The Importance Of Online Cognitive Training Programs

In times past many people thought that memory loss was a normal occurrence for elderly people. This thinking was major reason for why Alzheimer’s disease was not caught until very later in the stages. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. After heart disease, cancer, and strokes, Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of death in adults in the Western world. “It is estimated that 4.5 million Americans over the age of 65 are affected with this condition. After the age of 65, the incidence of the disease doubles every five years and, by age 85, it will affect nearly half of the population” (Robinson).

A major devastating and debilitating disease, Alzheimer 's is a public health issue that affects not only the United States but also countries all around the world. In 2010, there were 35.6 million people living with Alzheimer’s. Researchers and medical personnel expect this number to triple by the year 2050. The disease is costing America an exorbitant amount of money and has become a burden on families, caregivers, medical personnel, the healthcare system, and the nation’s economy. If attention is not focused on this major problem, “nursing homes will be overloaded, caregivers will be burned out, healthcare system will be overwhelmed, and federal and state budgets will be overtaxed” (Alzheimer’s Association, 2011).

In Chapter three I was introduced to the cognitive tool kit. First thing I did was looked up cognitive. I have seen and heard the term before however wanted to ensure I had the correct meaning of the word. Business Dictionary defined cognitive as psychological process involved in acquisition and understanding of knowledge, formation of beliefs, and attitudes, and decision making and problem solving. After reading the definition I came up with my own definition. Cognitive- Having the ability, skills and problem solving ability to respond intelligently as an independent and critical thinker. The cognitive capacities and values fostered by interdisciplinary studies are perspective thinking which is the ability to view a problem from an alternate viewpoint in order to gain a better understanding. The second Interdisciplinary Study capacity that involved is critical thinking. The ability to Analyze, critique and form an educated opinion is something I consider on of my strongest points. The third capacity is integration. Integration allows you to see the finish product of perspective viewing and the critical thinking process. The cognitive capacities and values are reflected in Maya Lin’s work allowed the visitor to place themselves in the solders shoes. Everything was calculated from the mirror reflected granted to the sloping. For those few moments the visitor went back in time and had an emotional attachment to the atmosphere. In Chapter four “The Rise of the

Research has proven that physical activity improves cognitive function and can also improve brain function throughout a lifespan. Moreover, staying physically active has so many benefits as well. For example, doing exercise and fitness activities help build cells and natural pathways to help reduce changes in memory loss or dementia. Also, it has so many health benefits including long-term improvements to the cognitive function as the young adult reaching mid

Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their

Many internet users have found it easier to memorize locations or sites of information than the actual information. According to Carr, this fact has depleted human beings the ability to reason creatively and make complex decisions. However, it is also important to acknowledge that Internet has the capability of improving brain activities of the old and the young. At such ages, the brain cells become exhausted and incapable of processing information actively. Exposure to internet information has the potential to engage the brains into work, which rejuvenates reasoning, and decision-making

The PBHAC offers a variety of programs, such as Ageless Grace, Dementia Live, Mental Health First Aide and WISE. WISE is a wellness and prevention program that targets the older adults and is intended to support them in the aging process, make healthier choices, and avoid substance abuse. It provides important educational services for the elderly on subjects consisting of medication misuse/management, stress coping skills, depression, and substance abuse. Dementia Live™ is experiential educational course that stimulates the cognitive and sensory impairments, grants members with real-life situations of living with dementia. Greater understanding leads to more sensitive care. Ageless Grace is a cutting-edge brain fitness program based on neuroplasticity,

Regretting the past, envisioning a brighter future, and questioning the present are all thoughts that wander aimlessly in a mind. Majid Fotuhi’s Boost Your Brain proves that each and every person has the ability to improve their life by improving their brain. Dr. Fotuhi brings his twelve-week brain fitness program to readers; analyzing, distilling, and translating into plain English the ground-breaking discoveries that allows one’s brain to become years, or decades, younger, and truly tap into the potential of a complex organ of the human body. Within Boost Your Brain, Dr. Fotuhi enlightens and coaxes the audience with a professional tone to complete his program by incorporating real-life scenarios along with proven facts to meet the needs

Smith et al. (2013) took a less studied approach to improving cognitive decline by testing the effects of aerobic exercise on adults (60-88 years old) already suffering from cognitive impairment. After 12 weeks of moderate exercise there was an improvement of memory and neural efficiency across all subjects.

Cognitive aging is commonly labeled strictly as memory and only found in “some people”. However, this is not true. The knowledge of cognitive aging has grown immensely, but there is still much to be learned. The surface has only been scratched with many more questions to be answered. Cognitive aging is worthy of study and effects everyone, but there is also much more is still to be learned.

Out of the rapidly inclining population in the world, there are people who develop dementia every 66 seconds(“2016 Alzheimer’s Disease”). Being such a common disease in the elderly, there are 47.5 million people in the world with this disease(“2016 Alzheimer’s Disease”). Once families start to realize that their parents and grandparents have developed this, they start to wonder if they are able to live on their own. Within a few months, a decision is made whether if it is best for them to be put into a nursing home. Most often, those with dementia do happen to end up in nursing homes. Many wonder if being put into a nursing home will actually cause their dementia and their ability to live on their own to worsen. With the effects of activities, this could change. Activities help slow the deterioration of the brain(Smith). The activities and exercises performed by nursing homes to help improve the overall cognitive development in dementia patients. Nursing homes should induct purposeful daily activities to improve cognitive, social, and psychological development in dementia care

Having a “Brain Healthy Lifestyle” (Bend, 2014) is made up of several different categories that include “physical health, brain fitness, and vitality” (Bend, 2014) as well as “balanced nutrition, stress management, and mental stimulation” (Sharpbrains, 2014). Our physical health plays a major part in brain function. Exercising our bodies, eating well, and getting the proper amount of sleep has a huge impact on our physical health. “Our brain requires 25% of the blood that is pumped by your heart. The healthier your heart is, the healthier your brain will be” (Bend, 2014). Cognitive fitness is demonstrated by uses of vocabulary, thinking, perception, and attention. It is crucial to make it a normal everyday practice to challenge our brains through new activities. Taking part in a cooking class or learning to

In recent years brain training games have become a topic of interest among both researchers and common people alike. Researchers are interested in the healing properties of brain training while normal people are looking to brain training as a way to improve their performance and get a leg up on the competition in school, work, and life. Up until recently, it was believed that the brain was unchangeable in terms of memory capacity. Researchers were well aware of the fact that the brain can change and form new connections when brain damage occurs. However, the idea that humans can train their brains to be more efficient and stronger seemed like a far-fetched cry from reality up until the late 1990’s (Weicker, Villringer & Thöne-Otto, 2016). As time went on and more research was conducted in the field of brain training, it became clear that brain training is not an exact science but, it does have real cognitive benefits.

There is a widely held belief that commercially available computerized brain-training programs improve cognitive function. 2 Although society has accepted this correlation of “brain games” and increased cognitive ability, it has yet to be proven.1 Regardless of this, there has been a recent spawn of enterprises dedicated to creating these games. Of these enterprises, the most well-known companies are Lumosity and Brain Age.1 These companies even argue that brain training is as good as physical training.4 Websites like

The articles by Erikson et al., Gatz, Korol et al., and Draganski et al. explore the concept of increased physical activity and/or mental activity having effects on the cognitive function and development or deterioration of the brain as we age. Although I agree that physical exercise is critical in increasing cognitive function because of the health benefits it provides, as well as the increased blood flow and circulation throughout the body, I ultimately believe that a healthy brain is not achieved solely by physical exercise or mental exercise, but both. I think there is a link between physical and mental exercise, and that the combination of these two activities creates higher cognitive functioning of the mind as well as the body. The mind and body come together and meet to make an overall healthy individual.