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Welcome to Our Brain Fitness Basics Class!
Welcome to Our Brain Fitness Basics Class!
Here some quick links and the link for the zoom meetings:
For the class zoom link Click here
BrainHQ site: https://v4.brainhq.com/
Student site with schedule and more: sdcestudent55.com
Site to enroll in classes: myportal.sdccd.edu
Official SDCCE site: sdcce.edu
Looking for the link to your Zoom Classroom? Click on the name of the instructor and you will be taken directly into the Zoom class.
Looking for the link to your Zoom Classroom? Click on the name of the instructor and you will be taken directly into the Zoom class.
Basics Zoom Sessions
Basics Zoom Sessions
Tuesday, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM (Yael Lorberfeld, Instructor)
Thursday, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM (Yael Lorberfeld, Instructor)
This class is via zoom only
Week One: Brain Fitness Orientation
Week One: Brain Fitness Orientation
Welcome! We are so pleased to have eighteen weeks of learning on our path. And to be sharing it with you. Yes, eighteen weeks of learning about our brains and how to optimize their functioning. Congratulations, today you take a step forward towards being your best you.
This is a team effort.
We are here to support you, listen to you, and learn from you as well. Let us begin by asking “Why are you taking this class?” “What does success look like for you?”
Two Key Components of Our Class: two websites that will be helpful to you.
Two Key Components of Our Class: two websites that will be helpful to you.
Our class website will be the central hub for all course-related activities. Here's what you can expect:
Course Materials: Lecture notes, readings, and supplementary materials will be available for download.
Recorded Video: If you cannot join the zoom meetings, stay up to date with the class with a recorded video.
Make sure to familiarize yourself with the website and check it regularly to stay on top of all class activities.
This website is just like any other classroom in that; this is where you will access all of your class materials, like your syllabus, handouts, lessons, and fascinating videos. You can also share your ideas and communicate with other students, and links to your reading assignments. Just like any other class, except it’s all online.
All underlined (and sometimes, colored) words are live links, that will take you to sites and documents that may be of interest.
Each week you will receive an email from one of your instructors with links to all of the weekly assignments. All assignments stay on the class website in case you missed one or would like to go back to one later. Each weekly email will also have direct links to your websites, so you will never get lost. You may want to make these websites “favorites” on your toolbar, for easy access. Both websites can also be accessed, just by putting the web address into your address bar when you are on the internet on any computer.
One of the most exciting aspects of this course is that each of you will receive a license for BrainHQ, a cutting-edge brain training program. Here’s how we’ll be using it:
Cognitive Exercises: BrainHQ offers a variety of exercises designed to enhance different aspects of cognitive functioning, such as memory, attention, and problem-solving skills.
Personalized Training: The program adapts to your performance, providing a personalized training experience that targets your specific needs.
Tracking Progress: You'll be able to track your progress over time, which will help you see the improvements in your cognitive abilities.
This website is for the Posit Science, BrainHQ Brain Training Program, where you will exercise your brain by doing scientifically designed cognitive exercises. You will have a free account as long as you are registered for a Brain Fitness course.
These are not “games” even though they may look like games. The goal is to exercise your brain, not to win. This can be frustrating if you believe you will ever get an exercise 100% “correct”. The program is developed so that no one will ever have perfect answers. “Winning” is noticing that your memory, attention, brain speed, or other skills are improving. Don’t let these exercises frustrate you – they are challenging because your brain improves when it encounters and overcomes a challenge. Some exercises take many attempts to figure out. Be patient. It will pay off.
BrainHQ Login: Your login is the email address that you used when registering for BrainHQ and the semester in which you first took a Brain Fitness course. If this is your first semester, your password will be fall2025
If you have taken this course in the past, use the same password you have been using.
Log in at www.brainhq.com Take a look around the site.
Would you like to know more about Brain HQ? Please watch this video
Let’s Look at Some Data
Throughout this course we will have opportunities to look at research studies and a variety of data. It is important to be discerning when presented with data. Is it accurate? To what extent does it describe you? Ask yourselves if you can trust the information. And most importantly, understand that these kinds of numbers describe groups, not individuals. In this class we will learn strategies to optimize our brain health and use data to motivate us to take action. We will also reject negative stereotypes and biases about aging.
For example, this table offers a comparison between “normal” decline due to cognitive aging and cognitive decline due to dementia. One may ask if cognitive decline is ever “normal”. In this class we hope that you discover strategies to avoid cognitive decline.
Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia, followed by vascular dementia. Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia are often present at the same time. Parkinson’s is an additional well known and researched area relative to cognitive functioning as we age. While Alzheimer’s seems to impact language and memory, Parkinson’s affects problem solving (executive function), speed of thinking, memory and other cognitive functions, as well as mood. Let’s take a quick look at data specific to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Current prevalence rates and projections indicate that our aging population is growing and will be increasingly challenged by cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s dementia & Parkinson’s. Consider the following statistics (Cemental, 2022)
Around 30-40% of adults over 65 have the type of cognitive loss we regard as a “normal” consequence of age — a measurable (but slight) decline on memory tests; a feeling that you're not quite as sharp or as good at remembering, as you used to be (age-related cognitive impairment).
1 in 9 adults age 45 or older report confusion or memory loss.
Prevalence of Alzheimer’s Dementia
Millions of Americans are living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. As the size of the U.S. population age 65 and older continues to increase, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s or other dementias will grow. The following data are provided by the Alzheimer’s Association, 2021.
Both the number and proportion will escalate rapidly in coming years, as the population of Americans age 65 and older is projected to grow from 58 million in 2021 to 88 million by 2050
More than 1 in 9 people (11.3%) age 65 years and older has Alzheimer’s dementia.
The percentage of people with Alzheimer’s dementia increases with age:
5.3% of people age 65 to 74 years,
13.8% of people age 75 to 84 years,
34.6% of people age 85 years and older
As shown in this table, between 2020 and 2025 every state across the country is expected to experience an increase of at least 6.7% in the number of people with Alzheimer’s.
More women than men have Alzheimer’s or other dementias. Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women. Of the 6.2 million people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s in the United States, 3.8 million are women and 2.4 million are men. This represents 12% of women and 9% of men age 65 and older in the United States.
Prevalence of Parkinson’s
Nearly one million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson's disease, which is more than the combined number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig's disease (or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). The following data are provided by the Parkinson’s Foundation (2022).
The number of people with Parkinson’s is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. https://www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Statistics
Incidence of Parkinson’s disease increases with age, but an estimated 4% of people with Parkinson’s are diagnosed before age 50.
Men are 1.5 times more likely to have Parkinson's disease than women. https://www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Statistics
True or False? Let's look at some myths.
Given these data, is it any wonder that there are many myths involving aging? Which of these do you think is true? And which are false?
Depression and loneliness are normal in older adults.
False. In fact, several studies indicate that depression and loneliness are more common in younger people than in older adults. As older adults, we may find we have more time to reach out to others and to pursue activities that interest us. When we were younger we had responsibilities that consumed our time. Now we can use our times in ways we choose.
Older adults need more sleep than younger people.
False. We may actually need less sleep as we get older. But… we need sound sleep. As we get older we may want to use strategies to help us get a good night’s sleep. We will discuss this in a later lesson.
Older adults cannot learn.
False. The process of neurogenesis activates seed cells (stem cells) deep within our brains to create new neurons and facilitate learning. Yes, these seed cells are in our brains for our entire lives. We will discuss brain plasticity throughout this course, and you will come to see that your brain wants to learn.
Older adults should take it easy and avoid exercise.
False. The right amount and kind of exercise will improve balance and strength. Both balance and strength can help prevent falls, the number one cause of injury in older adults.
If a family member has Alzheimer’s, you will have it too.
False. We can make lifestyle choices to optimize our brain health.
It is inevitable that older people will get dementia.
False. We can make lifestyle choices to optimize our brain health.
If anyone tells you that you are doomed for cognitive decline, speak up. This person is not aware of the latest research on brain plasticity and neurogenesis. This person is not informed regarding brain healthy strategies and lifestyles.
Watch this great video about the Benefits of Good Posture
Cognitive Decline is not Inevitable
Just as you can exercise your abs, delts, and quads, you can exercise your memory, attention, and more. As with physical exercise, brain exercise can help you test your brain and improve your performance.
In the past people believed that the brain was fixed, and that volume was lost as we aged.
It was assumed that we all would face degradation in the brain and decreased cognition.
This process seemed inevitable.
Now we know that Research has shown that brain volume is not fixed. Brains can be maintained and improved through process of neuroplasticity. We have control over our future cognition. Just look at the members of the Rolling Stones. They have broken many stereotypes about aging.
The changes and improvement of efficiency in your brain operations will likely enable substantial and continuous positive personal growth.
Your effectiveness in whatever you do should be positively impacted.
You can expect to be a more strongly-centered person.
You should be healthier.
You can expect to be more confident.
You can expect to be happier.
Years of useful independent living may be saved.
There is a significant likelihood that you will live longer.
Helpful Details
Helpful Details
Class Description:
Brain Fitness is a course designed to teach 55+ adults how to exercise their brains in order to strengthen and enhance brain function and quell and reverse the effects of age-related cognitive decline. Students will learn how to use scientifically designed cognitive and physical exercise programs to strengthen and improve their brains.
Our class has one session in person and the rest fully online.It includes weekly instructor-led Zoom sessions. Every enrolled student has a free account with BrainHQ from Posit Science.During Zoom sessions, instructors will answer questions, do BrainHQ training, present the weekly lesson, and facilitate student discussions.
Ergonomics for Comfort & Health
Simply put, ergonomics is the process of designing or arranging workplaces, products, and systems so that they fit the people who use them. Concern for proper ergonomics is for your comfort and health. We want to help minimize any stress or fatigue you may experience, as well as prevent any injuries while you work on your brain training exercises. Here are some general guidelines for you to use while on your computer.
Posture. Sit straight up and about two feet away from the computer screen. This helps reduce back fatigue and reduces eyestrain.
Computer monitor. Make sure the center of the computer monitor is slightly lower than eye level—four to eight inches. The upside is that your neck and eyes will be under less strain; the downside is that your wrists will no longer be straight.
Breaks. “Our eyes were designed to be flexible and look from far away to up close, back and forth all day long,” says Aaron Werner, O.D. (Pawlak, 2017). Staring at a computer screen for long periods of time can lead to two conditions:
Eyestrain. Consider the brightness or glare that comes from an electronic screen—this can cause eyestrain. Another source of eyestrain can come from focusing up close on a screen without the proper eyeglass prescription—this may cause headaches.
Dry eye. Dry eye is a condition in which your eyes dry out due to lack of blinking, causing blurry vision and discomfort. When looking at a screen, you sometimes forget to blink. The blink rate can go from 15 times a minute to 5-7 times per minute (Harvard Medical School, 2017).
How can you reduce the chance of eyestrain or dry eye? Take a break from looking at your computer screen every 15 to 30 minutes, even if just for a minute. An easy way to remember this is to use the 20-20-20 rule: Take a 20-second break, every 20 minutes, to view something 20 feet away (Pawlak, 2017). Do something else like getting up and moving around for a few minutes before going back to your exercises. If you are getting headaches, consider checking into a prescription that is suited for computer use. You may want to use artificial tears several times throughout the day. Remind yourself to blink! You need to blink to re-establish the tear film on the eyes—a thin layer of liquid that protects the surface of the eye. At home, consider buying a matte screen filter to reduce glare on your screen. Adjust the “View” on the screen (Zoom In) to make the font appear larger and easier to read.
Conclusion
By joining our class, you have taken a big step forward on a path to greater joy and fulfillment. We hope that you recognize that you have the choice and ability to influence your brain health. The Brain Fitness team is here to both support you and learn from you. Grab this opportunity and gain all that you can from it. Together we will build a better future for ourselves, and those around us. Thank you for being here.
Student Resources
Student Resources
Headspace App!
Headspace App!
Say Hello to Headspace: Meditation and mindfulness have been shown to help people stress less, focus more, and sleep soundly. And when you think about brain health, a stress free, focused brain is a healthy brain. Headspace is a mobile app designed to promote mental health through meditation and mindfulness. It includes features like guided meditations, sleep aids (sleep sounds and calming music), mental health coaching and mindful movement. You can learn more about Headspace here. Although it is a subscription app that you normally pay for, SDCCD has partnered with Headspace to provide free access to all faculty and students. You will first have to sign up for it on the headspace website by going to this page. Follow the online instructions to create a new account, in with your name and your student email address and set up a password. You will be sent a verification to your student email. Make sure and click on it to activate your account. You will then return to the page and begin. For best results, download the Headspace app on either Apple App store or the Google Play store. If you have any questions, please visit our FAQ or email us at teamsupport@headspace.com.
Works Cited
Alzheimer’s Association (2021). 2021 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts & Figures. Special Report: Race, Ethnicity, & Alzheimer’s in America. Alzheimer’s Association, Chicago, IL.
Cemental, R. (2022). Infographic: Cognitive Decline in Seniors. Caring Senior Service, Healthy, Happy, Home. Retrieved on January 28, 2022 from https://www.caringseniorservice.com/blog/infographic-cognitive-decline-in-seniors
Harvard Medical School (2017). Electronic screen alert: Avoid this vision risk. Harvard Health Publishing, August 2017. Retrieved on January 28, 2022 from https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/electronic-screen-alert-avoid-this-vision-risk
Parkinson’s Foundation (2022). Statistics. Retrieved on January 28, 2022 from https://www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Statistics.
Pawlak, L. (2017). How digital devices affect eyes: What to know about Computer Vision Syndrome. San Diego Family, January 2017, pp. 20-21.
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