National Health Archives - Oasis Institute

Music Therapy and Medicine

Oasis Institute Webmaster — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 16:23:43 +0000

Music Therapy and Medicine

By Oasis Health Team Member, Kristin Stock

My connection to medicine began with music therapy, and this led me on a path to interaction with patients that differs from the experiences of many others in healthcare. When I entered hospitals, nursing facilities, and rehabilitation centers with my drum, mallets, and guitar, I was often asked, “What is music therapy?”

The answer depends on the needs of the person sitting across from you. At its foundation, music therapy is the prescribed application of music in a sensitive and evidence-based manner. It is a person-first therapy that borrows from a wide range of disciplines and forges connections from nonmusical outputs through music. Music is unique in its ability to build bridges and stir emotions: the effects permeate the brain and manifest in the individual.

In rehabilitation settings, I collaborated with physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, and nurses while using music to aid in post-stroke recovery. I led small groups in nursing facilities, working to address the complex sensory needs of middle and late-stage dementia patients. I also worked with adults diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease and taught others how to use music as a tool to improve swallowing and vocal health. Within hospice settings, I learned how to navigate death with patients and families.

I often worried that music was not enough. It took all the courage I had sometimes to get out of my car and knock on a patient’s door. How could I make a difference with just music? Through experience, I observed that music is a powerful intervention for some patients, and this is most evident when used at the bedside. Learning to apply music in this way and witnessing its impact on others was a transformative clinical experience that afforded me a deeply personal connection to healthcare.

To illustrate this, I will share my experience with Willie, a female patient with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). She was referred to me by the hospice team for severe anxiety and was in the late stages of the disease. For Willie, I began by using my voice to hum a familiar melody. I sat next to her, held one of her hands, and eventually used my other hand to gently tap a simple rhythm into her shoulder. With each new layer, I observed her face and body. If she flinched or appeared unreceptive, I stopped and gave her a break. After about forty minutes, I began to add the words of a familiar song, “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.” Willie had already made progress at this point as she kept her eyes open, maintained eye contact, and gripped my hand tightly. Given reports by both facility staff and the hospice team that she could no longer speak, I was gratified when she began to sing. We sang the entire song together twice, and at times, I dropped out to hear if Willie could fill in the gaps. She could – and best of all, she was smiling. It took nearly an hour of careful layering to achieve this response.

My passion for music led me to music therapy, and my experiences with patients and the perseverance required to connect with them have ignited a new purpose and calling to medicine as the natural meeting point. Oasis has been instrumental in deepening my connection to healthcare, and I am continually inspired by the programs and resources we provide.

For more information about music therapy or how to find a board-certified music therapist, please visit the American Music Therapy Association or the Certification Board for Music Therapists.

Kristin Stock, MMT, MT-BC is a Health Program Coordinator at the Oasis Institute in St. Louis.

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BrainSavers® – Introduction

Oasis Institute Webmaster — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 17:27:59 +0000

Meet Paul Bendheim, founder of BrainSavers®

As the founder of BrainSavers, I take true pleasure in introducing myself and the BrainSavers-Oasis partnership to you. As a team, we exist to help you live independently as long as possible and to have an enriched, rewarding life, no matter your living arrangement.

I am a native of Phoenix Arizona, where I currently live with Judith, my incredible wife and award winning ceramic and jewelry artist. My daughter Jessica is in medical school and my son Daniel is employed in the financial sector. Jessica is the mother of my two darling granddaughters Audrey and Amelia. My non-work activities include spending as much time as possible with my family, gardening, tennis and jogging, fly-fishing, reading and art.

By profession, I am a board-certified neurologist with special expertise in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementing disorders. My passion, now full-time work is BrainSavers, the company I founded years before lifestyle became recognized and accepted as the only evidence-based approach to reducing the risk of this feared and terrible disease. The foundational ideas for BrainSavers lifestyle program were initially developed in my book, The Brain Training Revolution: A Proven Workout For Healthy Brain Aging. More than a decade later, in January 2021, major health celebrity Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s book, Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age, was published. It is gratifying to see the lifestyle components of BrainSavers pioneering program increasingly recognized and communicated via the mainstream media.

My primary mission has evolved to become educating, informing, and coaching the 100 million aging Boomers and healthy seniors who are at risk for AD. This is why I started BrainSavers and this is BrainSavers’ primary goal.

Years ago, I realized that what I had been taught as a medical student and resident in neurology was fundamentally incorrect. No less a luminary than Dr. Houston Merritt, long-time chairman of the department of neurology at Columbia University College of Medicine, said to our group of medical students:

“One of the unfortunate experiences of growing old is sitting in my favorite chair and listening to my Betz cells (large neurons) commit suicide by diving into the ventricular lakes.”

Thanks to loads of research in the basic and clinical neurosciences, we now know, without a doubt, that a brain healthy lifestyle enriches your life, protects your cherished memories and can prevent AD.

My intent is to write a regular blog to benefit all of you who participate in Oasis’ lifelong learning adventure. Each blog intends to inform about some aspect of healthy brain aging. Next, I will highlight the two fundamental principles that are the underpinnings of BrainSavers Brain+Body Total Fitness Program – neuroplasticity and cognitive reserve. Later blogs will explore in-depth numerous aspects of your brain, the most incredible object in the universe. Thank you for joining me in this exciting journey.

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Staying healthy, socially active and adapting to the new normal

Oasis Institute Webmaster — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 19:45:02 +0000

Staying healthy, socially active and adapting to the new normal

Coronavirus has changed everything, hasn’t it?

It’s altered how we shop, socialize, exercise, work, and even think. This public health crisis brings to light existing societal fractures such as a fragmented healthcare system, our dependence on public schools (and other organizations) for square meals for countless children and how prevalent health inequities are in communities of color. It exposes many Americans to a first-hand experience of what it’s like to be socially isolated. Many older adults face social isolation during ‘normal’ times and many more experience isolation now. The scary thing is—none of us really know how long we’re going to be holed up.

I’m a public health professional, but I am not an infectious disease expert. However, I’m preparing, mentally, to be living in versions of this new normal for another year. I think older adults will be the last group of people who are recommended (and willing) to reassemble into groups—and for good reason. We should all be very cautious of COVID-19. As the weeks roll on and we continue social distancing, the negative impacts of isolation may begin to set in. And impact may not feel good.

Research over the last six years spotlights how social isolation affects overall health. It can lead to a greater risk of depression, falls and exacerbating other chronic conditions like heart disease. It can impact your overall health as negatively as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. For nearly 20 years, Oasis continues providing programs to reduce isolation among older adults, but now it’s more important than ever.

How do you stay engaged in the era of social distancing?

Stay in touch with your family and friends! Even though many of us may not have much new news to talk about, it’s important to keep ‘hanging out’ through video chats and phone calls any way you can. My partner and I make sure we video chat with his mother every few days so she can watch her first grandchild eat new foods, play peekaboo and take baths. Oasis members can participate in Conversations that Count, a phone-based program providing interesting conversations guided by a volunteer.
Keep active. Even though the weather is nice now, some parks may still be closed. Be sure you’re staying active. It’s not easy to create a new routine while it’s unclear when gyms will be back open. However, I don’t think it’s going to be soon. We must find a new exercise routine that can be done from home or around the neighborhood. I subscribe to an exercise app and the activity significantly raises my mood.
Keep learning something. This is the perfect time to learn a new hobby (that can be done at home). Read something you’ve never had the time for or re-read something you haven’t touched in decades. Watch all the Ken Burns documentaries (that may take you through this quarantine). Join an Oasis Zoom Video class! Also, no judgment if you want to watch trashy reality shows. Just keep your mind engaged!
Do what you can to avoid feeling lonely, even if you’re isolated. There is a difference between loneliness and isolation and they’re not necessarily correlated. We may be isolated, but we can work to not be lonely. The above recommendations can help reduce loneliness, as well as any kind of interaction with others. Social media is another great tool to stay in touch with others (forewarning—for some social media has an adverse emotional effect and should be turned off if it feels toxic). I personally find social media platforms to be a happy place because I’ve curated my feeds to pictures of friends and family, cute animal videos and funny memes. I chose to minimize exposure to extreme political posts because I don’t like them.

We can find routines during this “new normal” that feel sustainable in keeping us healthy. We may have to get used to being six feet apart from people for a while, but we can still find ways to feel better, both physically and mentally.

Juliet Simone
Oasis National Program and Health Director
health.oasisnet.org

What activities are you doing?

What have you found to keep yourself socially connected and healthy during social distancing? Share your ideas in the comments below under “Leave a Reply”!

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Celebrating National Nutrition Month this March

Oasis Institute Webmaster — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Celebrating National Nutrition Month this March

A nutritious diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

The food you eat provides the fuel your body needs to grow and function properly. Since your stomach can only hold a certain amount of food each day, it is important to fill it with a variety of healthy foods. No food is bad for you. The goal is to eat healthier foods more often and those excessive salt, sugar or unhealthy forms of fat less often.

Making sense of food labels

The easiest way to discover a food’s nutritional value is to read its label. All packaged foods must have labels that tell us what is in the food and how nutritious it is. There is a lot of information provided on a food label, so knowing how to decipher what you are reading can be challenging. It’s always a good idea to check with your doctor about recommendations that make sense for you, but these basic guidelines are a good place to start a conversation.

Fat

Per serving: less than 3 grams and no more than 5% Daily Value
Daily amount: 44-77 grams
For someone with diabetes: 10-15 grams

Salt

Per serving: 140 mg or less
Daily amount: 1,500-2,300 mg or less

Fiber

Per serving: 3-5+ grams
Daily amount: 25+ grams

Sugar

Daily: 24-36 grams, or 6 tsp for women and 9 tsp for men

Protein

Daily amount: 50 grams
For someone with diabetes: 15-35 grams per meal

Carbohydrates

For someone with diabetes: 45-60 grams per meal

More tips to keep your nutrition on track

Check out this chart for help reading labels.

Fruits and vegetables are mostly low in calories and contain healthy fats, so you can eat as many servings as you like. Remember that adding salt, unhealthy fats or sugar to fruits and vegetables limits the potential health benefits your body can take from these foods, so keep it simple!
Fiber is essential for a healthy diet. Fiber is found only in plant foods, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The more a food looks like it did when it was grown on a tree or in the ground, the more fiber it contains.
Sodium is an ingredient in salt, which your body needs to manage blood pressure, but too much sodium can cause health problems. Avoiding processed foods and flavoring foods with herbs, lemon juice or different types of vinegar is a good way to keep sodium intake under control.
Sugar is fun, but the average American consumes too much per day. When sugar is consumed in high amounts, it can cause cavities, weight gain, diabetes and heart disease. Drinking water instead of soda, energy and sports drinks, sweetening foods with fresh fruit and opting for fresh foods instead of processed treats are all easy ways to cut back on sugar.
Fat is an important part of a healthy diet, but too much of the unhealthy kind can lead to weight gain and higher risk for chronic diseases. Choosing lean meats, tomato-based sauces instead of cheese or cream-based sauces and opting for olive, canola or corn oil over shortening, butter and margarine are just a few way to reduce fat in your diet.

Fine out more about the Self Management, Health and Exercise programs offered by Oasis.

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Aging Mastery Program – Longer, fuller lives

Oasis Institute Webmaster — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 21:32:34 +0000

Adults today are living much longer than previous generations, so how do we make the most of these extra years? Since 2018, The Oasis Institute has been engaging older adults in St. Louis, Indianapolis, and San Antonio through the Aging Mastery Program® (AMP), developed by the National Council on Aging. This 10-class program aims to help older adults take key steps to improve their overall well-being, add stability to their lives, and strengthen their involvement in the community. Participants are encouraged to create their personalized playbook for aging well through actionable goals, sustainable behaviors, and social engagement.

The program promotes mastery; participants design sustainable solutions for their everyday life that will lead to improved health, stronger financial security, enhanced well-being, and increased connectedness to their community. Individuals set their own goals and create their unique pathways to these goals, opening the door to creativity and self-reflection in the process. Upon completion of AMP, participants are encouraged to have a set of goals for positive actions in many aspects of their lives, including exercise, nutrition, finances, advance care planning, community engagement, and healthy relationships.

The Oasis Institute is preparing older adults like Mary Tate to live their later years to the fullest.

“Longevity is important to all of us, but to ensure quality of life, we must stay active and engaged,” says Mary.

Mary is among 51 Oasis participants in San Antonio designated as AMP “graduates,” having attended at least seven of the ten sessions. She rated all the sessions as very relevant and highly informative. Her fellow graduates also reviewed the program favorably, with 100 percent reporting improved health and a willingness to recommend the program to a friend. Many participants also indicated that they had made positive changes based on what they learned from the sessions, including starting exercise classes, updating estate plans and finances, and making more efforts to socialize.

Arthur Jackson attended the program with his wife Doris in San Antonio and said the experience was affirming and time well-spent:

“We really enjoyed the peer-to-peer interaction with classmates going through some of the same life changes we are.”

Another participant, Clay Rembert from Oasis Indianapolis, said

“This has been a fantastic program. I’ve learned a lot that I can implement into my daily routine.”

Dorothy Suther volunteers as an AMP facilitator and presenter at Indianapolis Oasis.

“One of the pleasures of leading a group is the opportunity to see the same people for 10 weeks and get to know them,” she says. “Attendees become comfortable with each other and participate freely, sharing their experiences.”

Since fall of 2018, 147 participants have completed the program in St. Louis, 208 in Indianapolis, and in San Antonio, 244 older adults. Overall, The Oasis Institute has reached nearly 600 older adults through our AMP program.

To register for an upcoming AMP class near you, please visit our spring catalogs at https://www.oasisnet.org/class-catalog.

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The New Science of the Aging Brain

Oasis Institute Webmaster — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Recently proven principles, if practiced, support healthy brain aging and reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

As a fourth-year medical student, I was contemplating a career in neurology. I was fortunate to obtain a six-week clerkship in New York City, at the Neurological Institute of Columbia University Medical Center, where Dr. Houston Merritt, one of the titans in the history of American neurology of the 20th century, was the past chairman and professor emeritus.

Although retired, Dr. Merritt met with medical students once a week. An entertaining raconteur, he had us spellbound with personal stories from his long and illustrious career. During one session he uttered these words: “One of the unfortunate experiences of growing old is sitting in my favorite chair and listening to my Betz cells commit suicide by diving into the ventricular lakes.” (Betz cells are large, gray matter brain cells and the ventricles are normal, fluid-filled, cavities in the brain.)

As I’ve written in my book, The Brain Training Revolution: A Proven Workout for Healthy Brain, this statement struck me, as it came from a neurological “giant” and revered teacher who delivered it with a tinge of sadness and resignation. These words became seared in my memory.

Dr. Merritt’s depressing, rather hopeless sentiment reflected what was then the central dogma of the aging brain. Neurologists and neuroscientists of that era taught that we are born with a hard-wired brain. Furthermore, according to this tenet, the most marvelous structure in the entire universe began to unravel at about age 40. If you were fortunate, it unraveled slowly and you lived into your sixties, seventies and beyond with your mental faculties intact. If you were unlucky, it unraveled more rapidly, and you became senile. Now we refer to senility as dementia.

Today we know differently and better.

A more hopeful outlook on aging and brain health

Although the aging brain does show some “wear and tear” – it is not as nimble as a younger brain – remarkable, ground-breaking discoveries of the last thirty years have defined a new paradigm. The previously described possibilities of neuroplasticity and brain reserve in the adult brain are no longer hypotheses; they are now firmly established as principles for brains of sixty, seventy, eighty years of age and beyond. The new science of the aging brain is built upon the results of thousands of animal and human research studies.

Let’s define neuroplasticity and brain (cognitive) reserve to understand the promise they hold for each of us as we age.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change its shape by generating new neurons (brain cells) and connect them via axons and dendrites (miniature cables). This property underlies our ability to learn, remember and create at any age.
Brain reserve, also known as cognitive reserve, is an insurance policy against loss of mental function associated with age. Think of it as analogous to physical reserve: individuals who do regular, modest physical exercise have protection against heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis and other age-related diseases. Brain reserve is built and maintained by living a brain healthy lifestyle.

Here are the core components of a brain healthy lifestyle:

Challenging mental activities – be a lifelong learner
Social engagement – participate in fun, engaging activities with family and friends
Modest, regular physical activity – walk 30 minutes, five days each week
Healthful eating via the Mediterranean diet
Successful stress management
Getting nightly, memory-consolidating, restorative sleep

Older adults who incorporate these six lifestyle components and pay attention to medical risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes have better cognitive and overall health, fewer memory misfires (aka senior moments) and a significantly reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

About the author

Paul Bendheim, MD, is a board-certified neurologist and founder of BrainSavers®, an evidence-informed, total lifestyle, proprietary program aimed at enriching lives, maintaining cognitive and overall health, while reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Bendheim’s team developed The BrainSavers® Brain+Body Total Fitness Program, which was launched in 2016, and is currently offered by health plans and retirement communities in several states.

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