Meeting in Review - Thursday March 25th 2021

We had a good turnout last week with 33 members and guests in attendance

Memory – relevant to everyone and most of us want more!  Our guest speaker Gillian Eadie, gave us a lot to think about and to work on, in an important and practical address ‘Brain-Fit for Life’ as part of March’s Brain Awareness Month.  Gillian is CEO and co-founder, with her sister Dr Allison Lamont, of the Brain and Memory Foundation http://memory.foundation.  She is also very experienced in Rotary with her husband a past DG of D9970.

Key messages included:

·         Capture ‘top of mind’ items. Try to quickly record and define actions to close off our many ‘open loops’, the need-to-be-done unfinished tasks that can otherwise distract us from our main thoughts;

·         Memory let-downs are normal.  Respect the amazing complexity of our brain – with 100 billion neurons, the dendrites of which Gillian called the ‘trees of the mind’;

·         Stay in the present!  We remember when we pay deliberate attention.  Our short-term memory can hold 7 (± 2) items simultaneously, so slow down and avoid overload;

·         Use your non-dominant hand for simple actions like placing your keys or glasses.      This can help your brain to notice the difference and recall where and when;

·         Rehearse memories to activate the memory trace in your brain;

·         Walking and other physical exercise – good for body AND memory;

·         TAKE ACTION to minimise any negative impact of aging on memory.

Wanting more? Gillian provides on-line Brain Tune memory courses, and a free ‘Memory News’: Sign up here.