A presentation by the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan tonight in Yorkton will help people of all ages keep their minds sharp.
Heads Up for Healthier Brains - 7 p.m. on October 13 at St. Mary's Cultural Centre - will feature a presentation by Guy Pilch, registered clinical counsellor and founder of Train the Brain Consulting.
Pilch, who is visiting Saskatchewan from Victoria, BC, teaches research-based techniques for improving memory and overall mental fitness.
"It's something that's fun and practical, and at the end people will have tools they can use as well as the ability to come up with a plan that will support them," he says.
Pilch's techniques go back to his experiences working with the elderly in the years after receiving his Master's degree in counselling psychology. While assisting clients typically in various stages of dementia, Pilch found that his own memory was starting to weaken with age. He wondered if there was more that could be done.
"I looked at it, and there was some very exciting research that has since become more widely known about the brain's ability to generate new brain cells. Even as we go through the lifespan, we have the ability to generate new brain cells, to learn new things, if we take care of our brain."
Pilch and some of his colleagues tried the new methods and found great gains in their own mental performance. He built his knew knowledge into a business, eventually becoming an advisor and speaker for the Alzheimer Societies of BC, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
Pilch previously addressed crowds in Saskatoon and Regina last winter. After the Yorkton presentation, he will speak in Prince Albert on Thursday night.
According to the consultant, the tools he teaches have been shown to improve mental performance at any age and "substantially" reduce the risk of developing dementia.
"The brain loves novelty," Pilch says, citing some examples. "You can do really small things like drive a different route to work every day or read a different part of the newspaper, and when you do that, try to memorize it."
An important skill to nurture is the ability to effectively learn information that has no inherent interest to us, he adds.
"We can usually remember what we want to remember. ... What we need to do is develop the ability to remember things that are not naturally thrilling to us."
Some other practices covered by the presentation include exercising the body and avoiding injury and stress. All of these are good for the brain, Pilch says.
Admission to Heads Up for Healthier Brains is free, but donations to the Alzheimer Society are encouraged.
