Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Alzheimer's

I went to a Red Hat Luncheon this afternoon where the Creekside Line Dancers performed. While watching them I thought of the recent conversation I had with my primary care physician who I've nicknamed "the Russian chick" as her last name is so difficult to pronounce.

When I had my annual physical we discussed how to prevent Alzheimer's. It's one of the biggest fears facing us Boomers as we age. We all know of someone who has suffered from this debilitating illness. We've heard the horror stories of loved ones who have driven down the wrong side of the highway or answered the door without their pants! None of us want to end up like that, so we're all looking for ways to stay sharp.

The dancers reminded me that my doctor said there are 2 things that will definitely help us:

Structured dancing -- Not freestyle like when we were young and did the twist. But structured dancing, like learning a line dancing routine is great because it helps you both physically and mentally.

Crossword puzzles -- Working a daily crossword puzzle with help your mind stay alert. Go to http://www.eons.com/ for a daily crossword puzzle as well as other brain games.

Let's hope you don't need it for a long time -- but if you want additional info on Alzheimer's, go to http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_diagnosis.asp?gclid=CKKhn7egspgCFRlcagodDDV_Vg

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So, Retired Rosie, this is your good friend Mike. Your articles about retirement have such a broad variety of topics I wonder what keeps you going. Anyway, with regard to Alzheimer's what do you think about this idea - explore science. My disclaimer is that I am employed by OSTI, the agency who powers www.worldwidescience.org. But, this search engine is capable of reaching as much information as Google, except its free of advertising and pornography. Plus, most of the information comes from government sources their taxes have contributed to. The information is not limited to the US either. Never before has there been so much information at someone's fingertips gathered together from around the globe. As I said, I do have a disclaimer but I also use www.worldwidescience.org as a citizen as well.