Page 4 - TR Senior Expo Searcy 2017

4SS SUNDAY,MAY21,2017|THREERIVERSEDITIONOFTHEARKANSASDEMOCRATGAZETTE|ADVERTISINGSUPPLEMENT
• Empower you to make decisions about your life and hospice care
• Be sensitive to your needs and help control your symptoms.
• Always be accessible to you, day or night.
Participating in cardiovascular activities and maintaining a heart-healthy diet can help keep the brain sharp.
Cerebral boost
How seniors can strengthen their brains
Physical activity and proper diet and nutrition can help people age 50 and older maintain their physical health. But there are also ways aging men and women can preserve brain health to help prevent or delay the cognitive decline that affects millions of seniors across the globe.
Andrew Powell, program director and part of the Unity Health Psychiatric Med- icine Residency, said there are multiple factors that can help seniors with cogni- tive function.
“Get regular exercise, get enough sleep, maintain a healthy diet and keep good control of illnesses such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart dis- ease,” he said. “Avoid tobacco and exces- sive alcohol intake.”
It’s easy to overlook the importance of keeping the brain healthy. However, a decline in brain function can result in poor concentration, memory loss and a host of other issues.
Sometimes, by the time symptoms pres- ent themselves, it may be too late to reverse
any damage, physicians say. Research sug- gests that a combination of nutrition and mental, social and physical activities may have a greater impact with regard to main- taining and improving brain health than any single activity.
Information from Harvard Medical School states that volunteering, caring for others and pursuing hobbies may benefit the brains of older adults.
A study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found participants who reported higher levels of purpose in life exhibited superior cognitive function des- pite the accumulation of abnormal protein depositions (amyloid plaques and neuro- fibrillary tangles) in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
Having a purpose also may help those who do not have Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to the suggestions mentioned above, those who want to boost brain health can consider these strategies:
• Start exercising the brain early on. A study published in 2012 in the British