In today’s fast-paced society, job load, family responsibilities, health concerns, and financial stress can take a toll on memory, sharpness, and speed of the thinking process.
It may be tempting to spend our evenings watching mindless television in an attempt to relax our brain on a stressful day; however this can further exacerbate the toll on our cognitive health, proving the old adage, “if you don’t use it, you lose it!” As the newest research in neuroscience provides a better understanding about the correlation between stress, lack of mental activity, and cognitive decline, more and more people feel the need to be proactive and take charge of their cognitive health.
To meet this need, LIAF (the Long Island Memory Center) will offer a Brain Fitness series in Port Washington. Building on LIAF’s highly successful Summer Brain Fitness series, the autumn classes will incorporate the most updated cognitive training exercises to stimulate those major cognitive skills that are susceptible to decline, such as visual and verbal memory, attention, visual/spatial skills, logical, abstract, and creative thinking, etc. Classes will begin the week of October 11, 2011.
Please call (516) 767-6856 for further details. Cognitive training is an emerging modality in the brain health arena. It builds on the notion of “neuroplasticity”, the brain’s ability to “rewire” itself by forming new brain cells and neural connections in order to successfully perform tasks and optimize functioning at any age.
“Because the classes are group oriented and led by experienced facilitators, participants gain the added benefits of energizing ‘peer pressure’ to keep them motivated to ‘stay the course,’” stated co-facilitator Joyce Schneider. “Without someone ‘rallying them on,’ people can lose interest once they hit an impasse. We will empower them to see each exercise through, resulting in a more rigorous mental exercise.”
“Brain teasers and brain games online, and electronic devices or in print offer lot of opportunities to stimulate cognition, but they may not be enough,” said LIAF Cognitive Trainer, Alexandra Krisztofer, MA, MS. “I call them ‘cognitive cardio exercises’ that help to keep the brain in ‘tone’, but in order to build new brain cells and new interconnections, or to speed up the cognitive processing, we need ‘heavy weight training’, such as our challenging, structured, group cognitive training classes, or our personal coaching in computer-based brain training programs at LIAF.”
The series is designed for those who are cognitively well or experiencing some forgetfulness and wish to enhance their brain fitness.
A daytime series will run Tuesdays from 3 – 5 PM beginning October 11, 2011, and an evening series will run Thursdays from 6- 8 PM beginning October 13, 2011, subject to adequate registration for both class sessions. Registration for the 10-week series is typically $149, but due to challenging economic times, LIAF is offering a $30 discount off registration fees (therefore the series will be available for $119, or 10 weeks for the price of 8!) for those who mention this article upon registration. For more information, call (516) 767-6856.
