FACTS FOR FAMILIES: Maintain a healthy brain during ‘Brain Health Awareness Week’ | Health, Medicine and Fitness

Just as we wouldn’t be considered physically fit if we only exercised our legs, we couldn’t achieve total brain health if we only focus on one area such as short-term memory. When we practice brain fitness, we also have to exercise the areas of critical thinking, spatial reasoning, and long-term memory.

Do you have to take a class to practice brain fitness? No. Will you be more likely to practice brain exercises while having a good time with others if you do? Yes!

I facilitate brain exercise classes each month called Wits Fitness Brain Training. During the pandemic, I have been hosting a virtual Wits Fitness class on the second Monday of each month at 2 p.m. We use the videoconferencing platform Zoom and you must register by contacting me by e-mail at [email protected] or call (217) 543-3755.

I will be continuing this class online but will also be opening up my live classes very soon – some of them starting in April. The classes are held at the Sullivan Senior Center on the fourth Monday at 1 p.m. and the Life Center in Toledo on the fourth Friday at 10:30 a.m. On the first Monday I also teach at the LifeSpan Center in Coles County at 10 a.m. and at the Shelby County Senior Center at 1 p.m. The class at our Arthur Extension office meets on the third Monday of the month at 2 p.m.

There is no fee to attend and everyone is welcome. As we get started back in person, please call these facilities or myself ahead of time to make sure they are going to happen. We always seem to have a great time at these classes. I tell people that you are never too old to get started, but the earlier you start challenging your brain, the better. So what are you waiting for? Start working out your brain right away.