One should always be learning to keep our minds intellectually stimulated. Older people with mobility challenges might not think about making intellectual wellness a priority, but even those living in a senior living community have all sorts of ways to keep the healthy mind. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about Intellectual Wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured in this summer’s Vitality Revolution podcast series.

Dr. Shawn says, “Take inventory of what your day is like. Everybody is different and everybody has different situations, medical conditions that might affect mobility or safety where you can’t leave the home without somebody. Think about where you are in your day to day life. Is it always the same? Do you spend a lot of time in front of the TV? Do you get family members to come over? Do you get out with friends? Are you able to go out of the home? And what are you doing?

“You need to change it up… Start adding something in a little bit each day, turn the TV off… There’s a variety of things. If you’re in a senior community, there’s lots of activities that are going on: book clubs, Bingo, card playing, things that really require you to use your brain and stimulate your mind. Think about something that you like to do. Do you like to do word searches? There are some great, free apps that keep your mind going for those that have computers, iPads, and phones. It’s really important that you’re picking one or two new things a day to try.

“If you’re saying, hey, I’m gonna start doing crosswords. I combine physical activities with those cognitive challenges. I’ll even exercise my patients, and while they’re exercising, I’m having them name as many states as they can out loud, or I’m having them count backwards, or asking them how many things can you name that begins with the letter S.”

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