Full Description
Train Your Brain was written to provide older adults, and the people who work with them, with practical and scientifically based suggestions and interventions on how to maintain and even improve memory ability. Researchers have found that certain lifestyle factors predict the likelihood of developing memory problems. Most chapters begin with research summaries, followed by practical suggestions for taking advantage of the identified factors that affect memory. The book also contains information and suggestions for people interested in starting a cognitive enhancement program in an assisted living facility, senior center, or medical setting. Two chapters, "How Memory Works" and "How the Brain Works," provide readers with a foundation of knowledge so they can get the most out of subsequent chapters. The author presents the "Use It or Lose It" theory of memory and aging and the overwhelming evidence that cognitive stimulation is associated with better memory ability; he also provides information on how nutrition, physical exercise, mood, stress, and sleep all affect memory. The book contains cognitive enhancement activities, with instructions, that can be used to create a memory enhancement program for oneself or others. However, even all of this information won't help the older adult who is unmotivated to make the necessary behavioral changes, so the author includes information on how to motivate people to do the things that can improve their quality of life and their ability to make new memories.
Contents
Acknowledgments, CHAPTER l. Introduction: Can Memory Ability be Improved?, CHAPTER 2. How Memory Works, CHAPTER 3. How the Brain Works, CHAPTER 4. Use It or Lose It: The Survival ofthe Busiest Minds, CHAPTER 5. Nutrition, CHAPTER 6. Physical Exercise: Improving Memory May be Just Steps Away, CHAPTER 7. Mood and Social Support, CHAPTER 8. Stress and Memory, CHAPTER 9. Sleep and Memory, CHAPTER 10. Practical Tips to Improving the Ability to Make New Memories, CHAPTER 11. What is Dementia?, CHAPTER 12. Creating Your Own Cognitive Enhancement Classes, CHAPTER 13. Starting and Sustaining Your Cognitive Enhancement Program, CHAPTER 14. Participant Management: How to Help More People Benefit from Cognitive Stimulation, Appendices, References, Index
