Keeping Your Brain in Shape
Rudy Haugeneder
Saanich News
Apr 27 2005
When Ken Henriksen found himself occasionally forgetting little things like phone numbers, he wondered what was happening.
Only 56, he had just retired from B.C. Transit's maintenance department, and asked himself if he might be suffering the first sign of Alzheimer's Disease.
“Oh yah. I was worried about those memory lapses,” he admits.
His wife Susan, who works as a caregiver to people with the dreaded disease, assured him it wasn't so.
She told him he was just noticing something that happens to everybody - regardless of age.
People forget stuff, she said. It's no big deal.
But Henriksen asked himself whether there was a way to train his brain to remember the little things.
Out of the blue, he read about a free lecture at UVic by Guy Pilch, a mental fitness consultant based in Victoria.
He went and listened to Pilch explain how modern life can be very stressful and can take a toll on how well our brains perform.
Henriksen thought about what he heard during the seminar and signed on to Pilch's Train Your Brain workshops.
His memory problems are history, he said, adding he now loves life more than ever, eats better, and applies “fun” brain stimulation exercises he was taught.
“We take for granted that we use our brains to the fullest capacity,” said Henriksen. “It's not true. It has to be stimulated, kept active.”
Susan is happy too.
“I've learned to be a better listener,” admits Henriksen.
Pilch is running a number of afternoon and evening workshops over the next three months to “improve brain functioning and memory.”
He says the workshops are great brain tune-ups.
“If you're eager to learn what the latest research suggests works to enhance and preserve brain fitness then this informative, entertaining, practical program is for you,” he said. “We provide practical tips that you can use to stimulate your brain, develop your memory, and slow down the process of mental aging.”