Engage your brain

October 10, 2009 – The National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) offered free memory screenings to those over 50 where they were asked a set of questions designed to test a range of everyday mental skills. NNI also held a public forum on understanding dementia and cognitive disorders. Dr Nagaendran Kandiah of NNI (in picture) shared that dementia increases in age – in Singapore, 5 to 7% have dementia at 60 years old and the prevalence of dementia doubles every five years. He explained the symptoms are gradual, with the main symptom being a persistent memory problem such as repeating over and over again, misplacing keys, forgetting names, etc. Those who have dementia also may lose their direction in a familiar environment, may have their judgment affected such as leaving a small child at home and may have mood and behavioural problems such as delusions, hallucinations, agitation and anxiety/restlessness. They might also have language difficulties like naming a common object or have grammatical errors. He added that 49% of patients who attend the NNI memory clinic are below the age of 65 and the average age of the dementia group is 57 years of age. “If you do brain exercises, you can delay dementia by up to five years,” he said. There is no cure to dementia. – the drugs available can only slow down the process and give more quality years to the patient, however, he said currently there are drugs being trialed that can stop the progression of the disease. Another speaker, Dr Donald Yeo of Singapore General Hospital, emphasised, “Older adults may be slower but they can learn as much as younger people. When we engage in learning, more oxygen and blood goes to the brain.” So how do you keep your brain healthy? Dr Yeo shared:
• Start simple – train, don’t strain.
• Do something that you enjoy like Sudoku, etc. Make it meaningful and fun.
• Focus on one thing at a time. Don’t multi-task as you tend to forget.
• Eat a well-balanced diet and sleep well.
• Reduce stress and worry.
• Build positive relationships.
• Keep physically active as this brings more blood to the brain. “What is good for your heart is good for your brain.”
• Do something different each day.