Simon Says
Don't you hate when you start to Google something and you forget what it is you want to research? Yeah, me too...and it happens more often than I like.
The brain and memory are mysterious. Scientists have a hard time understanding how it works so you can imagine what laypeople like us think.
My long term memory is remarkable. I can easily remember events from my childhood. I'm really good at matching up stories from forty years ago to when exactly they occurred. If you want to know about a game from the 60's or 70's, I'm your guy.
But then there's the short term memory....OY!!
The Google thing is cute and funny. Forgetting to eat all day, okay it happens. Not remembering if you've taken your daily meds is problematic...especially if you're taking twelve pills a day.
I'm not sure why I have this issue. It might be an aging thing. It could be because of Parkinson's Disease. Maybe a combination of both. It is kind of scary though.
A couple of years ago I noticed this was starting plus I felt kind of foggy all the time. I diagnosed myself with Alzheimers. DON'T DO THAT! I did see my neurologist who ran a series of tests which turned up a thyroid problem that 90% of the time you find in women. Basically I turned into a 60 year old girl....nothing new. The meds I take clear up the brain fog but do nothing for memory.
Parkinson's patients are always told to exercise the body and the brain. The brain is a little tougher. You can listen to music, do puzzles, read...things that make you concentrate.
On Saturday, I'm in this store looking around and I see this Simon game. Remember Simon? It came out in 1978 and had four pretty colors and it played patterns with sounds and you were supposed to play them back. Each round added another color for you to remember and play back. It was fun...especially if you were high and in 1978, that was often. Here's what it's like to play Simon
Okay, so you can see that it might be fun to do this almost forty years ago but now it might have a real purpose...maybe.
I played a few rounds of the game at the store. I concentrated and made it through about 10 rounds each time before getting the dreaded buzzer. When I was done I had a little headache but I thought that might be a good thing. I was working my brain. You never know what works. What's entertainment in the 70's could keep your brain healthy in 2015. Who knows...it doesn't hurt.
When I left the store I thought this might be an interesting idea for my final Parkinson's story of the year. I then went out to dinner and spent a couple of hours with someone, where we were telling stories from our past. Yanno....things from forty or so years ago. When I got home, I knew I wanted to write this but...get ready...I FORGOT THE TOPIC!!!
Maybe I need to go back to the store and buy that Simon.
This is the last Parkinson's post of the year. To come full circle, here's the first one about Parkinson's and Urinary Tract Infections. Such a nice holiday topic.
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