Everyone knows that we are supposed to keep our bodies physically fit. What about our minds?

Brain fitness is a wide-ranging approach that includes a specific type of activity – mental aerobics – for improving memory recall along with strategies for stimulating growth and change in our brains at all ages and stages.

“Brain Fitness for All Ages and Stages” is the topic of a free presentation Friday by Martha Grove Hipskind at The Fountains of  The Albemarle on Trade Street. It begins at 2 p.m., and those who plan to attend are asked to phone Shannon Tippette at 823-2799 to reserve a seat.

Hipskind is a gerontologist, an eldercare consultant. She will give an overview of memory change and a fast-paced, high energy workout “to help jog your brain and build new brain power.”

“Martha Grove Hipskind’s Mental Aerobics workshops are invigorating,” said Heather Proctor, director the five-county Area Agency on Aging. “She keeps the audience engaged and puts a humorous spin on important material for baby boomers and older adults. 

“In the past, the presentations she offered for us drew over 100 people and were well received by all attendees. The technique she shares can be of benefit to all.”

Average life expectancy is now approaching 80 years; boomers are turning 60 at the rate of 10,000 per day; and demographers predict that centenarians in the United States will exceed 800,000 by 2050.

Concurrent trends show that persons with Alzheimer’s disease will increase from 4 to 14 million in the same time period.

“We know that age is the single greatest risk factor for dementia,” Hipskind says. “However, we are also beginning to understand that dementia is not an inevitable consequence of aging.

 Everyone who works with older adults and their families must understand more about memory function, how it may change with age, how to improve memory recall, and how to build more brain power at any age or stage.” 

It’s true. The older we get, the more we forget. But the problem is not so much memory loss as it is recall, or retrieval. The older mind has a lifetime of memories and experiences stored in it, and is also experiencing a natural slowing down in the retrieval process. The end result is those frustrating episodes of not being able to remember words, phrases and events. Understanding more about Age Associated Memory Impairment (AAMI) leads to exciting new strategies for improving both speed and quality of recall by doing mental exercises.

“Mental Aerobics is based on the knowledge that we can exercise our brain like a physical muscle, that by engaging in mental exercises that jog the brain to retrieve stored information, we can improve memory recall and reduce the effects of AAMI,” Hipskind says.

We are by nature creatures of habit. Our daily routine is relatively fixed and that makes us comfortable. Dr. Lawrence Katz, a Duke neurologist and author of “Keep Your Brain Alive,” will tell you that we must shake up our deadly dull daily routines by changing sensory pathways to the brain as we go about our normal activities.

 Brush your teeth with the opposite hand; take a shower with your eyes closed; drive to work a different way every day. Anything new and different in our lives builds brain power.

Cognitive impairment does not suddenly appear at age 85 – although by that age nearly 50 percent have dementia. Lifestyle choices you make today for both physical and mental fitness have the potential to reduce your chances of developing dementia symptoms.  “Brain Fitness is for older adults,” Hipskind says. “Those who care for them and those who plan to grow old.”