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Good morning and welcome to Episode 026 of the Train Your Brain Podcast with Dr. Michael Trayford. Every Monday we produce a 30-minute episode. Tuesday through Sunday we produce episodes with five-minute tips. Every episode of the Train Your Brain Podcast features a tip, so you can receive pointers 365 days a year that will help enhance the performance of your brain!
In Episode 026, Dr. Trayford gives a great tip related to injury prevention that pertains to keeping your living space tidy. If we begin observing this tip now in our younger years, we’ll establish a good habit that will reduce our risk of falling in our later years. Dr. Trayford reminds us that what is good for the body is good for the brain, and it’s definitely not good for the body to fall down. Injuries from slipping on the stairs or tripping on a misplaced item often mark the beginning of a steep decline in seniors. We hope this tip helps you to stay safe and helps to keep your mind sharp! Thanks for listening!
If you have any concerns regarding the information and applications discussed in this podcast, please consult your physician and a doctor who is experienced in functional neurology. Michael Trayford DC, DACNB is available for consultation by calling (828) 708-5274. Thanks for listening.
Todays tip number 26. It sounds simple enough, but as we age start to decline in our ability to balance, walk and navigate our environment. It’s increasingly more important that we keep the house picked up. It’s easier said than done. I’ve got an eleven and seven year old around the house and I don’t think I’ve seen the house picked up in probably the last eleven years so. It’s a little bit challenging. It does pose problems. We do fall because there are things in our way all the time.
Jason: Oh yeah and because of my children, you know I’ll step on sharp things and that’s very fun. Like airplanes and toys.
The dreaded Legos!
Jason: Yeah, those are fun!
We have girls, so we don’t have too many Lego’s around, but there are still plenty of things to get underfoot. It can really be quite dangerous. Not so much for people in their 20’s and 30’s or 40’s even. But as people start to get into their 50’s, 60’s and beyond there’s significant challenges with navigating the environment. That can develop if people aren’t actively making an effort to exercise and doing things that will challenge their abilities to balance. Like yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates and all these other activities that can really help people to have a better sense of balance.
If you go to sources like AARP.org and you can get all the statistics you ever wanted to know.
I love statistics, but I could bog down this entire podcast and 20 more with statistics on falling in this nation. Bottom line is that millions of people fall every year. And the emergency room visits that happen as a result of that are staggering. In the 65 and older population, the leading cause of death is some result of falling. Whether it’s head injury, breaking of the hip and then people wind up having problems in the hospital and they decline physically and their brain declines as a result. They end up succumbing to other issues, but the fall was the primary reason that started the entire chain of events.
So we need to make a concerted effort to prevent falling. We need to make sure that our homes are safe.
Loose carpets need to be tacked or glued down or some type of rubber underneath. Stairways are an incredible danger. Wooden stairways are a serious nemesis. People should not have bare wooden stairs in their home. Even if they are young because young people fall too and those types of falls down the stairs, when you’re wearing your socks late at night and you can’t see things too well can be devastating.
Runners on the stairs properly fixed. Any objects leading to where you sit all the time or on the way to your dining room table. Bottom line is things need to be picked up in the home. The biggest ones are the carpets and the stairs. Those really need to be dealt with. Then we can really help protect our aging population by doing these types of things.
More importantly these folks should be doing things to improve their sense of balance and walking and all of that, but that in combination with keeping the house tidy is incredibly important for brain and body safety.
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