For some, social media is a significant part of their occupation. For other people, it can be an obsession that can cause problems in their daily life and career. Social media in your personal life can cause a significant amount of stress. There are so many things happening in the realm of social media and it impacts your brain function! You need to find a healthy balance.
Socialization and interaction with other human beings can have significant benefits for the brain. Social media often creates a false sense of interaction. These sites give you a sense that you’re interacting with other people, but there is often little quality or stimulation to the interaction.
Facebook is a parallel universe that cannot, and should not, replace normal healthy social interaction. It pulls people away from normal healthy interactions and relationships; which are critical to the development and maintenance of the aging brain.
In the last decade or two, we’re starting to see evolutionary shifts in the brain that haven’t occurred in the last several hundred thousand years; many related how our brains pay attention to things and how we respond to stress.
While there is a valuable function for these outlets when it comes to businesses, it’s also a tool for keeping in touch of friends and family that might live far away. When it starts to become a lifestyle that takes the place of healthy interaction, it can be a serious problem on multiple levels.
There was a study that was done where people went 30 days without hitting the Like button on Facebook. The study measured several quality-of-life parameters. Each person reported their quality of life improved through the course of the study, simply by not hitting the like button. Imagine what would happen if you took a break from them for extended periods of time on a regular basis! When you set up these habits, your brain simply starts to work better.
It’s important to look at all of these outlets and how much time you spend on them. It’s a good habit to simply allow yourself to check your social media at specific times, limited to about 30 minutes per day.
Contributor: Dr. Michael Trayford is a Board-Certified Chiropractic Neurologist and Founder of APEX Brain Centers in Asheville, NC. For more information, please visit www.ApexBrainCenters.com/memory.
The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse or guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of the content contained within blog posts that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor. www.DementiaSociety.org
There is accumulating evidence that Dementia has a long pre-clinical phase that may begin years, or even decades prior to a clinical diagnosis.(1) In addition, there is data indicating the pre-clinical signs of Dementia, in addition to declines in memory and other cognitive skills, also include motor skill difficulties.
It’s difficult to tease out normal age-related changes in coordination and balance from those motor skills that put people at increased risk for Dementia. Measures of pre-clinical impairments include changes in gait and walking speed, loss of muscle mass and strength, as well as reduced manual dexterity and balance.
Once Dementia becomes part of the picture, friends and family members become increasingly aware of the changes in their loved one's memory and organizational skills. They may also notice their loved one has difficulty dressing or walking without assistance. Like the worsening cognition we associate with Dementia, losses in stamina and coordination also reflect more widespread brain damage.
Research shows that physical exercise plays an important role in helping to protect, maintain, and improve the health and well-being of people in either the pre-clinical or the clinical stages of Dementia. As is true for everyone, physical exercises must be safe, interesting, as well as give a sense of accomplishment. However, before embarking on new or increased amounts of physical activity, it is important that you first get approval from your loved one’s doctor.
A physical therapist (PT) is often a good place to start. He or she can devise an exercise plan to improve stamina, flexibility, balance as well as exercises that can prevent falls. You can find information about local physical therapists on the American Physical Therapy webpage. Your loved one's doctor, nurse, or medical social worker are other good sources of information.
Exercise also includes activities such as walking, dancing, gardening, and housework. All are inexpensive, do not require specialized equipment, and come with the satisfaction of having done something useful. As an added benefit all of these, and similar activities are sources of social and cognitive stimulation.
Exercise also includes activities that improve small or fine-muscle motor skills. The ability to button a shirt, open a cereal box, or use eating utensils, helps people who have Dementia maintain their independence for as long as it possible. An occupational therapist (OT) can suggest helpful exercises and adaptive equipment that can make it possible to live at home for as long as is possible. Go to The American Occupational Therapy Association webpage to learn more about occupational therapy and the many ways occupational therapy can help people who have Dementia.
Small muscle exercises include pastimes such as craft projects, scrapbooking, baking, working with clay, painting, and drawing. These simple and inexpensive small muscle activities encourage socialization and maintain or improve cognition. An added benefit and perhaps the most important one is making things to share with others creates mementos of a life together and affirms the whole person.
Contributor: Janet Yagoda Shagam, PhD, is a freelance medical and science writer and the author of “An Unintended Journey: A Caregiver's Guide to Dementia.”
The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse or guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of the content contained within blog posts that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor.
Reference: (1) Buchman AS and D Bennett. Loss of Motor Function in Pre-clinical Alzheimer's Disease. Access; September 25, 2016.
