Participants: Don Mackintosh (Host), Dr. Neil Nedley
Series Code: HFAL
Program Code: HFAL00239A
00:50 Hello! Welcome to "Health for a Lifetime"
00:52 We're glad you're with us today, 00:53 and we're glad Dr. Neil Nedley is with us... 00:56 And we're going to be talking about some interesting things... 00:59 Welcome! Thank you, good to be here. 01:01 Now you're a physician, you deal with, 01:04 not only physical, but also mental health... 01:06 You are an internal medicine specialist but you've also 01:08 done work in the area of mental health, 01:11 depression recovery, peak mental performance. Correct 01:14 We're going to talk about some studies that deal with that, 01:17 some studies that deal with melatonin, 01:19 and, you know, REST and these different kinds of things 01:21 So we're going to be updated 01:22 ...Kind of the latest from the, well, the current greatest, 01:26 if you will... Yeah ... look at that 01:28 Actually, these will all be studies that have been published 01:31 in 2008, or reported on. 01:34 Okay, the first one, you know, is fascinating... 01:38 BAD GRADES... as they're related to what's called 01:42 faulty memory or working memory 01:44 YES, in fact, we now know that a person's IQ 01:50 And that is their ability to 01:53 learn, retain and apply knowledge... 01:56 That's really what IQ is... 01:58 ...is directly related to an individual's working memory 02:03 Working memory... So what's that? 02:04 Working memory is being able to remember items or lists 02:12 and remember when you get to the last part of the page 02:17 what you read at the first part of the page. 02:19 And it is something... you know, most people can 02:23 remember 3 to 5 items, but really, it's their ability to 02:27 remember key points, and then not only retain that, 02:31 but to be able to apply those key points in what you learned 02:34 So, like a phone number, or like, you know, 02:37 going to the grocery store with 5 or 6 things? 02:41 That's right... if it's more than that, 02:43 most people are going to forget 1 or 2 items. 02:45 And so, of course, that's when they actually copy down 02:48 a list, and they have that list there. 02:51 So, let's say you have a son or a daughter, or a relative 02:55 that you think has poor working memory... 02:58 they are not doing so well... 03:02 Is it because they're lazy? 03:03 Is it because they're dumb? 03:06 No, not necessarily... 03:07 In fact, that's what was thought of in yesteryear 03:09 ...is that Johnny was just lazy and thus, wasn't learning 03:13 Can't you remember anything I tell you... that kind of stuff 03:15 ...Wasn't reading his history book, etc. 03:17 And he wasn't reading it because by the time he got to the 03:20 end of the page, he couldn't remember what was in the 03:22 first part of the page. 03:23 And each sentence he read, replaced and erased 03:26 the sentence that he had before. 03:28 And so what he needs, is to work on his working memory 03:33 And that can actually significantly improve his IQ 03:36 and significantly improve his success in life. 03:39 So how do you work on your working memory? 03:40 Well, we have a graphic that kind of illustrates this. 03:44 Working memory is actually more important than IQ 03:49 as far as success... 03:50 And if you see that gentleman there on the screen 03:53 there's a clue that he has problems with his working memory 03:57 Those are like 64 clues there! 04:01 And this is an individual that, at least he's working on it 04:06 You know, he's writing it down, and he recognizes 04:09 he needs to have it there handy. 04:11 And that actually is one of the keys of SUCCESS! 04:16 You know, you asked... how do you work on it? 04:17 And one of the ways is actually writing things down, 04:21 and then referring back to those things 04:24 on a more frequent basis. 04:26 And that's item #1 as far as how to work on it. 04:31 So, in other words, don't say "I have a bad memory" 04:37 because, for some reason, 04:38 you can remember that you can't remember well... 04:40 That's right... Right. 04:42 We're much more worried when 04:43 you can't remember and you don't know that you can't remember. 04:48 That's right... so if you're out there saying... 04:49 "Well, I know I can't remember well" 04:51 Well how can you remember that? Right? Exactly 04:54 So improving that... 04:55 Now, you know, one way of saying that people can work on this 04:58 is through memorizing like texts of Scripture... 05:01 I've noticed that you can take these cards and you write 05:04 the date and the verse on one thing, 05:07 and then you write on the back 05:08 In fact, there are whole programs that have been 05:11 developed where you then repeat that for like 3 months 05:16 every day and it goes into your long-term memory 05:19 and, you know, an evangelist or a pastor, 05:22 or someone that's studying the Word of God 05:25 with people, they want to recall all those texts 05:27 they're really working on their working memory, aren't they? 05:29 Absolutely! In fact, Scripture memorization is a great way to 05:31 In fact, Scripture memorization is a great way to 05:33 improve your working memory. 05:35 Now, there's something about Scripture memorization 05:38 that you need to be aware of... 05:39 and that is that when you first try it, 05:42 if your working memory is poor, 05:44 you're going to think that you're not going to be 05:46 successful at it. 05:48 It takes some time to be successful... 05:50 And, you know, Don, you mentioned 3 months... 05:52 But in reality, that's about how long it takes before you can 05:56 REALLY start to progress. 05:58 Now, you'll be able to memorize texts within those 3 months 06:01 But after the 3 months, if you're working on those 06:04 programs of Scripture memorization, 06:06 you'll be able to memorize NEW texts 06:08 MUCH quicker, MUCH faster... Why? 06:10 You're working memory has expanded. 06:12 Some say another way to memorize is to put something to music! 06:16 Yes, when we associate things with something else 06:22 we actually remember it. 06:24 It's actually easier to remember two things, than it is one 06:27 For instance, if you are introduced to a 06:29 person named "Gary" 06:31 and you think he's a little goofy, 06:33 to put "Goofy Gary" together, 06:37 you'll end up remembering Gary's name more, 06:39 and you'll also remember that he was goofy more 06:41 than if you just were told one of those two things. 06:44 Or... "Notorious Neil," or "Dangerous Don," or... 06:48 whatever it is... so you put the two together 06:50 You put two together, and that 06:51 actually helps your working memory... 06:53 And music helps... 06:54 You know, that's why Scripture was actually put to song 06:57 ...You know David's Psalms were actually written SONGS 07:02 Many of them were anthems that were sung by choirs 07:05 to REMEMBER these important words. 07:07 Yeah, you know, of course, you don't want to maybe do that 07:10 when you're going to the store... 07:11 You know, have a song and you're singing... 07:12 "I need the tomatoes, potatoes and the broccoli and lettuce" 07:15 But working memory... 07:17 Okay so, it's not just the 07:19 death knell... you can work on it. 07:20 Of course, you know, the other thing... 07:22 when you mentioned Scripture memory, 07:24 if you do THAT, then the Bible says... 07:27 that the Holy Spirit will help BRING things to remembrance! 07:30 Yes! So that helps with that... 07:33 You know, one of the people in my life that I know quite well 07:38 had lost all their short-term memory basically through 07:41 what they were doing in life, 07:42 and now they memorize thousands of texts from Scripture. 07:45 They rebuilt the hard drive. Yes 07:47 OR the RAM drive... the short-term drive, I guess 07:51 Yeah, and you know, some people in school... 07:54 for instance, those that are having struggles, C, D's 07:57 By the way, there's a link between working memory problems 08:00 and ADHD problems... that's the primary problem with 08:02 many people with ADHD. Is that right? 08:04 ...Is their inability to be able to have their working memory 08:09 up to par. 08:11 And so, if you take someone with a working memory problem, 08:16 they're getting C's, D's, F's in school 08:19 One of the key things that they do that actually works 08:23 is to, you know, outline in yellow, key points on a page 08:27 after you've read that page, 08:28 and then actually SPEAK that into a tape recorder 08:32 And then, when you're going around, listen to it back 08:35 and that can actually help improve the working memory. 08:39 And instead of the child just thinking that 08:41 they're dumb or stupid, what they really ought to say is 08:45 I'm working on expanding my working memory. 08:48 Ha, ha, ha... I see! 08:49 Yeah, so you know, some people they see it... that's not enough 08:52 they need to LISTEN to it. Ummm, you know... 08:55 That's right. I don't know how you are, but 08:58 some people are just BETTER 08:59 I mean... anytime I hear perhaps a sermon or something 09:04 I'll remember it MUCH BETTER than if I just read it... Yeah 09:08 This was a study that was done by Dr. Levine... 09:13 And by the way, you know, we're having a lot of 09:16 Health for Lifetime on recent health reports 09:18 I should mention, Don, that they can login to the 09:21 "Nedley Health Report" and they can get all this information 09:26 ...So I know some people are going to want to know 09:28 where each study is from... "The Nedley Health Report" 09:32 and you can actually logon and get that via email 09:35 ...We keep you up-to-date every month on new health information 09:40 So all these things we're covering, you get a monthly 09:42 thing to help you remember the most recent research. 09:45 Yeah... just Google the "Nedley Health Report" 09:47 or logon to our website drnedley. com or 09:50 doctornedley. com Okay... 09:52 And thank you for that resource, by the way, 09:53 I get the "E-pistle" if you will the e-mail every month 10:00 and, you know, fascinating, but very useful FACTS to use 10:06 Facts that you can apply in your daily life. 10:08 Well, we want to look at another study... 10:09 Melatonin and light may aid people with Alzheimer's 10:14 YES! And this highlights that our health report actually 10:18 deals with young and old... 10:19 Working memory often tends to be a problem with the young 10:22 and those who are not going to be successful 10:25 that could be successful... 10:26 But this is now the other side of life... 10:29 and that is those who are elderly. 10:31 It turns out, individuals with Alzheimer's, 10:33 or when they start to lose their memory due to age-related 10:37 causes, tend to run into sleep problems... Um hm 10:40 And they run into sleep problems because they're not making 10:43 enough melatonin... 10:44 Some of the brain changes have prevented them from 10:46 from making enough melatonin. 10:48 And they also run into sleep problems because they tend 10:51 to be indoor people at this point... 10:53 and not exposed to bright light. 10:56 And so, this research actually was published 10:58 in the "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society" 11:02 and was conducted by Glenna Dowling of 11:04 of the University of California in San Francisco 11:07 and was published in March, 2008 ... So what do you do? 11:12 What do you do to get this back? 11:15 Well, what they did is, they did a nice controlled study 11:18 and they took these Alzheimer's, or people who had 11:21 lost their memory... 11:22 Actually, they were all diagnosed with Alzheimer's... 11:25 ...And they exposed them to bright light. 11:29 They either got them outdoors, out of their nursing home, 11:32 or out of their home TO be exposed to the 11:36 natural bright light... 11:37 Or they had actually artificial light 11:39 come in that simulates it... 11:40 There are light boxes that simulate the same wavelength 11:43 It's not like a camera flash or something... 11:45 Not a camera flash... SUSTAINED LIGHT! 11:47 Sustained light for 1 hour in the morning. 11:50 OH, 1 hour... Yes, preferably within 10 minutes of awakening. 11:54 RIGHT AFTER YOU GET OUT OF BED when you're saying 11:56 "Oww, don't turn the lights on ... TURN THE LIGHTS ON! 11:58 That's right... and you can do other things, you know 12:00 ...you can read, you can talk to people 12:02 Your eyes are being exposed to that light... 12:05 And THEN, in the EVENING, because their brain makes 12:09 less melatonin, they were given a melatonin supplement. 12:12 And the best way to take that melatonin supplement is 12:15 actually to put it under your tongue... 12:17 you absorb it better, and it's better than swallowing melatonin 12:21 And when they did those 2 things 12:23 they found out that they significantly 12:26 stayed awake better... 12:27 They were more alert in the daytime... 12:29 and they slept better at night. 12:30 Instead of having the sundowner syndrome, 12:33 that many Alzheimer patients have... 12:35 where they get up in the middle of the night, 12:36 and they think it's daytime... 12:38 Or they get confused in the middle of the night... 12:40 sometimes even get combative, and confused... 12:45 THAT went away! 12:46 And, their daytime alertness improved. 12:49 So, it doesn't reverse their Alzheimer's, 12:51 but it does normalize their 12:53 wake/sleep cycle... is that what you're saying? 12:56 It does, and it also, actually by doing that, 12:58 improves their mental performance. 13:00 So, it doesn't get rid of the tangles in the brain, 13:04 but the area of the brain that doesn't have tangles, 13:08 works better. 13:09 And so, in essence, it's like taking a powerful 13:13 medicine for Alzheimer disease, 13:15 ...actually better than medicine for Alzheimer's 13:18 We're talking with Dr. Neil Nedley 13:20 We're talking about the research here that can really help you. 13:24 We've talked about short-term memory... 13:25 We've talked about light sleep cycles and 13:28 getting your melatonin. 13:30 When we come back, we're going to talk about 13:31 how dangerous it is to take an early retirement... 13:34 and other fascinating studies 13:36 So join us when we come back. |
Revised 2014-12-17