Saturday, November 22, 2008

The fog is lifting...(I think)!




Aside from the foggy humidity we've had outside the past day or two (which has given us a welcome relief from the constant picking and time to clean the leaves and sticks out of the crates of olives and steam clean the stainless steel containers) I've noticed my brain feels foggy!

I've noticed that I struggle to concentrate when teaching.  Day to day here at the house I don't notice anything much different (except I'm light-headed), but loading and unloading the dishwasher or hanging up the clothing doesn't take much mental effort.  Teaching the future perfect and comparing it to the future perfect progressive (don't ask!) does.  What gives?  

I'm in my mid-fifties.  Isn't it too early for "cognitive decline"?  I mention it to the doctor and he prescribed something natural to help me sleep (melatonin--which I have used in the past) and a supplement of vitamins that I'm supposed to take for 20 out of 30 days a month.  Now I DID run out of vitamins a few weeks ago, so perhaps I am missing something important?  Who knows.

In any case, I've discovered a great website to exercise the brain in the areas of attention, processing speed, and memory.  It's called Lumosity and it's won web awards and gotten lots of media coverage.  lt's a lot of fun to work on your own "personal best"(or invite friends/family to try and beat your scores) and they offer a 30-day free trial.  If you check it out, come back and let me know what you think (and when I stop playing, I may even check my blog for comments)!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello, Diane.

What a wonderful transition you've made from NY to Italy!

Lumosity is a great entry point for those wanting to dabble in some brain training. But I've had customers of mine tell me that it quickly gets boring and stops being challenging. Perhaps this is because the exercises are more like games than workouts.

These customers like that Brain Fitness Pro gives them a real mental challenge with intensive brain training that produces marvelous results: 80% increases in short term memory, 40% plus increases in problem solving ability in just 19 days.

Best wishes,
Martin Walker
www.mindsparke.com

Anonymous said...

Ho there. It said 1 nice people had left comments so I decided to make it grammatically correct.
I get SAD from the short days and feel like you describe, or even worse at times. There are lots of tricks that help so why don't you look them up and try? I have when it was very bad also taken medication temporarily.
I also have the Nintendo DS and Brain Training and by golly, it works! I even stopped a year and lost very little of the competence.
Otherwise, there's a lt of wine to last us till April...

Diane said...

Hi Judith, Thanks for you input (and grammatical concerns!)

It's interesting that you feel your similar issue is related to shorter days. Not only are the days shorter but I am almost NEVER outside anymore. In particular, I am no longer taking my daily 60 minute walk which I must get back to for many reasons.

My son has asked for a new DS Light from Santa...so I'm sure I can have his old one. Based on your testimonial, I know what Santa will put in my stocking this year! Thanks for the input.

BTW, I LOVE your bog. I was going to check it out today for ideas for a delayed Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday.