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[KJW #056] WEL, World Elder Land - Elder News Journal: Promoting a Network Of Wellness For Our Elders And Their Caregivers ... Everyone is invited!
1. Editorial: Reflecting On The Word "Retirement"
2. Victory Terrace Independent Living invites WEL to speak
about "Whole-Person-Centered Wellness For Elders"
3. Geriatric Mental Health: How To Self-Nurture the Neurobiology of a Healthy Brain
4. National Library of Congress Veterans History Project: Designed by
Jeff Lotfon from The National Library of Congress and the cooperation and ideas of
Kathy J. Ward from WEL, World Elder Land
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Editorial
Reflecting On The Word "Retirement"by Kathy J. Ward Can you imagine a welcome sign titled 'Elder Retirement Community' replace by a more positive, meaningful and inspiring welcome sign that reads "Elder Community of Opportunities and Life".
As we move beyond the traditional and inconsequential notion of 'retirement' by communicating the essences, intention and purpose of the vasts, meaningful and significant lives of our dear elders, we open better possibilities for our elders, their caregivers and all community members.
As the railroad and train tracks are built before the train leaves the station, setting in motion and facilitating the necessary steps to move forward, with a purpose, the words that we use to communicate and express our intentions, likewise influence our minds, our behaviors, beliefs, choices and life-styles as we shape our destinations.
A couple of years ago I hosted a pajama party for elders... nothing sexy, but fun and creative. One of our dear elders, Elsie, 96 years of graceful living, showed up to our party holding a glass of milk, a magnifier glass and wearing her pajama-newspaper outfit. Elsie was The Washington Post. She explained to everyone "I love to read the newspaper in bed, this is how I begin and end my days after the death of my husband." Elsie made her own "pajamas" with her favorite sections of the newspaper. Her skirt and top were made of newspaper and scotch tape. Her outfit, sparkling eyes and happy face were the 'talk of the town' for several weeks. Elsie was the leader of our Duplicate Bridge Game Club. She was one-of-a-kind achieving mental imaginary movements in Tai-Chi classes for elders, and a member of our Fossils Welcoming Committee, reaching out to new families and employees upon arrival ensuring that they are made to feel welcome and happy.
I once asked Elsie..."what's the source of your 'fire' for life? She responded... "I'll live until the day I die, that day I will retire."
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The mind is like a parachute - it only works when it's open.
Lily Tomlin
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Victory Terrace Independent Living invites WEL to speak to their community members about "Whole-Person Wellness For Elders" - A wholistic way of living and better ways to nurture all aspects of wellness; social, intellectual, vocational, spiritual, physical and emotional.
Click here to view a photo collage of this program
What is wellness? What is whole-person living?
How to better my quality of life?
* * * * * Geriatric Mental Health: How To Self-Nurture The Neurobiology of a Healthy Brain
For decades it was a believed that the brain ceased to grow new cells after we reach a certain age and that as our brain ages we lose thousands of brain cells that can not be regenerated. However, numerous research studies in relation to the neurobiology of the brain have shown that while the brain's neuronal cells can shrink or grow with age, most are retained through life. Furthermore, some parts of the brain do indeed grow new brain cells when these parts of the brain are stimulated.
Neurogenesis, the formation of new nerve cells, takes place in several different regions of the cortex that are crucial for cognitive and perceptual brain functions. The 'cerebral cortex', also known as the 'gray matter' that consists mostly of the bodies of neurones, is the most complex area of the brain and it is responsible for high-level decision making, "executive" learning, judgmental roles, emotional and planning functions. There are six layers or 'laminae' of neurons with many dendrites and dendritic spines. This structure allows the brain to integrate a large amount of data.
Recently, Recreation Therapists or Occupational Therapists working with spinal cord injury patients have discovered that some patients are able to re-route signals from the brain to other parts of the body and to recover functions after a stroke, 'growing new connections to existing nerve cells.'
Research studies suggest that most of the patients that lose brain mass 'cerebral atrophy' or brain shrinkage, as they get older, are able to rehabilitate their brains (develop neuroplasticity (1) and cognitive reserve) and nurture new brain connections by developing new brain cells, new brain circuits and associations, as some parts of the brain are stimulated.
For example:
1. Eating or brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand, allows your brain to nurture pathways that are not frequently accessed. This exercise helps to activate areas of the cortex that process touch, visual and mental-spacial objects.
2. Listening to your favorite music while smelling a particular aroma or looking at a particular color. This exercise also helps the brain to combine two or more senses adding new 'wiring', new brain connections and exercising multiple parts of the brain.
Physical exercises, meaningful social relations, creative art programs that nurture and stimulate or facilitate creativity, programs that foster learning, concentration, abstract reasoning and motor coordination promote the growth of new brain cells. (Fred Gage from the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, busted that myth in 2000 when he showed that even adults can grow new brain cells. He also found that exercise is one of the best ways to achieve this.)
The importance of Clinical Therapeutic Recreation for Mental Stimulation and a Healthier Brain.
After 55, learning a new language or art classes; music, dance, free compositions and collages, etc, whether joining a formal class or learning on your own is beneficial. As long as you learn something new, the nerve cells in your brain will grow and the connection between them will continue to strengthen. Clinical Therapeutic Recreation For Elders, the innovative combination of specific interventions, which can be measured, is aimed at influencing the behavior of a part or multiple parts of the brain by exploring, adventuring, having fun, creating, associating, judging, problem-solving, memorizing, socializing, nurturing self-actualization and much more...
It is Clinical because individual interventions (or activities) are founded on observations, application of knowledge, implementation and treatment over time, which can be measured. These interventions do not necessarily take place in clinical settings.
(1) Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change (organize and reorganize) its structure as a result of internal (genetic) factors, as well as external (experiential) factors that lead to new learning. Examples of these kinds of changes in brain structure are increases or decreases in: 1) connections among neurons, the main type of brain cells, 2) number and size of cells that support neurons, and 3) the blood supply to brain cells. Periods of rapid change in brain structure occur when the immature brain first begins to process sensory information (developmental plasticity) and continue throughout our life when we alter our behavior based on new information (plasticity of learning and memory). Neuroplasticity also occurs as an adaptive mechanism to compensate and adjust for lost function and/or to maximize remaining functions in the event of brain injury.
OTHER FACTS ABOUT THE BRAIN
Although the brain is only 2% of the body's weight, it uses 20% of the oxygen supply and gets 20% of the blood flow. Blood vessels (arteries, capillaries, and veins) supply the brain with oxygen and nourishment, and take away wastes. If brain cells do not get oxygen for 3 to 5 minutes, they begin to die.
The average human healthy brain weighs about 3 pounds (1300-1400 g)
75% to 78 % of the skeletal muscle of the brain is water.
The number of internal thought pathways that your brain is capable of producing is: one followed by 10.5 million kilometers of standard typewritten zero's.
Our brain consists of about 100 billion neurons! That's about 166 times the number of people on our planet "Earth"
Overexposure to aluminum compounds - in foil, cookware, deodorants, antiacides, toothpaste-- can affect brain function and kill brain cells.
REMEMBER THIS... the brain is an organ of your body and it is connected and interrelated to the rest of your body. To maintain a healthier brain we need to nurture, stimulate and care for the rest of our body too; from the hair, to the eyes, to the feet, to the soul to all the 'invisible' parts of your self.
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  Elders making flower arrangements to decorate their homes.
Elders attending a WEL wellness seminar with Kathy J. Ward at Holy Cross Hospital.__________________________
To learn more about how to design and implement meaningful
Clinical Therapeutic Recreation Programs For Elders,
please contact ERT, Elder Recreation Therapy at wel@worldelderland.com
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Veterans History Project: Designed by Jeff Lotfon from The National Library of Congress and
Kathy J. Ward from WEL, World Elder Land
Blessings to all our Veterans! Here is a photo collage of this program. HONORING OUR VETERANS ADVOCATING FOR PEACE and "WORLD CITIZENSHIP"
"Have I said clearly enough that the Community we created is not an end in itself? It is a process of change, continuing in that same process which in an earlier period produced our national forms of life. The sovereign nations of the past can no longer solve the problems of the present: they cannot ensure their own progress or control their own future. And the Community itself is only a stage on the way of the organized world of tomorrow." Jean Monnet - Conceiver of the European Community now the European Union-----
"When all humanity calls planet Earth our home, there is no alternative for the Earth but Global Government." Barbara Gaughen Mullerwww.goodmorningworld.org
Visit WEL, World Elder Land Guestbook.
Add your name and information to our WEL and ERT network.
Please send inquiries, requests for programs, speaker and consulting services to connection@kathyjward.com
Peace be with you!
Kathy J. Ward, MA, CTRS, ADC, CALA, CGP
Universal Peace Ambassador
President of WEL, World Elder Land™ - Spokane, New York City
Therapeutic Recreation Consultant (ERT, Elder Recreation Therapy) - Denmark, Spain, Venezuela
National Assisted Living Administrator Certified
Board Member, Activities, Adaptation and Aging Journal
Alzheimer's Association Speakers Bureau
Love Ambassador - Florida
Ambassador of Happiness For Elders - Connecticut
Cell: 240-393-5456
E-mail: WEL@WorldElderLand.com
WEL Blog: www.kathyjward.com/blog
Websites: www.elderrecreationtherapy.com
www.worldelderland.com
www.betterworld7.com
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