Parkzeit 2021-2 (EN)
Guest magazine Park Igls
Guest magazine Park Igls
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points as well as examples of how to improve them<br />
with practice while also concentrating on strengths.<br />
You’ll really notice the difference, we promise!"<br />
DR MELANIE ROBERTSON<br />
“There are many<br />
ways in which<br />
we can challenge<br />
and train our<br />
brains with different<br />
techniques.”<br />
What to do when my partner becomes forgetful?<br />
It's very common, especially for people with high<br />
levels of education, to be able to cleverly hide<br />
cognitive decline, or at least try to do so. In particular,<br />
such individuals often display extremely little<br />
willingness to have this decline medically clarified.<br />
A good strategy in partnership can then be to<br />
say: "Come on, honey, let's just both do a<br />
neuropsychological exam together."<br />
What is the best way to specifically train my<br />
brain?<br />
There are many ways in which we can challenge<br />
and train our brains with different techniques.<br />
Regularity is essential, and as with physical training,<br />
it is important to avoid routine. Dancing, playing a<br />
game of chess, reading a foreign language book,<br />
learning a new language or solving tricky brain<br />
teasers – these are all things that help make our<br />
brains fitter. These activities bring us joy, too.<br />
Recommended<br />
by the WHO –<br />
guidelines for the<br />
prevention<br />
of dementia<br />
5 GREAT EXERCISES FOR THE<br />
BRAIN THAT ARE REALLY EASY TO<br />
INTEGRATE INTO OUR EVERYDAY<br />
LIFE, EFFECTIVE AND ALSO FUN<br />
Dr Melanie Robertson<br />
Clinical, neuro- and health psychologist, sports and<br />
emergency psychologist, specialising in stress prevention<br />
and acute intervention<br />
Brain fitness<br />
When you forget things, is there a need<br />
for action?<br />
Everyone forgets something every once in a while,<br />
it's nothing to worry about. If, however, you<br />
perceive subjective impairments, such as frequent<br />
forgetfulness in certain situations, you can have<br />
this looked into neuropsychologically. We of<br />
course offer this kind of check-up at Park Igls. Here,<br />
we start with a standardised testing procedure that<br />
takes about an hour and a half to complete. This<br />
can also have preventative benefits as it first and<br />
foremost serves to take away worry.<br />
How important is a ‘healthy lifestyle’ in this<br />
regard?<br />
Poor nutrition, little exercise, alcohol in excess or<br />
smoking are known pathogens that damage the<br />
brain and destroy nerve cells. Everything we know<br />
from the pillars of Modern Mayr Medicine promotes<br />
our health. Getting sufficient sleep and drinking<br />
enough also have a very positive effect on cognitive<br />
performance.<br />
Any other personal tips?<br />
Just stay curious, be inquisitive and keep moving –<br />
it's a simple but wonderful and effective recipe!<br />
NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL<br />
EVALUATIONS<br />
Park Igls stands for state-of-the-art<br />
diagnostics at the highest level, which<br />
only very few facilities of this kind can<br />
offer worldwide. Neuropsychological<br />
evaluations are also offered on site. Often<br />
the question arises for those affected<br />
or (just as importantly) for relatives<br />
of those affected, as to when there is<br />
a need for action for medical evaluation.<br />
If subjective losses are perceived<br />
or if a person's private or professional<br />
environment starts to let him or her know<br />
that changes in mental abilities have<br />
occurred, this should be investigated.<br />
It doesn't hurt and it's easy. During a stay<br />
at Park Igls you have the opportunity<br />
(with the utmost discretion) to undergo<br />
such a neuropsychological evaluation.<br />
Standardised test procedures are used in<br />
this diagnostic process in order to create<br />
a targeted, completely personalised<br />
training programme. This examination<br />
takes about one and a half hours.<br />
Incidentally, this can often have the effect<br />
of not only relieving concern, but also<br />
expanding one's own willingness to act.<br />
1 SPELLING WORDS BACKWARDS: It certainly sounds<br />
a lot easier than it is. Tip: Don't start out with the name<br />
of this community in the south of the island of Anglesey<br />
in northwest Wales, which has 58 letters:<br />
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogoch.<br />
But drop us a line if you can manage this toughest of<br />
words.<br />
2 WATCH OR LIST<strong>EN</strong> TO THE NEWS: And then try to<br />
recall the content of the newscast. This is a popular<br />
practice in foreign language training and is a great brain<br />
fitness exercise.<br />
3 SOCIAL CONTACTS: Meeting people on a regular<br />
basis is a great practice in any event. Are your social<br />
contacts from different age groups, perhaps also from<br />
different cultural backgrounds, and are foreign<br />
languages possibly required for conversation? Fantastic,<br />
this is the best kind of brain fitness.<br />
4 CLASSICS: Crossword puzzles or Sudoku help make<br />
the brain fitter. So why not consciously work on such a<br />
puzzle at least once a week? Such puzzles offer a varied<br />
workout for the brain.<br />
5 LEARN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Vocabulary doesn't<br />
usually just fall into your lap, you have to work at it<br />
and that's a good thing! When we learn, our brains are<br />
challenged and we are also rewarded with better<br />
foreign language skills. Ten new vocabulary words a day,<br />
you can do that easily!<br />
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