Team SDR: Adding Raised Flower Gardens!

Heartfelt thanks to our donors who help us with special projects!

Virtual Team Brainstorm: Easy Brain Teaser!

Good Afternoon Team Brain Storm:

What a gorgeous day! Enjoy the warmth & sunshine! This pretty day has put me in a generous mood so I thought I would give you an easy brain teaser this time. Here you go…
What phrase does this represent? There is a hint and the answer below!

Take care,

Kelly

Hint Think classic literature

Answer Around the World in 80 Days

(a round "THEWORLD" in 80 "day"s)

Team Blogger: Memory Jar

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to share something with you that my family made for my mom~ it is a "Memory Jar". I have photos attached for you. My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about 5 years ago. Right now, it is only her short term memory that is affected. She can still rmember most everything from the past. We wanted to be sure that some of our favorite memories with her were never forgotten so we wrote them all down & put them in a jar for her. My sister got a jar with a "G" on the front....the "G" stands for Gigi, which is what my mom's 7 granddaughters call her. Along with the 7 girls, my sister and her husband, my brother & his wife, and myself & my husband wrote down all of our favorite memories. There are at least 100 memories in the jar and they are added to whenever people are in town.



My mom will sit for hours and read through the tiny slips of paper on which we all wrote our favorite memories of times spent with her. My mom is currently rehabilitating in a nursing home. A few weeks ago I brought her memory jar in so that we could look through them and help pass the long days. We had so much fun! The smiles & laughs from my mom that day are now a memory that I will always have! My mom was bedridden for a few weeks and during that time the wonderful activities director at her nursng home, Diane, came in and sat with her reading through the memories. Diane said that it gave her great insight in to my mom's life and how very much she was loved by her family.


The "Memory Jar" makes a wonderful gift for anyone, especially those affected by dimentia and Alzheimers. Reading the little slips of paper and reminiscing together is not only therapeutic for the person the memory jar belongs to, but comforting for the ones that share in the joy of listening to her read them.

Take care

Blue Zone Your Memory No.43: Anger Management

It is important that when we are looking for ways to enhance our brain function that we also consider how our emotions impact the efficiency of the brain and memory recall. Last month we explored the benefits of joy for improving memories and reducing stress, and this month we will open the discussion for how anger can interrupt memory recall and increase stress. Researchers have investigated how anger interferes with the brain’s cue processing ability and how anger triggers the amygdala to hijack almost all of the most efficient regions of the brain for decision-making and impulse control. Certainly, anger management would be a good intervention or treatment plan to add when building a personal wellness program.

Blue Zone Your Memory No. 42: Joy!

Researchers are studying social joy as a protective mechanism for the brain. Specifically, La Rue (2008) found that for better memory all one has to do is to carve out time to spend doing things that are enjoyable with others. Evidently, the emotion of joy has global effects on the brain, creates psychological resilience, and lowers the negative effects of stress. In addition, positive experiences prompt the brain to store the sensual experiences of joy thus making explicit and implicit memories from positive experiences easier to retrieve.

Virtual Team Brainstorm Update: Tim's Brainstorm Questions!

Good Morning Team Brain Storm!

I want to thank Tim Dressman for passing on the following brain teasers…  they are all great!  Let’s see how many of us are fooled by the answers!  Thanks again Tim!

1. Johnny's mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May...What was the third child's name? 2. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall and he wears size 13 sneakers...What does he weigh? 3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered...what was the highest mountain in the world? 4. How much dirt is there in a hole...that measures two feet by three feet by four feet? 5. What word in the English Language...is always spelled incorrectly? 6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the summer...How is this possible? 7. In California, you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg...Why not? 8. What was the President's Name…in 1975? 9. If you were running a race...and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?  10. Which is correct to say…”The yolk of the egg are white" or "The yolk of the egg is white"? 11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field...how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?  All of the answers are below!  Good luck!  Have a great week!, Kelly Lance Here are the Answers 1. Johnny's mother had three children. The first child was named April The second child was named May. What was the third child's name? Answer: Johnny of course 2. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall, and he wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh? Answer: Meat.3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world? Answer: Mt. Everest; it just wasn't discovered yet. [ You're not very good at this are you?]4. How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet by four feet? Answer: There is no dirt in a hole.5. What word in the English Language is always spelled incorrectly? Answer: Incorrectly 6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the summer. How is this possible? Answer: Billy lives in the Southern Hemisphere 7. In California, you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not? Answer: You can't take pictures with a wooden leg. You need a camera to take pictures.8. What was the President's Name in 1975? Answer: Same as is it now - Barack Obama [Oh, come on...]9. If you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now? Answer: You would be in 2nd. Well, you passed the person in second place, not first.10. Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg are white" or "The yolk of the egg is white"? Answer: Neither, the yolk of the egg is yellow [Duh]11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field? Answer: One. If he combines all of his haystacks, they all become one big one.

Team Dance: 948.10 hours of Dance Logged by 12 Teams for 2013!!

If you dance we would like to add you to our 2013 Dance Log!

How to Cut your Risk of Memory Loss

Effects of Tango on Functional Mobility in Parkinson’s Disease A Preliminary Study

Blue Zone Your Memory No. 41: Fitness Workout Woes

 

 

The latest research concerning why we derail our own workout efforts involves the Disconnect Value Model and the amygdala regions of the brain. Evidently, we sometimes decide to make a trade off and seek immediately gratification instead of sticking to our short and long range value-driven goals for fitness.  This break in self-regulation can be much needed at times; however, if you would like to be more consistent with your workout plan try connecting to your values again. When you detect a threat to your values and see yourself finding other things to do instead of working out connect to your amygdala regions of the brain and try practicing value driven self-regulation.

Virtual Team Brain Storm: Optical Illusions!

For this week’s brain teaser I have chosen 2 optical illusions.  An optical illusion is a visually perceived image that is deceptive or misleading.  I hope you enjoy them!

This optical illusion was first created in 1861. Look at the two thick vertical lines. Do they look straight or curved to you? Hold a ruler up to the screen and you will see that they are indeed straight.

In the next illusion, black spots quickly appear and disappear at the intersections.

 Have a Great Week!

Team Captain Kelly Lance

Team SDR: Mardi Gras Fun!

Blue Zone Your Memory No. 40: Fear of Falling

 Sometimes the fear of falling decreases our confidence to pursue independent activity, which increases frailty and the possibility of falling (University of Lausanne, Switzerland, 2011). Using a fall self-efficacy scale this university’s research revealed that exercise and cognitive behavioral training lessened the need for older adults to self-impose activity restriction.  This research reveals the importance of partnering exercise with education, sensory correction, environmental adaptation, and addressing the psychological fears and factors that impair balance confidence as a holistic and integrative treatment plan for fall prevention.

Virtual Team Brain Storm: Brain Teaser!

I hope everyone is doing well!  Enjoy the warm weather while you can! Team Brain Storm has 18 members…let me know if you have a friend that would like to join!

This week’s Brain Teaser is called An Upside-Down Spotted Striped Box:  This is a Trick Brain Teaser…this type of teaser appears difficult at first, but they have a trick that makes them really easy.

Follow these steps and see if you can figure this out.

1) Get a brown, cardboard box.
2) Get purple, orange, and turquoise paints.
3) Paint the box orange.
4) Paint on purple spots.
5) Paint on turquoise stripes.
7) Turn it upside down.
8) Lie on your side.

What is missing from this sequence?  If you would like a hint, see below.  The answer is also below. Good luck!

Kelly Lance
Team Captain

Hint

The answer isn't to get a paintbrush, wait for it to dry, paint the bottom, or something similar. Remember, this is a TRICK teaser.

Answer

Step 6!

Virtual Team Brain Storm: Brain Teaser!

Good Morning:

Now that we are all (hopefully) back to normal routines after the busy holiday season, I thought I would start our brain teasers up again.  The following brain teaser is short & sweet!  Hopefully everyone will get it!  Good luck…the answer is below.

Once there was a night watchman who had been caught several times sleeping on the job. The boss issued the final warning. On the next night he was caught with his head on his hand and his elbows on the desk.
"Aha, I've caught you again," exclaimed the boss. The watchman's eyes popped open immediately and he knew what had happened. Being a quick thinking man, he said one word before looking up at the boss. The boss apologized profusely and went home. What was the one word?

Kelly Lance
Team Captain

Answer

The one word was "AMEN", thus making the Boss believe he was praying rather than sleeping.

Team Dance: Do You Dance?

Blue Zone Your Memory No. 39: Challenge Yourself!

The entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus are the first regions of the brain that are impacted by Alzheimer’s disease. Science has discovered that these areas experience atrophy with early onset Alzheimer’s. Research has also shown that learning new and novel information and processes can enhance neurogenesis in these regions of the brain. For example, doing an easy crossword puzzle where no learning occurs does not contribute to neurogenesis at the same level as working a crossword puzzle that is challenging and that involves new learning. To further enhance the neurogenesis process practice rehearsing the new learning after two minute intervals, while adding to this foundation of new and novel material. This same technique can apply to the physical movements that can be found in Tai Chi or the tango. The key is that the new learning must be challenging!  

Team HCC: Gingerbread House and Train Project

Projects that promote sensory and motor challenges also promote social decision-making. More importantly they are fun and a great way to make new friends!

Team SDR: Gingerbread Christmas Train Dilemma!

Have you every started a project and the materials and instruction just did not live up to the advertising? Residents and staff shared many laughs with this creative dilemma!

Team Assisted Care: Morning Trivia with Carrie!

After a great exercise class Carrie leads the residents in Trivia fun!

Team SDR: Fall Fun Diving for Apples!

The residents are having some fall fun with this variation of bobbing for apples. Eye hand coordination can be a challenge with wet apples and a small spoon! ~Program design by Sister Christine~

Blue Zone Your Memory No. 37: Autobiographical Memory

 

 

 

Most of us would agree that culture and background can be a regulator for intrapersonal and interpersonal interactions.  Autobiographical memory is memory from past experiences, and this includes all of the contextual relationships associated with culture and interpersonal relationships. Understanding a person's cultural interactions and the history of one’s social patterns are essential when designing environments that help stimulate positive memory events for the cognitively declined person. When visiting a friend or a loved one, who is memory impaired, consider sharing artifacts of their culture and from their previous patterns of socialization.