Dementia Resources

Don't Let Your Mind Slip!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:57:00 +0000

Do you want to have a better brain even as you age? Don't let your mind slip!

The human brain has great potential—even for those for who have dementia or memory problems. Your have fully utilized only a fraction of what the human mind is capable of. Therefore, it is never too late to harness the untapped potential of your mind. Don't let your mind slip!

Years ago, Richard Welch, scientist and researcher, developed a reading speed program, and in the process of research and development also discovered an amazing scientific program called Mental Photography. His amazing scientific proven phenomenon can help you harness 98 percent of your untapped brain.

How does Mental Photography work?

Richard Welch’s state-of-the-art system trains your subconscious mind so your memory becomes razor sharp. According to his groundbreaking research, if you have acquired the ability to absorb information speedily, you can then effectively store the information in your long-term memory. No only that, you can store every single word in your long-term memory for life, such that you will never forget it and you can always retrieve it at your will.

But how do you remember it in the first place?

A razor sharp memory requires concentration and focus. Richard Welch uses Albert Einstein’s “Distraction Index” which is a simple but extremely effective exercise that gives you 100 percent laser targeted focus and concentration. He shows step-by-step how you can spend 10 minutes a day just to maintain what you have stored in your long-term memory. You will be able to retrieve the information at any time, and automatically remember things that were once forgotten. Isn’t that remarkable?

Senior moments are common among seniors. But it does not have to be like that. A better brain with a powerful memory and targeted focus will give you an edge in every aspect of life, even as you continue to age. Mental Photography can effectively reduce the amount of sleep you need and make you wake up feeling great with more energy and enthusiasm than ever before. Help your brain remember the things you wish to remember. Do not let your mind slip. Brain health holds the key to longevity health.

For more information on how to build a better brain, go to ZOX Mind Training System.

Stephen Lau

Copyright © 2010 by Stephen Lau

Visualization and Mind Power

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:47:00 +0000

Your brain is powerful, even as you age. Throughout your life, you have, in effect, used only a small percentage of your brain cells. Do not underestimate your mind power. Fully harness and utilize your brain power at any age.

You may have heard about the ability to “see one’s future” or maybe to “see yourself achieving a goal or success.” For some this may seem purely science fiction. However, it is important to not fall victim to the common tendency of many to underestimate the power of the human brain. You might be surprised to learn that many of the coincidences or “déjà vu” phenomena that occur in your life are brain based and directed.

Visualization is the term often used to describe our attempt to use mental imagery to guide behavior and outcome. This is used by many of our best known athletes and others who are the best at what they do. Very often it is the mental side of action that differentiates good from great. . . . Read more.

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Get more information about visualization: learn from a renowned hypnotherapist to transform your life through creative visualization.

Stephen Lau

A Healthy Brain Needs Napping

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:26:00 +0000

A healthy brain needs napping. Sleep has been known to be an important component to brain function and memory for some time. A recent study on sleep and learning conducted by Dr. Walker, University of California Berkeley, provides further support.

The study involved 39 healthy young persons who were placed into a nap or no nap group. At noon, all subjects completed a memory task intended to engage the hippocampus, a region deep in the medial temporal lobe responsible for learning new fact-based information. Both groups performed equally on this test.

At 2 p.m, the nap group took a 90-minute nap, while the no-nap group did not. At 6 p.m. of that day, subjects completed a new memory task. Those who remained awake throughout the day performed worse on the task, while those who napped did markedly better and actually improved in their capacity to learn.

Some scientists suggest the human animal is designed to sleep in bouts, rather than one long period of time - the finding supports taking naps. About 30 percent of Americans nap during the mid-day. The study’s results support the idea that sleep clears the brain’s short-term memory storage and creates the ability for new information to be learned.. . . . Indeed, the brain needs a meaningful break in order to function optimally.

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Get more information on the importance of brain health.

Alzheimer's and Intimacy

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:23:00 +0000

In a recent article in The Wall Street Journal,Tuesday, November 3, 2009, about caregivers of spouses with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) who find new companions for love. The article questioned whether such behavior could be considered adultery?

There are nearly 5 million Americans with AD and at least that many at risk. The number of those with AD will likely continue to grow to as many as 15 million by 2050. A recent survey reported there will be nearly 35 million with AD across the planet. Many of those suffering AD are married and the healthy spouse can serve the role of caregiver for many years, including a significant amount of time when their spouse with AD no longer recognizes them. The role of caregiver is difficult and ripe with emotional, physical, and financial stress. The article in The Wall Street Journal raises another stressor, which is the idea that the healthy spouse may be without intimacy, love, and companionship for many years.

It is nearly impossible to understand how emotionally difficult it must be to care for a spouse with AD. Some describe AD as two deaths, one when you are told about the diagnosis, and the second with the actual physical death of your loved one. Along the course of AD, a spouse will no longer recognize his or her partner. A healthy spouse, who provides care to their partner with AD, is vulnerable to loneliness, depression, and ongoing loss. How does one cope with loss of the emotional connection or loss of love in the traditional sense when your spouse is physically still present?

The Wall Street Journal article raises many thoughts and ideas that do not have easy answers. It points out that we need to support even more our caregivers who dedicate so much of their time to their spouses with AD.

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It is important to maintain brain health to delay, if not prevent, the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease.

Eat One Meal A Day with Others for Better Brain Health

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:17:00 +0000

Eating one meal a day with others may boost your brain health, and hence avoid or delay the occurence of dementia. The human brain requires a comprehensive and integrated approach to health and a brain health lifestyle.

Eating one meal a day with family members or even friends and those you may not know very well (be safe first) can be a major brain health activity. Sitting down to a meal helps you to slow down, you can listen to some music in the background, and tell stories over your meal. You can also use utensils that typically means you will eat healthier and eat less than when you eat with your fingers. These are several brain health boosts with one activity.

It is good to learn from Rasmussen Surveys that 65% of those surveyed by telephone eat with their family twice weekly. 38% eat a meal three times a week with their family and 27% report eating between two and three times weekly with their family. Only 22% do not eat with their family during the week.

Therefore, it is recommended that you carve out the special time necessary to sit down and eat a meal with your loved ones on a daily basis. Your brain and body will thank you. . . .

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Pets and Health for Those with Mild Dementia

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:23:00 +0000

Research has attested to the value of having and caring for pets on general health. Research supports a positive relationship between having a pet and general health with more specific value in reducing blood pressure. Pets can create a vital role for someone as the dog, cat or other pet needs to be fed, walked, cleaned etc. Sometimes, caring for a pet can be the major role in a person’s life, particularly if someone is living alone, or having mild dementia.

A pet can also provide unconditional love, friendship, companionship, and a sense of family. Many people consider their pets significant members of the family and it is quite normal to experience grief when a pet dies.

For those who do not and cannot own a pet there are opportunities in the community to spend time with animals . . . . .

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The Obvious Signs of Dementia

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:06:00 +0000

As we continue to age, we all become forgetful. Memory lapses are not uncommon, but it doesn't mean we all will have dementia.

The symptoms of dementia may be gradual, and sometimes even insidious. When signs of dementia begin to surface, some patients may try to "cover up" or even blatantly deny that there are problems; others may blame others. No matter what, ultimately, the early signs of dementia will become more serious and obvious, and they include the following:

(1) The person is uncharacteristically negative and suspicious. Sometimes it is difficult to tell if it is dementia or not, especially if that person is also suffering from anxiety or depression.

(2) The person is negligent of his or her personal care and grooming, such as not bathing or shampooing. Again, an individual with severe depression may also neglect his or her personal hygiene.

(3) The person has difficulty in conversation, such as repeating the same thing, or talking vaguely without any specifics.

(4) The person has lost his or her motor skills, such as displaying uncharacteristically illegible handwriting, or inability to type or use the computer.

(5) The person is unable to make a phone call, even if he or she remembers the phone number.

(6) The person eats improperly, such as eating only sweets when there is a proper meal.

(7) The person keeps the house badly cluttered and disorganized.

(8) The person shows poor judgment in spending. Again, an individual suffering from anxiety or other mental disorders, such as bipolar depression, may also demonstrate the same behavioral problems in over spending.

(9) Other more dangerous signs of dementia may include: consistently forgetting to turn off the stove; wandering around outside at night; acting inappropriately in response to "paranoid" suspicions, such as calling the police based on paranoia.

If a member of your family demonstrates some of these obvious signs of dementia, be more observant of the behavioral patterns or conditions to see if medical or professional help is needed.

For more information on the signs, symptoms, and management of dementia, get a copy of Alzheimer's Disease -- it has everything you need to know about the disease and how to cope with it.

Stephen Lau

Helping the Impaired Mind to Cope with Everyday Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:26:00 +0000

Impaired memory will cause problems in everyday living. An individual with impaired memory may or may not be aware of the impairment. Therefore, it is important that family members do everything possible to help that individual to cope with everyday problems.

Money management is always a problem. Money is equivalent to independence. An impaired individual may be reluctant to relinquish control over money matters. But if that individual has difficulty in balancing the checkbook or shows reckless spending, then family members may have to take control of money management. It should be noted that it is common for an individual with dementia to become overtly anxious and suspicious, and may even accuse others of stealing his or her money.

An individual in the first phase of dementia may still hold on to his or her job if the job is not too demanding. However, at some point, giving up the job becomes inevitable. Family members should be more considerate, because giving up one's job implies giving up one's identity and self-worth. In addition, there may be other emotional, psychological, and financial implications that require adjustments. Help that individual to adjust accordingly. In particular, pay attention to the mental state: mental depression is not an uncommon outcome when employment ceases. If there is a problem with finance, the Social Security Act provides financial assistance in the form of Supplemental Disability Income. An individual who has worked 20 out of the past 40 calendar quarters will be eligible, and the amount is based on the earnings at the time when employment ceases.

Some individuals with dementia are aware of their own limitations and will stop driving, while others are unwilling to give up driving. If an individual demonstrates good vision, including peripheral vision, good hearing, good coordination of eyes, hands, and feet, and quick reaction, driving may not be an immediate issue. However, getting lost easily, or driving too slowly may be a good indication that it is time to give up driving, whether that individual wants it or not. Also, an angry or aggressive temperament often points to the unsuitability of driving.

It is important that when helping individuals with an impaired mind to deal with their everyday problems, we should discuss frankly with them our concerns, but without criticizing their behaviors; we should offer alternatives without unduly emphasizing their disability. Understanding their problems and showing care and compassion hold the key to success in helping the impaired mind to cope with everyday problems.

The Alzheimer's Reversing Breakthrough: A proven program to help overcome Alzheimer's disease safely and naturally. Get tips from the world's top doctors and Nobel Prize winners on how to eliminate harmful prescription drugs, and take back your life for good!

Stephen Lau

Meditate to Stop Your Mind from Aging

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 11:59:00 +0000

Stop your mind from aging with meditation, which is a proven antidote to aging of the human mind.

Aging occurs because your endocrine system (responsible for the production of hormones) deteriorates over decades of wear and tear. Your human growth hormone (HGH) keeps you healthy through rejuvenation, and your DHEA (dehydroeplandrosterone) is instrumental in delaying aging through controlling emotional and mental stress. Unfortunately, the production of these hormones declines with age. Such decline begins to take toll on your brain cells. To further aggravate the mental condition, stress increases with age: you have more health problems and life’s issues to deal with as you continue to age. As a result, your impaired mind begins to age rapidly after age 60.

Scientific studies have repeatedly demonstrated that a positive mind can bring about health and wellness, and that positive thinking enhances the immune system. In other words, there is a close connection between the body and mind in terms of wellness.

Unfortunately, often times, it is difficult to stay positive because you simply cannot control your thoughts. When your thoughts are out of control, your mind becomes chaotic. The human mind becomes chaotic when there are too many things and events happening simultaneously, such that the distracted mind begins to bounce back and forth between events and happenings, causing internal chaos. A chaotic mind produces biological and chemical changes in both the mind and body, which affect the overall wellbeing of an individual.

The good news is that meditation is an antidote to a chaotic mind because when you meditate you consciously and subconsciously direct your mind to focus on only the present moment to the exclusion of everything else in the past or in the future. This single-minded focus brings calmness to a chaotic mind. Meditation is recovery to a chaotic mind, just as sleep is rejuvenation to an exhausted body.

The anti-aging benefits of meditation have been validated in scientific studies. For example, in one study, participants who regularly meditated had shown a significant increase of DHEA; in another study, those who meditated for more than 5 years were physiologically younger by more than 10 years than their chronological age. The simple fact is that meditation benefits your mind by increasing your brain's gray matters.

Meditate to stop your mind from aging. Learn how to meditate: it is easy, and there are no right or wrong ways to meditate; just learn the basic techniques. The key to success is diligence and consistency.

For more information, visit my web page: Meditation Techniques.

Stephen Lau

Dementia and Depression

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:16:00 +0000

There is a close connection between dementia and depression -- both medical conditions have to do with a dysfunctional mind.

Loss of memory may lead to depression. The human brain performs thousands of tasks, and we are usually unaware of most of them. Patients with dementia, due to brain damage, often become frustrated when they cannot perform simple daily chores they used to be capable of doing. This alone is enough to put many into a depression.

However, not all individuals suffering from dementia have depression, although those who have both dementia and depression will demonstrate improvement in their memory once their depression is treated. Accordingly, it is important to treat the symptoms of depression in those with dementia in order to give the patients better quality of life as well as their caregivers and family members an easier time to cope with their dementia problems.

One of the behavioral symptoms of dementia is social withdrawal -- a result of inability to respond and communicate with others, as well as a way of coping when things get too complicated for the dementia mind. In communication, sensory input is important. Persons with dementia may remember only partially what they have just heard, and thus their response represents only part of the message received. Defective communication only accentuates the sense of loss in those with dementia. The result is withdrawal -- which is also a common symptom of depression. It is, therefore, critical to determine if the individual has depression, or simply the symptoms of dementia. Other characteristic symptoms of depression include: weeping; weight loss; change of sleep patterns; fatigue; and preoccupation with health problems. Depression in individuals with dementia should be treated to avoid further strain on their memory loss problem.

In addition to the use of medications to relieve symptoms of apathy and listlessness in depression or dementia, keep the patient mentally and physically active. However, it is important to know the limits -- which means knowing the level of involvement and capability. Remember, small failures may have damaging, instead of beneficial, results on the dementia mind; likewise, repeatedly telling a depressive individual to snap out of a depression only engenders further frustration without facilitating the recovery.

For more information on depression and a healthy brain, visit my websites: Rethink Your Depression and Brain Health.

Stephen Lau

Getting Medical Help for Dementia

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:06:00 +0000

The human brain is a complex and mysterious organ, which affects not only dreaming, listening, talking, and walking, but also emotions, personality, and thoughts. As such, any individual suspected of having the early symptoms of dementia should seek professional help immediately.

(1) First and foremost, get an accurate diagnosis to determine whether or not the patient does have dementia.

(2) Giving the physician details of the recent changes and development in behavior, in personality, and in memory may help the diagnosis.

(3) A physical examination and laboratory tests may determine if the symptoms could be related to other health problems with symptoms similar to those of dementia.

(4) A neurological examination may determine the normal or abnormal functioning of the nervous system, or the nerve cells in the spine.

(5) A memory test (in which the patient may be asked to answer some simple questions, or to perform some simple tasks) may be conducted to determine the patient's ability to remember, to concentrate, and to do abstract reasoning, which are telltale signs of dementia.

(6) CT scans, MRI scans, and other advanced state-of-the-art radiological techniques may be used to identify changes in the brain due to strokes, Alzheimer's disease, or other medical conditions.

Once a correct diagnosis is made, the physician will look into the nature and extent of the dementia, other related health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, and depression, the prognosis of the disease, for example, if the conditions can be reversible, and the treatment plan, if any.

With a correct diagnosis, the patient with dementia will need the ongoing help of a physician and other professionals to cope with his or her dementia problems, such as social and psychological needs in the days ahead, as well as the expected changes down the road.

To get more online resources on dementia, go to:

Alzheimer's Association: detailed and useful information on dementia

http://www.alz.org/index.asp

Alzheimer's Disease Bookstore: printed materials related to Alzheimer's disease and dementia

http://www.alzheimerbooks.com

Alzheimer's Support Network: a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving Alzheimer's patients and their families

http://alzsupportnetwork.org/

ElderCare Online's: an Alzheimer's and dementia care channel

http://www.ec-online.net/alzchannel.htm

Keep your brain healthy and sharp at all stages of your life: BrainFit For Life.

Invest in your brain fitness strategies!

(1) Learn how to get the nutrients for your brain health.

(2) Learn how to get the physical activities to keep your brain fit for life.

(3) Learn how to use mental exercises to keep your mind sharp.

(4) Learn how to use restful sleep to energize and rejuvenate your mind.

Stephen Lau

What May Have Caused Dementia

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Lau) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:04:00 +0000

Dementia is losing your mind, that is, your mind slipping away. Dementia is not part of growing old: only about 7-8 percent of older people experience severe intellectual impairment and memory loss.

However, dementia does occur in certain individuals, especially as they continue to grow old. So, what are the causes of dementia?

(1) Genetic factor may play a part in the development of dementia. If you do have a family history of dementia, then you should take extra care of your brain.

(2) Dysfunctional thyroid may cause dementia. Fortunately, this type of dementia is treatable and reversible.

(3) Stroke may cause dementia. In fact, vascular dementia is the 2nd most common type of dementia. Hardening of the arteries may result in poor circulation, depriving the brain of oxygen and nutrients, leading to brain damage.

(4) Depression, especially among the elderly, may lead to memory loss, confusion, and impaired mental function and coordination. However, scientists cannot determine whether depression causes dementia, or it is the result of dementia, because their symptoms may be quite similar.

(5) Other factors that may affect brain health include: excess alcohol consumption; brain damage due to injury or dehydration; sensory deprivation (the cause of sundowning, which is acute confusion occurring late in the day or at night); drug abuse, especially those anesthetic agents, narcotic analgesics, and benzodiazepines.

The good news is that numerous conditions associated with dementia or memory loss are treatable, if the conditions causing the delirium are adequately addressed, such as deficiency of vitamin B12, depression, and autoimmune diseases. However, when these conditions remain untreated for more than six months to a year, clinical studies have shown that the prognosis for recovery may become slim, as the damage to the brain may have become permanent.

Therefore, it is important to maintain brain health at all times. After all, the brain is one of the most important body organs, since it controls what you think as well as what you do. For more information on brain health, visit my web page: Healthy Brain.

The human brain is made up trillions of brain cells. Only 10 percent of these brains cells have been utilized over one's lifetime, and there is still a great deal that one can tap into. Yes, you can even train your brain to become smarter at any age.

Mind Sparke Brain Fitness Pro - Software that makes you smarter

Stephen Lau