At our
age, its common to worry when you can’t remember a name or you can’t find that
word on the tip of your tongue. When that happens, I often ask myself, is this
just normal for my age? Or am I in the early stages of dementia? And then the
more I worry, the more I seem to forget!
To
relieve my anxiety, I found an article by Dr. Mike Davis who gives the
following three examples demonstrating the distinctions between normal memory
loss and dementia.1.) Misplacing keys is normal; forgetting what they are for
is dementia. 2.) Forgetting a person's name is normal; but not remembering
knowing the person is not. 3.) Forgetting to turn into a familiar street is
normal; becoming easily disoriented or lost in familiar places for hours is
not.”
Good. I
don’t need to worry. I often misplace my keys, but I do know what they are for.
I seem to have a harder time remembering names, but they eventually come to me.
And when I’m in a hurry, there are times I do turn down the wrong street, but so
far, I’ve always found my way home.
But
then I read the next sentence. “These lines are distinct for most of us, BUT in
early dementia patients, it can be tricky to tell.”
Now what
the heck does that mean, tricky to tell? Could my forgetfulness seem normal, but
because of some subtle signs, I could unknowingly be in the early stages of
dementia? Should I still be worrying?
It
does give me pause. But there is one sign that gives me hope. I figure as long
as I can spell Alzheimer’s without looking it up, I’m okay.
If you
want to learn more about brain health, join the Brain Fitness Club which returns
at 1:00 on September 18th showing the online video series: How to Improve Your Brain Health.
In
this series renowned neuroscientist, Dr. Wendy Suzuki, will show how the brain and
memory works through a mix of personal stories and solid brain science. There
will also be simple, specific activities to make your brain stronger and
potentially even make your life better.
But
why wait till then. Here are a few brain teasers to rattle your noggin’. I’ll
share the answers next week.
1.) Which
word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly? 2.) A girl who was just learning
to drive went down a one-way street in the wrong direction, but didn’t break
the law. How is that possible? 3. Imagine you are in a dark room. How do you
get out? 3.) Mom and Dad have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother.
How many people are in the family? 4) While some months have just 30 days,
others have 31 days. How many months have 28 days? 5) How many times can you
subtract 5 from 25?
And remember
when challenging your brain, it is not so much getting the correct answer, as
it is the effort you put into trying to solve the problems.
The
name of the college Mike, Mark, Zonker, and B.D attended was Waldon College
which was modeled after Yale - the school Gary Trudeau attended from 1966
through 1970. (I received correct entries from Bob and Sandy Haechrel who both
win one half of a quilt raffle ticket.)
During
my high school days in Indianapolis, I remember buying the Beach Boy’s “I Get
Around” and dreaming I had a surf board on the top of my “Woodie” and was
headed to the sandy ocean beaches – even though there wasn’t an ocean wave within
a thousand miles. Today, Brian Wilson the genius behind the Beach Boys, at the
age of 75 is on a world tour recreating on stage the sounds from their acclaimed
eleventh studio album which included the hit “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”. For this
week’s “Remember When” question what was the name of this Beach Boy album released
in 1966 and ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as the second greatest album of
all time? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at
541-296-4788 or send it with a picture of goats being fed at the San Diego Zoo.
Well,
it’s been another week, thinking that I think I can. Until we meet again, find
time to add a little spark to your daily routine.
“In
three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.”
Robert Frost
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