WORKSHOPS FOCUS ON BRAIN FITNESS

By Kate Ward
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
FAYETTEVILLE — If she’s not looking for her car keys, 68-year-old Billie Jean Harvey said she’s probably trying to remember where she put her seam ripper.

“Sometimes, I just get lost in time,” the Fayetteville resident said. “I get tied up with what I’m doing and completely forget my schedule.”

Harvey is among a group of area residents who hope to improve their memories and stave off dementia and Alzheimer’s disease through a series of brain fitness workshops known as Super Noggin. The yearlong program, hosted by the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center, began last week and is open to anyone at no cost.

“These workshops are based on studies that have found the brain, when challenged in certain ways, grows new brain cells no matter how old you are,” said Sherri Napier, director of the center. “It was always thought that as you age you lose brain mass and can’t recover. The studies found that only 30 percent of Alzheimer’s and dementia cases were due to heredity and 70 percent could be prevented though lifestyle changes.”

Napier conducts the same workshop twice each week to reach as many participants as possible. After the eight workshops are complete, the program will continue with monthly meetings that will feature various nutritional, fitness and medical speakers.

Angie Dunlap, a community programs support specialist for the Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Arkansas, said Super Noggin is recommended for anyone over the age of 30, but is suitable for people of all ages. The agency operates the senior center.

The program was created by LEAF Ltd., a nonprofit organization “dedicated to serving the brain fitness needs of boomers and beyond.”

In addition to cognitive exercises, Super Noggin emphasizes physical activity and nutrition. Participants receive workbooks to chart their progress throughout the program.

“As we age, it’s just as important to exercise our minds as it is our bodies,” Dunlap said. “It’s what keeps us sharp.”

Napier, who became a certified Super Noggin instructor through the Area Agency on Aging, said a study analyzing car accident patients and stroke victims revealed that certain cognitive exercises promote the growth of new brain cells. Those same exercises, which are included in the Super Noggin program, have been tailored to improve the memory of normal, aging adults. The program is not designed for those already diagnosed with a cognitive decline.

“People get into the habit of doing the same thing each day, so we teach them to do things outside the norm,” she said. “For instance, we tell them to try brushing their teeth with their left hand instead of their right. We might also encourage them to try taking a different route to the grocery store and begin their shopping in a different section.”

Tom Mann, a Super Noggin business development consultant, said the program was developed by LEAF Ltd. founder Bruce Findley and is based on the Nun Study, a 40-year study of Alzheimer’s and aging.

“There was a group of nuns who were kind enough to donate their brains to science for a biopsy upon their death,” he said. “What surprised researchers was that their brains showed signs of Alzheimer’s, but they didn’t exhibit any of the symptoms when they were living. It was kind of an ‘aha’ moment.”

Mann said researchers wanted to know what the nuns did differently to prevent the symptoms of Alzheimer’s from appearing. Scientists later learned that the sisters ate healthy food, got plenty of sleep, engaged in physical and mental activity and had the genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s.

“Bruce Findley is a resident of a retirement community in Florida and he wanted to give something back to seniors,” Mann said. “He found that cognitive fitness programs are more useful in a social setting than in a computer setting. He designed Super Noggin so that it could be practiced as a group.”

Harvey said she and her husband worry about losing their memory because both of their mothers were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She said she works to keep her mind sharp by doing puzzles and volunteering, but is concerned that her husband, 69-year-old Charles “Winston” Harvey, is stuck in a routine.

“He’s very repetitive in everything he does and I sometimes see him doing things my mother used to do,” she said. “That scares me because he’s too young for that. He’s had four back surgeries in three years and he doesn’t feel well, but that’s no reason to shut down.”

Harvey said she and her husband learned about Super Noggin while volunteering at the Fayetteville Senior Center. She said she was relieved when her husband agreed to participate in the program.

“I want to do whatever it takes to keep my brain sharp, but my husband gets defensive when I tell him what to do,” she said. “I think he’ll listen if he hears it from someone else. We’re both excited.”