Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/933642
Bill has a master's degree in counseling psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi and has been a licensed professional counselor since 1987. He has 23 years of individual and relational counseling experience and is a former adjunct instructor in counseling psychology at Mississippi College. He has been a reserve deputy for 14 years with the Madison County Sheriff's Office and is a ruling elder at Grace Chapel Evangelical Presbyterian Church. He adores his wife of 34 years and their two grown children. CAN WE TEACH OLD BRAINS NEW TRICKS? "THEN HE SAID TO JESUS, 'LORD, REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME INTO YOUR KINGDOM.'" —LUKE 23:42 Ask Bill Maybe you're getting older and things seem to be slipping from memory a bit more frequently. You can take steps to remedy this state of affairs. Through behavioral interventions, it is possible to continue learning and even expanding your memory capability. The brain, like muscle tissue, gets stronger when worked regularly. Here are some tips to optimize your brainpower. • Exercise. Routine aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain, supplying it with nutrients and oxygen. Exercise is also proven to initiate the release of a chemical that is responsible for generating and regenerating nerve cells. • Follow the American Heart Association's recommended diet. Tailoring your food intake can improve both brain and heart function. Brain power foods include olive oil, turmeric, kale, sweet potatoes, dark-skinned fruits and berries, walnuts, wild salmon, red wine, and green tea. There are others, but this list can get you started. • Get adequate sleep. Restful sleep is thought to help you process and retain long-term memory. • Stop multitasking. It probably slows you down in the long run. Your brain needs about eight seconds of focus on a piece of information to commit it to memory. • Learn new skills or information. Doing the same thing all the time may strengthen existing neural pathways, but stimulating your brain helps generate new brain cell growth. • Use memory aids. To help with retrieval of your stored information, use mental techniques that link information to an associated cue object or write down what you need to recall later. • Reduce stress. Chronically high levels of unmanaged stress cause the body to release chemicals that destroy brain cells. Manage your response to stress by adding self-care into your daily schedule. Adding recreation and play time to your calendar on a routine basis can help you in all areas of functioning, including memory. This is certainly not an exhaustive list of memory improvement techniques, but I think it is enough to get you thinking about how you can overcome the CRA (can't remember anything) phenomenon that many of us experience. ABSOLUTELY! RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THE BRAIN IS A VERY ADAPTABLE ORGAN, EVEN INTO THE SENIOR YEARS OF LIFE. 14 w w w. s t d o m . c o m LOCAL