The Good, Better, Best of Brain Health

Brain health is very important as a safeguard against dementia and Alzheimer's; as protection against memory loss and, as help against aging of the brain. There are many things we can do to help ourselves. The following are some of them.

Eating the colours of the rainbow gives our diets a boost, i.e.: choosing colourful fruits and vegetables such as carrots, yams, beets, tomatoes, blueberries, blackberries, mangos, papaya, purple grapes, corn, dried cranberries, oranges, melon, peaches, black beans, red onions and the red, orange and yellow peppers and, green vegetables such as broccoli, peas, spinach, kale, green peppers and lettuce. It is thought by some that having sufficient of the B vitamins in our system will also help ward off Parkinson's disease. These are all good for the brain.

Avoiding excessive use of alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine and refined white sugar is even better when added with eating colourful fruits and vegetables. Add to that by cutting down on meat consumption and eating more wild fish. It is also important to ensure that there is sufficient fiber in our diets and enough protein. Also avoid processed foods and increase your intake of omega 3 fatty acids in your diet by including olive oil, nuts, flax and other seeds. It is also important to drink a lot of water. And when adding these things to the rainbow of fruits and vegetables, your brain will be even better.

And best of all, besides doing the above, is to reduce stress. It is also important to sleep between seven and eight hours each night, sweat to rid your body of toxins and get a lot of exercise. Also engage in intellectual pursuits by doing daily brain games to keep your brain active.

Doing brain games will help with your memory, mind flexibility, problem solving, speed of thinking, visual recall (faces and names), spatial reasoning, problem solving, information processing, verbal fluency, concentration and being able to stay focused. To do this, there are math games, puzzle games and word and memory games. Besides doing them, it is important to increase the speed at which you do them.

Because physical exercise is a crucial factor in the good, better and best of brain health, it is important to remember that it is not for losing weight or to compete as an athlete does but to maintain a healthy brain. It is thought that even one half hour a day will help not only your brain but also with detoxification, skeletal mobility and muscle tone. The purpose of exercise is to encourage brain health and to feel revitalized and energized by doing it.

Also, excessive stress has been discovered to cause shrinkage to some areas of the brain which could have an affect on specific areas of our lives. One of these is our ability to cope over time. Stress can, however be relieved through exercise and meditation.

Sleep deprivation can have an effect on the brain also causing some parts to slow or shut down completely. And in some cases, the person may even appear to be drunk. Often those lacking sleep will have more difficulty with their memory.

There is not one thing that is more important than the other, but in combination it will help your brain to be the best it can be.

Lives Altered as a Result of Short Term Memory Loss

Our memories affect everything in our lives. If we have short term memory loss, we can't remember what has been said to us each day or what we have done on any given day.

It means we may not be able to remember a special conversation with a loved one, the special things that our children or grandchildren have done, or a romantic dinner. There will be no continuity in our lives if we can't remember from one day to the next.

Short term memory loss is often the result of either a traumatic brain injury or an acquired one. There are things that can assist with memory loss, i.e.: having a calendar to keep track of dental and doctor appointments and any other place it is necessary to be. We can keep 'to do' lists, grocery lists, lists of names and phone numbers and lists of birthdays.

But what can be done to help us remember those special moments that slip away all too quickly? One idea might be a daily diary or journal. This can be referred to periodically so as to be able to enjoy those special moments again and also to help jog the memory into remembering them.

We can also avoid the use of alcohol and drugs which are likely to further debilitate the memory. If someone is in an alcoholic or drug induced fog, it will make remembering even that much more difficult.

Also focusing on what is being said by really listening, repeating what has been said and, in the case of those special times as well as the children or grandchildren's special funny ways, these can be gone over in your mind after the fact. Also, things can be remembered more easily if they are attached to something known that is in the long term memory, i.e.: a memorable association with something that happened before the injury. Writing things down or repetition always makes them easier to remember. Find applicable words to trigger memories. Reading or saying aloud things that you wish to remember helps also. Increased exercise improves the blood circulation which assists memory too. And avoid districtions.

There are also exercises that can be done to strengthen the memory in order to improve the problem of short term memory loss. Some of these are:

- Read a grocery list (or any list) and then try to remember what was on the list. Repeat the exercise until you can remember everything on the list. Then practice with a new list.

- Look at a picture in a book or a magazine for a few minutes then put it aside. Write down as many things about the picture as can be remembered. Repeat with another picture until your memory improves. Also decrease the amount of time you give yourself to retrieve the information from your memory.

Remembering special times, and day-to-day events, is worth the effort it takes to exercise our memories.

Brain Injuries and Cognitive Disabilities in the Classroom

Cognitive disabilities can be the result of learning disabilities from birth or from a brain injury. Regardless of the reason for it, those children who have these disabilities can have difficulties in the classroom.

Disabilities can include sensory impairments such as visual or hearing; physical or motor difficulties or, cognitive disabilities with mental tasks and processing. This can include difficulty with reading or comprehension because of problem-solving difficulties, and memory or attention/focusing. Problems such as these can be the result of a traumatic brain injury, autism, dyslexia, ADHD or a health or emotional problem.

For those children that have a brain injury or a learning disability, the classroom can be a scary place to be. Classrooms are often overcrowded and may appear chaotic to a child with a disability.

The prevalent philosophy is for all children to be treated equally so they feel that they fit in. But this is obviously not working. Many of these children need to be treated differently in order to learn because many of them have different learning requirements than those in the general education classroom. These problems often require an appropriate learning format for their type of disability.

Some children have difficulty with time constraints and work more efficiently at their own speed. This is very difficult in a general classroom situation where everyone is supposed to be working together and keeping up. These children are likely to be left in the dust and the spotlight will be on them. This will make them feel even more different than if the teaching had been geared to their own learning requirements right from the beginning.

It is difficult for a student to receive this type of support for their cognitive disabilities within the school system because of the lack of funding. It is very difficult, if not nearly impossible, for one teacher to handle a mixed bag of disabilities with the necessary strategies required to suit each disability. In order for there to be success, it is necessary for there to be some assistance within the classroom but this is often not the case. Funding in many schools has been lost and there are few teachers aides available in many schools.

There have been some suggestions made such as the restructuring of how classrooms operate. Another idea has been differentiated instruction (tailoring instruction to meet individual needs) done with a flexible and individual approach; using peer tutoring and, grouping students who struggle.

There is no easy solution but it is clear that the present classroom situation does not work for all children. Although there are approaches that can help, it boils down to the need for further funding for schools, with more teachers aides, so that all children can receive the education they require.

Brain Injuries and Personality Changes

Personality changes often show as an extreme exaggeration of a brain injury survivor's pre-injury personality. Or it can result in them appearing to be totally opposite from the person they used to be. The reasons for this can be varied.

Memory impairment can have a large bearing on these changes. Short term memory is almost always affected but some long term memories can also be lost. Those with brain injuries may become angry or aggressive, possibly saying hurtful things that later they will have forgotten all about. As a result apologies may never happen. Conflict resolution will be difficult, if not impossible, when someone has short term memory losses and denies that they have been aggressive or said angry or mean things. Memory impairment is one of the big issues in personality changes because it affects almost everything we do and think.

Another change may be impaired impulse control, lack of judgment or an inability to self-monitor their behaviour. And from this may come denial that they have behaved inappropriately. Some may even deny that they have had a brain injury and instead will insist that the problem is the other person's, refusing to take any responsibility for their own actions.

Other changes in a brain injury survivor may be the inability to problem solve, withdrawal, lack of interest in anything they previously enjoyed, and lack of motivation. This will often result in feelings of isolation for them as fewer and fewer friends keep in touch.

Because of the changes that many suffering from a brain injury have, and ones they they don't understand because they still feel they are the same person, depression often follows. Depression exaggerates the feelings of isolation and can cause all the other changes to increase also, i.e.: anger and aggression may be more of an issue making conflict resolution even more difficult. It will be important for their caregiver to be aware of this and seek medical help for them.

Often those who have had brain injuries have substance abuse issues as well. Because they lack motivation, their interests may be few or non-existent and because their friends may have moved on, they possibly will begin to rely on alcohol or other forms of substance abuse to alleviate their boredom. They may try to hide this from their caregivers and may even lie about their use of it.

All of these changes will be difficult for their caregiver/family member. They are no longer the same person they once were. It will be important for their caregiver to encourage them to be more motivated, perhaps join a group, get new interests and get professional intervention when needed. However, in many cases those with the injury will resist any effort to change and will remain steadfast in their determination to do things their way, or do nothing at all. They will become entrenched in what they wish to do.

If a brain injury survivor remains stubborn and refuses to accept help from professionals or otherwise, the caregiver/family member may find it necessary, and important, to join a support group of their own in order to help themselves through this difficult situation.