Going Senile? 8 Steps To Curb The Madness

Okay, who has brain farts all the time out there in blog land?  Raise your hand.  Well, my hand is waving like a flag in a stormy wind.  I’ve been in my car heading toward a commonly known destination and then can’t remember how the heck to get there.  How about being in the middle of writing a grocery list and not remembering the name of the item and having to pull the empty container out of the garbage to see what it was you needed to replace?  How many times do you forget a family member’s name, or someone you were just introduced to a matter of minutes ago? Do you walk into a room to do/get something and then wonder why you’re even there?

Are we all going lulu … senile … bonkers?  Or, are we simply on overload?  Experts say our noggins are pretty darn adaptable and even improve with age.  Um … mine is not improving … scary thought here.  Am I alone in this?

Deep sigh … no.  Research says culprits causing forgetfulness in women are stress, not enough sleep, bad nutrition, and those blasted hormones of ours that go awry during pregnancy, after delivery or before and during menopause.  Now I’m really screwed.

Seriously though … there is hope for us ladies out there and simple ways to keep our brain in balance:

We Just Got To Eat Regular Meals -  Our brain requires fuel and that means calories to function at our best.  It's recommended we eat every 2-3 hours a healthy snack of protein or fiber like a handful of almonds, celery sticks with a little peanut butter or a string of cheese.

Power Boosters - We can boost our brain power with spinach as a side dish or try using strawberries/blueberries in a morning smoothie.

Hot Beverages - Studies show that coffee, tea & hot cocoa provide comfort and boost brain function.  Green tea is a powerful antioxidant and cocoa improves the blood flow to the brain.

Vitamins Are A Must - The brain needs minerals and enzymes to run at its best and sometimes food does not always provide what we need.  Multivitamins are good along with Folic acid but check with your physician first in case you're on specific medication that can cause a reaction.  

UNWIND - Severe stress causes permanent damage to memory as it shrinks and destroys tissue.  Find a way to vent.  Go for a walk, curl up with a good book, take a dance class, do crafts or start a hobby.  

Be Playful -  Studies proved when grown-ups play mind games (no not those kind --- the healthy ones), the brain truly reaps the rewards because you’re opening new pathways that keeps your mind young.  It can be a crossword, card game, video game, playing wii, learning a new language, how to paint or playing an instrument. 

Get Off Your Duff - Sitting on your bottom 24/7 is simply unhealthy all the way around.  Activity keeps the brain in shape AND you can reverse aging with just a half-hour walk each day.  How's that for an incentive?  Activity fuels the growth of new cells.  Get moving out there!

Proper Sleep - Not getting enough sleep effects everything from mood swings to a very poor sex drive.  We put our children on schedules when they’re little because we know the importance of them.  We can’t forget ourselves.  Just because we’re older, doesn’t mean our brains, as well as our bodies, need to go to sleep and wake up the same time on a normal schedule.

Isn’t it great to learn that we’re all not going daft?  Super women we are but in order to stay at the top of our game, we need to not loose focus keeping our mental health on track.