[Home-on-the-range] …can we really get smarter as we grow older?

Cindy Ray cindyray at gmail.com
Mon Feb 25 22:46:53 UTC 2013


Hope you don't forget to do it, Susie. <Giggle> That is interesting material, Diann, and you always find such delightful stuff to share.

I have decided that this time when I go to Louisville I'm taking all of my stuff in Braille hard copy. I think that I can actually put my hands on things faster, and actually formatting it helps me to know better what it says. I've never had our Manual of Operations in Braille before. Can't think of a better time to do that than when it is being updated.

CL

On Feb 25, 2013, at 4:29 PM, Stanzel, Susan - FSA, Kansas City, MO wrote:

> I think I might want to make a speech on this. Thanks for sharing.
> 
> Susie
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Home-on-the-range [mailto:home-on-the-range-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dianne Hemphill
> Sent: Monday, February 25, 2013 4:05 PM
> To: NFB of Kansas Internet Mailing List
> Subject: [Home-on-the-range] …can we really get smarter as we grow older?
> 
> Hello federationists - again a snow storm on the way here in Wichita as, it appears, all around the state. So I picked up an old issue of "Readers Digest" in braille and began reviewing a fascinating article i earlier read but needed to review and make notes on. (by the way, did you know you can get the Readers' Digest" in braille, free  from the American Printing House?)   The article comes from the October RD, 2012, called, "building a better brain". I find this fascinating as I, like many  of you sometimes experience and worry about "senior moments". These are the times we wonder why we went into another room:   start to say something but it flies  out of your brain before getting off your tongue ; go to pick up your purse or wallet and can't remember where we put it...the list could be endless ..This article searches out the latest in scientific research, which I am not going to make notation of references  here,  but want to share some of the findings for your consideration. One revolutionary finding is that we can change our IQ. Up till recently the thinking was that IQ was fairly fixed  by sometime in childhood. Now it appears that we can either improve or, unfortunately, lose IQ points if we aren't somewhat mindful in our life style and focused on life-long learning pursuits. Yes, we can get smarter! We can actually increase "gray matter" which enables us to have a brain that has greater elasticity with both volume  and mass. This allows us to store more knowledge which may or may not impact IQ depending on how it is used. If nothing else, more info makes  us more knowledgeable and interesting.  . What allows us to gain greater   IQ, is related to our ability to take information, comprehend its meaning, relationships  and relevance and use it in more abstract thinking. This includes problem solving,  verbal and cognitive complex thinking,  etc. This is much more than simple memorization.   So how do we move in the right direction rather than slip, sliding away?! Here are some of the elements that can help you develop a better memory if not improve your IQ:
> 1(It is now thought that "short term" memory plays a more significant role in both enhancing our memory and IQ than earlier thought. This may be one of the key elements  for establishing a foundation for a fluid use of information used in problem solving, for example. You might improve your short term memory by:
> 1. taking information in through  multiple senses; hearing and tactile; visually and hearing, etc.
> 2) pay attention! Our mom's were right! in order to start the process of acquiring  information, we need to "pay attention", sometimes very close attention... 3. Finding the information meaningful - this is somewhat intuitive  but when something isn't as interesting to us but might be, none-the-less, important for us, we might want to figure out a way to make it meaningful...
> 3) be  active - good blood flow to the brain improves this muscle just as it does every other muscle in the body.
> 4) be well rested...there is evidence that  people benefit from daily naps. This is not practical for many of us working but none-the-less, figuring out ways to refresh your brain is worthwhile and has great benefits  - some of us just want a good nights sleep!
> 5) eating a healthful diet - speaks for itself but cannot be overestimated on its beneficial impact...memory boosting benefits.
> Here are some suggestions for becoming smarter!
> 1. incorporate  some exercise that both  raises your heart rate and requires coordination. Any form of dance, water aerobics or oriental based exercises might do the trick...maybe you'll want to learn social dance steps or perhaps yoga - many interesting and mind building  options out there.
> 2. build a "memory bank" of things  that can be used for relating names/ideas/etc  "on purpose". For those things you must or want to remember you might want to use association or personal history to link to something new. This is relating  something new with something that you already have "in storage" and easily retrieve.
> 3. write things down. If you used to use pen and paper, jot something down though you won't be able to visually read it  The act of writing will help you recall things. For those of us using braille - well, let's use it...
> 4. Having learned patience from "delayed gratification" has shown to make a significant difference  in how successful kids are in both school and employment...WOW - but if we are not given the gift of "patience" we can still learn it through practicing  patience and self-control on purpose by focusing on something else- on purpose.....
> 5. writing reviews- Well, here we are- the reason I'm pestering you. I find this so interesting I wanted to share some of the info  with you and I also gain because this is one of the ways we also develop our memory! When we read, listen to and/or study something then write about  it, we gain reinforcement of the information and further learn about how we think about  things.
> As blind people our memory may be more important to us than possibly others. We can't simply glance across the room to find where we left our keys or glance at a report that our boss wants a verbal   review of.  Hope some of  the tips help...if you have special tricks for remembering things, please share. Stay warm and remember to enjoy everyday  and make each day count. Dianne
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