Mind matters
We always think of keeping active as relating to the physical, however there is a strong argument that exercising our minds is equally important. Exercise helps keep muscular strength for longer but it is actually just as important to protect our ability to finely control the weakening muscles. This requires us to engage our brains in regular practice of slow steady movements as you find in Thai Chi and Balance Classes, both of which run in Silverton.
Whilst we accept that muscles will wear out, our understanding of longevity of cognitive function is less clear. There are diseases that affect our memory, Alzheimer’s being the most familiar. The other main cause of dementia is vascular damage; changes in blood flow to the brain, caused by long standing raised blood pressure, poorly controlled diabetes or smoking can lead to a series of very small strokes in discrete but very important parts of the brain. We have medical approaches to try and prevent or slow down progression of both these diseases and regular physical exercise is an important one of them. However, regular cognitive challenges have a role to play too. There are a range of simple things you can do on a daily basis that are likely to help over the years. Crosswords, word puzzles and Suduko are the longest standing examples of brain workouts. Every day three million people around the globe tackle the challenge of the Wordle App (needing to find a 5 letter word) or Worldle (identify a country from its outline). If you have not heard of these look them up and have a go. If none of the last two sentences make sense then let us know at the surgery and we will put you in contact with Joan our Digital Social Prescriber who will be delighted to introduce you to the App Store.
However, you do not have to go digital; having a jigsaw always on the go is an excellent idea. I used to have several patients where this was the case and when visiting I had to resist spending too much time helping them search for the next piece. Taking up a new challenge, learning a new skill will also produce a lot of healthy mental stimulation. It is also incredibly enjoyable and satisfying if you start to produce or create items either artistic or practical from painting, potting, or wood working. I attended two oil painting courses in the last 6 months and thoroughly enjoyed both.
We are very fortunate to have a multitude of activities in and around Silverton. They are all easy to find through the SCENE (Senior Citizens of the Exe Valley News & Events) booklet; the 2023 updated edition is just published and can be picked up from the front desk in the surgery. As GPs we are always going to encourage you to get exercising, but this is not just physical – we also need to keep our grey cells on their toes.
Anthony O’Brien
Wyndham House Surgery