Brain Fitness is like that New Car you want!

Brain Fitness is like that New Car you want!

By Lori La Bey of Alzheimer’s Speaks and Senior Lifestyle Trends

Brain fitness is like that new car you want to buy. Once it’s in your mind you hear about it and see it all the time. It’s everywhere in your life. Everyone has one or is talking about it.

Brain fitness is marketed in many fashions: books, workshops, videos, technology venues… Today I want to focus on Dakim’s Brain Fitness software product. Dakim’s is the number one supplier of Brain Fitness to America’s Senior Living Market. Now the company has developed a DVD software for average bears like you and me.

I interviewed Charles Roberson with Dakim to try to find out what the fuss is all about, but before I go there I want to share with you a few statistics from the Alzheimer’s Association.

Currently 5.3 Million people have Alzheimer’s disease

1 in 8 people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the 7^th leading cause of death

Alzheimer’s disease cost 172 billion dollars a year

This being said it is important for people to understand at this point, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Given this, it only makes sense that we as a society make a conscience effort to keep our minds active and try to avoid becoming a statistic. Brain Fitness makes sense.

With this being said, I would be amiss not to ask you to listen to a short video by the National Alzheimer’s Project Act. I thank you in advance. Here is the link: http://www.kintera.org/site/pp.asp?c=mmKXLbP8E&b=5829219

Now let’s get back to Dakim’s Brain Fitness program! The company has put together affordable software, content specific to our aging market. Keep in mind, even though Brain Fitness sounds intimidating, it can actually be fun. After speaking with Charles and testing the product myself, I found any age can participate and benefit from the program. In fact, it’s a great way to exercise our minds prior to any memory problems becoming apparent, as well as after diagnosis is made.

In addition, it can become an activity. Friends and family; even grandchildren enjoy having something fun to do with a person who has the disease. All too often people get scared and nervous about what to say and do with someone with Alzheimer’s. We seem to lose our human connection. Conversations tend to go superficial like- “How’s the weather?” Or “What did you have for lunch? Neither are good questions to ask someone with memory problems. To them it’s a test. Heck, I can’t remember half the time what I had for lunch. Can you? And do you really care to know the answer? Let’s not lose our relationships because we are at a loss with our own perceptions of the disease.

The Dakim program allows people to interact and engage one another with purpose, each at their own skill level. Kids love to help with the technology side showing off their skills and abilities while making them comfortable and playing in a platform they are used to. Adults love the ability to still be able to play. It takes the edge off the illness and puts the focus back on the relationship with the person they love. It gets back to the three words I preach over and over again. Are they SAFE, HAPPY, and PAINFREE? Let’s create joy and a fun atmosphere. The program/games help guide us and allow us to forget about the illness, putting normality back into life front and center, where it should be. It allows us to just have fun.

Like anything in life, attitude paves the way. So are you going to jump in the water and RIDE THE WAVE? Or are you going to just try to tread water and hope to keep a float? I say RIDE THE WAVE! The view is much better and so are the stories you will have to tell.

So Why Brain Fitness? Charles explained their Brain Fitness Program is like a physical workout with a personal trainer. The difference here is you don’t have to: 1) Leave your house, 2) Hire a trainer, or 3) Spend money on workout accessories like clothes and shoes… Like in any physical workout, it is important to rotate what muscles we use. The brain is no different. In fact, there are many parts to the brain; each has its own specialty and purpose. Each area of the brain processes and retrieves information differently. The more we exercise the different segments of our brain the more likely we will be able to compensate if one area gets weak and loses traction.

Below are the areas the Dakim Program focuses on developing what I will call “Brain Muscle.”

1) Language Memory

2) Short Term Memory

3) Critical Thinking Patterns

4) Visual Spatial Orientation

5) Computation Abilities

6) Language Recall

Tools like Dakim can be added to your personal arsenal to fight against memory loss. It’s a personal and private “Therapy in a Box,” just you, your computer, and anyone else you invite to play.

So why wait? Explore Dakim Brain Fitness for yourself.