Brain Health & Fitness
By Dr. Natalie Krapivensky MBBS, FRANZCP, PhD
Identifying Performance Concerns
- How many times have you entered a room and forgotten what you came for?...
- forgotten the name of someone you should know?...
- or searched in vain for your keys or glasses?
- How about your performance under stress?...
- have you made bad decisions or said things you wished you could take back?...
- do you feel that you may be losing your edge?...
- are you easily distracted when you should be concentrating on something important?
- If you are an executive, how do you feel at the end of a busy and challenging day?...
- ready for a night out on the town?...
- or just want to put your head down for a quick nap?
All of us experience each of these conditions occasionally, even the most fit, resilient and agile of us. But as we get older, we may wonder if such deterioration in performance an inevitable part of ageing, or we may have concerns that these may be early warning signs of something more sinister such as Alzheimer's?
To many people remembering and forgetting, making bad decisions, feeling mentally fatigued are perfectly normal parts of everyday life.
Identifying concerns with brain performance is about more than just memory. It involves understanding how we perform in abstract thinking, reasoning, attention, imagination and insight.
A hesitant memory is the first sign that there may be a decline in the rate at which we learn and store new information. The impacts on all the other brain functions above in not always immediately evident.
This is why we recommend a diagnostic evaluation to see what the true situation is for each individual.
If you find that you often need to slow down to give something your full attention, or that you need to write things down to remember them, or that you need to remove clutter and be more organised to improve your effectiveness, then these are all signs that you have implemented strategies to overcome deteriorating performance.
Helping others
If someone you care for has experienced significant changes with their memory and are become increasingly forgetful then you should seek help. While stress and fatigue may be a contributing factor, there may be other reasons for deteriorating brain function performance. This can include a head injury, depression, mini-strokes or side effects from medications.
There is no need to tolerate sub-standard brain performance. The MMBC has medical expertise to evaluate all conditions. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to understand exactly what going on.
