2021-01-27_amanda_HomeCareContent_Draft2_26Jan2021.docx

Yes, you can improve brain health at any age. Start with a puzzle.

Big picture view: Article 1

Before the pandemic, Elizabeth* had the kind of social life some 30-year-olds would envy. The 72-year-old met regularly with friends—some of whom she’s known since primary school—for lunch and dinner. She sang in her church choir, volunteered with Victim Services, attended stretch and yoga classes at her local leisure centre and squeezed in time for weekly art classes at a seniors’ centre.

“I just love trying and learning new things,” says Elizabeth. “It energizes me and makes me feel like I’m still using skills from my former years as a human resource professional. Staying connected to old friends and meeting new ones is something that’s important to me. I just don’t like being cooped up at home. Never have, never will.”

For someone as active as Elizabeth, the pandemic has been particularly difficult. Still, she feels lucky, because she lives with her partner, which makes these long, cold winter days a little less lonely. But she feels for friends who live alone and are isolated from their loved ones. “I make regular phone calls to my friends who live alone,” she says. “I need these conversations as much as they do.”

In addition to staying in regular contact with friends and family, Elizabeth occupies herself with puzzles, crosswords, sudoku and adult colouring books. Her art class has moved online along with her exercise classes and a lecture series she enjoys.

“I get bored watching TV all day. When I’m preoccupied with a 300–500-piece puzzle or a sudoku or word search, it forces me to think—to focus, “says Elizabeth. “It might sound silly to some, but when I’m focused on these tasks, I feel like I have a sense of purpose in that moment.”

What Elizabeth’s doing isn’t silly at all, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical School. In fact, she’s doing all the right things. Studies conducted by the Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical School have shown that engaging in mentally stimulating activities like those done by Elizabeth may protect against new-onset mild cognitive impairment. And, the good news is that we’re never too old to start. Even those of us at genetic risk for cognitive decline benefit from engaging in mentally stimulating activities.

One Mayo Clinic study followed almost 2,000 cognitively normal participants for four years and discovered that the risk of new-onset mild cognitive impairment decreased by 30 per cent with computer use, 28 per cent with craft activities, 23 per cent with social activities and 22 per cent with playing games.

Those numbers represent real potential as the pandemic takes a mental health toll on all Canadians. According to a new study by Morneau Shepell, Canadians’ overall mental health has fallen to its lowest levels since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Seniors, in particular, need to engage in activities that will help them pass through this long, cold winter. It’s what Rose, a 73-year-old who lives alone, is doing.

Like Elizabeth, Rose* is an avid lifelong fan of crossword puzzles, but she’s also part of a WhatsApp group with her seven sisters who live in the Caribbean and the U.S. The sisters start and end each day with WhatsApp voice messages to each other. They share inspirational quotes and videos and because faith is a big part of their lives, they regularly pray with each other and share scriptures. “I wouldn’t be managing through this pandemic without my sisters,” says Rose.  “A few years ago, I had no idea how to use a tablet or cellphone properly and now my phone is a lifeline to my family.”

Both Elizabeth and Rose suggest some of the following ways fellow seniors can help keep themselves engaged and healthy despite the long winter days ahead and the unrelenting pressures of the pandemic. And, of course, our [Insert Canadian link to Life Enrichment Guide] is chockfull of additional ideas for keeping your mind active year-round.

Do puzzles, crosswords, sudoku. These activities compel you to concentrate and focus your mind. Increase the level of difficulty so that you’re always challenging yourself.

Try something new, just for the fun of it: Learn to paint or play a new instrument. Try your hand at a second language. This isn’t about being good at something; it’s about lighting up different parts of your brain by doing something you’ve never done before.

Read more. With pandemic restrictions in place, online books are a great option and you can find many for free.

Organize old family pictures and convert them into photo books. You can even share these with family members as gifts.

Start a diary, one that documents stories from your past. It’s a great way to reflect on the experiences that have shaped you, while also giving your family a better understanding of your life.

Closing thoughts

The neuroscience community is discovering that the brain is an organ that can get sharper throughout our lives, even as we age. Better brain health is something we can encourage by being active, eating well, relaxing and discovering new things. Learning new things or doing old routines differently is one of the most effective ways to stimulate and even grow new brain cells. And, it’s a guaranteed way to have some fun in these very challenging times.

*Elizabeth and Rose’s names have been changed to respect their privacy preferences.

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Caregiving, dementia & COVID-19: 
McGill’s Claire Webster talks coping

Caregiver Rx: Article 2

When Claire Webster’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2006, it didn’t affect her life; it transformed it. A working mother of three young children, Webster found herself suddenly thrown into a world of caregiving she admittedly knew nothing about.

“I wasn’t prepared,” Webster remembers. “Everything I did was just winging it.”

With little dementia knowledge to go on, Webster struggled to balance her mother’s evolving needs with the ongoing demands of work, motherhood, and daily life for years before ultimately burning out. And then? She set out to completely redefine the kind of support available to caregivers like her.

Since 2011, Webster has become a Certified Alzheimer Care Consultant and Certified Professional Consultant on Aging. She founded Caregiver Crosswalk in 2016 to provide education and support for the family and friends who care for loved ones navigating Alzheimer’s or dementia. In 2017, she took that mission one step further, founding what is now a leading McGill University program geared to empower medical students with a deeper understanding of the caregiver’s reality, and needs.

“I wanted to change the healthcare system,” Webster says. “I believe the way to do that is working collaboratively with universities to prepare medical students for the caregiver journey.”

That journey has been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. An Alzheimer’s Society report published in the United Kingdom has shown 46% of people with dementia say lockdown has negatively impacted their mental health. Include caregivers in that group, and 82% cite a worsening of symptoms for people with dementia since the pandemic began. All told, some 95% of caregivers say the pandemic has negatively affected their own mental or physical health, too.

Webster sees those numbers play out in real life daily. Family-members-turned-caregiver are usually untrained, lacking formal resources or support. For many, the added stress of locking down as programs closed, and healthcare resources became harder to access, has made a difficult caregiving situation unbearably hard.

Webster says navigating the complexities of dementia in the pandemic starts with information: “Education is power. That’s the only cure, because there is no magic pill right now. It’s about taking the time to understand the disease, understand the system, and anticipate what’s coming next.”

On the tactical front, that understanding and back-up plan should lay out a clear path for how someone’s care needs will change, and what would happen if the caregiver themselves could no longer meet a loved one’s needs. Webster suggests clients do their homework early, so they have a clear idea of what the next stage of the disease will look like, and inform themselves on options ahead of time. That’s something she always advises, and considers especially relevant as COVID-19 continues to spread. Still, pairing that continuous education and planning with strong emotional coping strategies is critical.

Change and isolation are already difficult for anyone with dementia to understand and process. In turn, as caregivers hit new levels of caregiving exhaustion, those feelings can seep into the way we communicate, which Webster says is all the more reason to not sweat the small stuff. If a choice someone’s making, or a story they’re telling, doesn’t hurt anyone? Let it go.

“The worst thing you can do for someone who has dementia is correct them,” says Webster. “If the person with dementia starts telling a story and the spouse is saying that’s not true… try joining their journey instead.”

Letting the little things go can be a good way to de-escalate heightened emotions in an already fraught period.

“If you’re having an off day and you’re impatient, [the person with dementia] will feel it – even if they can’t speak anymore,” Webster adds. “Avoid saying things like ‘Can’t you remember?’ or using a voice that’s too firm in tone. Take a step back, and disengage. Pick your battles at this point or everything could be considered an ordeal.”

Above all, Webster advises anyone balancing the stress of the pandemic with the responsibility of caregiving to include themselves on the proverbial caregiving to-do list. That means saying no to anything that doesn’t serve you well, being careful about toxic coping mechanisms, and giving yourself the same level of care you’d want for your loved one.

“Even though we’re all working from home, we can still commit to too many things, and be stretched too thin,” Webster says. “Take an inventory. Who are the people and commitments that are not adding value to my life right now? What can I let go of?”

Sound advice from someone who has been through the journey, and channels her experiences into better dementia care for all. Whether sharing insight for caregivers through her McGill Cares webcasts, or guiding clients struggling to access a dementia assessment in light of the pandemic, the importance of self-care both something she lives by, and encourages others to embrace. “You have to protect your energy.”

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