughed. Uh I was speaking with one of our patients and she was in the other room with the daughter, and I could hear them laughing because all she said was my southern accent and trying to speak Spanish. I did pretty good, but not real real good. But it was, yeah. Oh, that's funny. Yeah. But but learning new, you know, uh, there's a lot of apps out there with the with the learning a new language. Oh my gracious.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

Um, all right. Well, I think we're gonna take a break and we'll come back in a few minutes and we'll talk about other brain grain games that are perfect for people to uh help them with uh their brain. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 36:28

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SPEAKER_02 38:30

Welcome back. We are joined by Dr. Pam and Janet Rooks from Parish Healthcare. So let's talk a little bit more. We're talking about um dementia and brain brain games and different ways to um help your brain in keeping it healthy. Um so how important is um emotional health and spiritual happiness in order to attain those goals?

SPEAKER_04 38:56

It's so important to be grounded in whatever your beliefs are, but to keep yourself healthy, to um take time for yourself, take time to deal with your emotions, process your emotions, and release some of those emotions.

SPEAKER_06 39:13

Absolutely. You know, we've we've seen um caregivers come in and they are holding so much animosity and anger and frustration. And it's amazing. They'll come into my office and they'll just cry. They just start crying. And part of it is sadness, but a lot of it is just anger. And you know, we buy tissues by the case, and they'll say, I don't know where these tears are coming from. And I'll say, I do. And with the the patient that comes in that maybe having some memory issues, we see more anger than we do the sadness. But then we'll see the sadness because they can't do what they used to do.

SPEAKER_04 39:59

Yeah, and a lot of people were taught bottle up those emotions. Don't show the neighbors, don't talk about what's wrong. Right. And now it's you know what, you're gonna have to deal with some of this. Uh you're gonna have to figure out is is meditating quietly gonna help you? Is talking it out, is reading supportive books, or is going for a walk and getting out in the fresh air? Is that what you need to do? Right. To take care of you. You know, sometimes we tell people, you know, you have needs, and they're like, No, I don't. Yes, yes, you do. You're a human being, you need rest and support and calmness.

SPEAKER_06 40:38

And I'll give them permission. Not that I have that power, right? But I'll say, You have permission to take care of you. You have permission to cry, you have permission to do and fill in the blank. I'll say, get in the shower. When you're in the shower, cry. Just wash those tears away. Shower is amazing for that. It really is. And I said, if you come out and your eyes are a little red, you got soap in them. Right. And you know, um, therapeutic fields take care of that to just do that. And, you know, support groups are really great in validating what you're going through. And, you know, right now uh the support groups are kinda on hold, but you know, there's the online support groups, there's other venues of doing that. Call a friend.

SPEAKER_07 41:22

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_06 41:23

And, you know, make sure that you've got a good support system in dealing with that. But, you know, for the individual that's having memory issues or a little frustrated, that sort of thing, talk to your doctor. Talk to your doctor uh or talk to somebody that's safe.

SPEAKER_02 41:39

Yeah, no, those are really great tips. And the the shower thing, I think, and I think everyone can probably agree, a really good cry is it can make you feel so much better. I mean, sometimes you just gotta let it go. You know, I think it just makes you it just relieves all the pressure and the stress and the anxiety. And I think just having a really good cry just relieves so much stress.

SPEAKER_06 42:02

There's a Hallmark movie on continuously right now. Um and they're they're always good tearjerkers.

SPEAKER_03 42:10

Oh, okay. I got I wasn't sure you where you were going with that, but now I get it.

SPEAKER_06 42:17

They're in the holidays, there's you know, there's you can always predict what's going to happen. Absolutely. Good Hallmark movie. This is true. Yeah, it really is. Absolutely. But take time for yourself and do that.

SPEAKER_04 42:30

And and people will they won't give themselves what they really need, but they'll try to put the band-aid on and they'll say, Well, I I feel kind of down. I know I'll buy these pastries. And then you're eating them and you don't realize that you're actually feeling worse. Oh, for sure. Because it's actually making you feel bad, full as opposed to, you know what, I'm gonna take some time for myself or I'm gonna buy myself something healthy and festive. Uh to just again, you're worth it. You need to take care of yourself.

SPEAKER_06 43:05

Well, and you mentioned mindfulness a while ago, Dr. Pam. Being mindful of what you put into your body, being mindful of your surroundings, you know, that's a term that we're hearing more and more, but really practice getting anchoring uh yourself, uh being around uh so uh aware of your surroundings, being aware of what you're doing for yourself and what you're eating. You know, not just stuffing it in, but when you take a bite of that pastry, when you eat that piece of chocolate, not just chewing it up and swallowing it, but just really enjoying that piece of chocolate.

SPEAKER_07 43:42

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_06 43:43

So that one chocolate will will do it. We'll take care of it. Bite it bite it in half instead of just sticking the whole thing in there and swallowing it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:50

Maybe buy one piece of really expensive nice chocolate besides like a whole bag of, you know, something you those inexpensive chocolate. Yeah. That you've had for, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

Exactly. Quality over quantity.

SPEAKER_04 44:02

And your environment. One of the things we recommend is declutter.

SPEAKER_07 44:06

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 44:07

So that there's less there. You can find things. You can use external organization. So it's not I'm running around the house looking for this paper because there's only one place that it's gonna be. And the physical activity of okay, I'm gonna clean out this spice cabinet and get rid of all these spices that I've had for ten years. That are gross. Yeah. And just and that don't smell very good anymore. Again, it's it's a physical activity, it's a mental activity, it's a calming activity in a sense of accomplishment. Yeah. And don't get into what I do, which is well, now that this is clean, now I have to clean out every other cupboard in my entire house right now. Yeah. And get it done by supper time.

SPEAKER_02 44:44

Yeah. Yeah. And then it becomes like a major project. Yeah. But yeah. And I think, you know, we live, we are l so very blessed to live here in Florida where we have weather typically that you can just pop outside and just walk around the neighborhood. Or you can walk around just even a small area. And we are on the coast where we have a beautiful beach that we can walk along. Um, so even just getting out, and I I personally find that just getting a few breaths of fresh air can completely just, you know, de stress and put you in a different place. Even five, ten minutes. I'm not talking about getting out and you know, doing a marathon, but just a few minutes of fresh air to just kind of decompress can just make such a big difference in in your entire day.

SPEAKER_04 45:37

You know, and every year they come out with things to prevent dementia, things to slow the progression. The number one for years and years and years physical activity. Yeah. So when I tell people physical activity and exercise, I I get the pushback. I don't have time, I'm too busy, I've never been an exercise person, I don't have time. I I this, I that, uh I'm too busy. Uh uh, there's always 15 excuses. But the fact is, is I'll say, Well, could you exercise a minute a day? Like, what, a minute a day? Well, uh you you can't tell me you don't have a minute. Right. Uh and then two minutes and then three minutes. And you know, Janet has a couple tricks that she'll tell some of our older folks.

SPEAKER_06 46:21

Get up during uh you know, sit up straight, take a deep breath, move your arms. Um, then work up to during the commercials. During the commercial of if you've got the TV on, then during the commercial stand up, hold on to the back of a chair. There's you know, sit and fit. Sit and be fit. It's on the public broadcast channel, and that's nationwide. I know we're we're talking about Florida, but nationwide they have sit and be fit. Check your local directory. Then when you get really feisty, walk out to the end of the driveway and back. Everybody goes and gets their mail. Everybody goes and you know, and so get one piece at a time. Yeah, one piece. One piece at a time.

SPEAKER_02 47:03

Do do some leg stretches on your way out and do some little lungy things on your way out to the mailbox.

SPEAKER_06 47:08

You know, uh and you know, before you know it, you're gonna get real excited and you're gonna wanna do more. Yeah. But realize when you walk, you gotta come back home.

SPEAKER_02 47:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:18

So you know, but you know, it's but don't think she meant don't overdo it.

SPEAKER_06 47:27

Or have your phone and your Uber ready to go. Yes. But you know, don't become one of those folks that just says, okay, I'm gonna start exercising. I'm going to go to the gym and I'm gonna do an hour, and then the next morning you can't get out of bed. Right. And then the next day it's even you're even worse as far as being sore. Moderation goes slow, but you it the payoff is phenomenal. You're gonna feel, you're gonna look better, you're gonna feel better. And you'll start craving it. And you'll start craving it. Yeah. And you know, and it will it it it's just it's phenomenal. It really is.

SPEAKER_02 48:04

Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. So, Dr. Pam, tell me, is there anything that can that has been proven to decrease the rate of dementia?

SPEAKER_04 48:12

And again, it's physical activity.

SPEAKER_07 48:14

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 48:15

And you know, sometimes it's marching in place, but sometimes it's walking with a friend outside, sometimes it's on a treadmill, uh, sometimes it's a class, you know, and yoga, tai chi, dancing, it's all part of it. Right. And you can dance in a chair, you know, you could dance sitting down.

SPEAKER_02 48:37

So if you have so basically what you're saying is if you have dementia, um, if you've been diagnosed with dementia, or you have like the early signs of if you start doing uh exercise, it can really kind of slow the process of the disease down.

SPEAKER_04 48:51

Aaron Ross Powell And and they don't know exactly why. They think some of it is the endorphins, just kind of the positive energy that helps people focus and concentrate. Is it the oxygenation? Is it because exercise helps control the diabetes, the high blood pressure, the cholesterol, so fewer of the strokes. But it's all good. It's all positive benefits. Wow, that's really interesting.

SPEAKER_06 49:15

Music will kind of unlock some of those memories. And I've seen it on um uh it on videos where someone is in a facility and they haven't spoken and they haven't responded, they put the headsets on, and then you will have someone that it'll unlock an old memory, and it it's just phenomenal. All of a sudden they're they're dancing in their chair, and it but it's un it's unlocked an old memory.

SPEAKER_02 49:42

Yeah. There was actually a video that you probably saw. It went completely viral. It was, um I believe she was a Broadway ballerina.

SPEAKER_06 49:50

Yeah, I saw that.

SPEAKER_02 49:52

And she has Alzheimer's and it's very, very advanced Alzheimer's. When they played, I think it was the Nutcracker or something that she was in on Broadway. She is in a wheelchair. Um, she's very, very elderly, but she started doing all of the moves and they corresponded it um because they had it like on video, and it was, I mean, it was very old from what she did. She was doing all the same moves they put headset on her, and she literally was mimicking everything that she did during that production, and it was quite remarkable. Yeah, quite remarkable that she could rem recall all of the moves from a dance that she did. I think she's probably in her 20s. So it was incredible, but it was a viral video because it was so absolutely incredible. I believe it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:42

You know, when we think about gee, how come our older people, you know, when we were growing up, why did that grandmother, great grandmother, why were they so sharp? Right. Some of it was because there was more physical activity. You hung clothes out on the line. You pushed a push mower. Yeah. You walked to the little uh store. Yeah. There was a lot more physical activity, and there was a lot more quiet and less interruptions and less, you know, five or eight hours of screen time a day.

SPEAKER_02 51:10

Or like no screen time. I mean, I I don't recall them really watching a lot of television. They they were very family-oriented, all in the family and doing things and going, going, going, going, going. It's it is funny because they did not work. They did not have a nine to five job, but I don't recall them ever really sitting down for five minutes. They just kept going. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 51:34

They had a job, but it started at daylight or before daylight. Absolutely. Exactly. And it ended when it got dark or after dinner when they were sitting and spending time with the family, and then bedtime was early, and you know, they were exhausted from everything they did.

SPEAKER_02 51:51

And you know, and each of them raised four girls, so they were a handful of girls too, I gotta tell you.

SPEAKER_04 51:57

So my mama was one of them. The laundry was sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be ironed. Oh yeah. Oh, my grandmother did that.

SPEAKER_06 52:05

Sprinkled with an RC bottle.

SPEAKER_02 52:07

I can see that bottle now. Exactly. Uh-huh. And I will tell you, my great grandmother, that you know, clearly she was, you know, she died years ago, but um, they had a little store that was the end of their street that they did they did run a store out of. So that was really I think my grandfather did most of the work on that. But I mean, they did have their own little store, which you would never do anymore because it was in a neighborhood. So you could just walk down the street and there would be like a little convenience store at the end of the driveway in a neighborhood. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:39

Crazy.

SPEAKER_04 52:40

But see, and and that's what we talk about when we talk about these meaningful conversations. We all feel a lot better imagining your your great grandmother doing that.

SPEAKER_06 52:49

Share that story with your children. Yeah. Yeah, share that story with your children. Paint that picture of what you just told us with them, and you know, and that way they will be able to tell their children. And it's just it's so cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:06

It really is. What a cool story, right?

SPEAKER_06 53:07

Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that story.

SPEAKER_02 53:10

Definitely. All right. Well, I think that that is um the end of our episode. Thank you so much for joining us, ladies, and um, we'll see you next time.