Training Report
Ryan Hays, Miracles Director

On February 12, I had the pleasure of attending the first of the 2009 employee in-services presented by the Education and Research Division, Engage While you Age. Dr. Shannon Hill discussed different brain functions, parts of the brain, Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias, as well as how to engage your brain today to keep it working as well as possible while you age.

We focused on the key areas of the brain that control our mental abilities, and how this relates to the population we serve. Each person's development will affect how he or she processes instructions, and this explains why some people have trouble remembering things one day but seem to process much better on other days. Systematic instruction can help people learn and retain information for longer periods of time.

After our tour of the brain, we moved on to protecting your brain and its functions from disease. The usual health problems were mentioned, such as alcohol, smoking, diet, etc., for making one more susceptible to getting these brain diseases. However, certain things like music, simple math, writing in a descriptive manner through e-mail or other correspondence, doing crossword puzzles, cleaning house a different way, and using your non-dominant hand are just a few things that we can all do to promote a healthy active brain. It has actually been shown that these stimulate our brains more than its everyday, routine functions can do alone.

So, if you would like to continue to have the brainpower that you have today, try one or more of the active brain challenges. I have begun to brush my teeth using my left hand, watch educational programs, type really long e-mails, and repeat all the books of the Bible that I can remember in order. Your brain is your most important organ, so we should all do everything we can to keep it healthy.