Upcoming Events:
“Care for the
Caregiver” Series
October 16 - "Reaching out to get Care
Needed" - 7:00 p.m.
Presbyterian Counseling Center & Paulette Elway - Senior
Resources Center
November 20 -
"Reaching in to Take Care of Self"
- 7:00 p.m.
Sallie White-Adult Center for Enrichment
All programs will be in the Christian Life Center (CLC) at JPC
and other area churches will be invited.
If questions, please call Pam Knight 454-3718 ext 25.
Hello Everyone,
I am Pam Knight, the Congregational Nurse at Jamestown
Presbyterian Church.
It has been wonderful serving the JPC congregation. As I
continue to get
acquainted with each of you, I would ask that if you have
specific needs,
concerns or any suggestions for health/wellness issues that you
let me know.
I can be reached by calling 454-3718 ext. 25. I look forward to
working with
you.
Office Hours:
Monday: 11:00 – 3:00
Wednesday 11:30 – 5:00
Worship Service – 9:00 & 11:00 (the last Sunday of each month)
Prayer for the Body, by Marjorie Holmes:
We thank you for our bodies, God.
For the ability to feel every wondrous thing and even those
things that we
can only sense.
For the ability to enjoy those activities that we do every day
such as
playing, eating, sleeping and working. Even in pain, we ask to
be aware of
how we exist in this world You have provided for us.
Allow us to honor our body, appreciate it and to keep it as
healthy as
possible for the time You allow us to live within it. Amen.
1
Samuel 25:6 "Good health to you and your household!"
Heart Healthy is Brain Healthy
25% of the blood pumped by the heart goes straight to the brain.
So having
a healthy brain requires of healthy heart. The recommendations
for a
heart-healthy lifestyle (regular physical exercise, blood
pressure and
cholesterol within current guidelines, no smoking, a lower-fat
diet,
management of stress) are also the recommendations for a healthy
brain.
Exercise and the Brain
Physical exercise, walking fast just 30 to 60 minutes per week,
has been
shown to improve "executive function," that is the ability of
the brain to
make choices, control behaviors, and concentrate.
Stress is Good for the Brain
The brain is like a muscle in that it requires challenges to
grow and
develop. Any new mental activity requires the brain to change,
to develop
new cells and new connections between old cells, and this change
is possible
no matter one's age or physical condition. To stress the brain
in a good
way, you can:
- work a crossword puzzle that isn't easy,
- learn a musical instrument or take up an old one again
- study a foreign language
These activities are recommended because some stress, the
challenge of the
new, is good for the brain.
Take Time to Play
Brain health isn't all about work, it's also about play. Play,
engaging in
an activity for pleasure or recreation, activates chemicals that
strengthen
the highest functioning parts of the brain, those that are
related to
knowledge and memory. Play improves our ability to think and
understand the
world. The best kinds of play are those that:
- use our imaginations, such as creative activities like art and
music
- we care about, because we give our attention best to things we
care about
- we can find success at, because failing, even at play, is a
bad kind of
stress.
So, for the health of your brain, do things that bring you joy,
whether it
is dancing or singing or ...
Cultivate the New
Openness to new experiences, information, attitudes, or
viewpoints makes
the brain richer and more complex. It is also associated with a
slower
decline in mental functioning. The new and the different
challenge the
ability of the brain to find patterns and make meaning, some of
the most
complex activities of the brain. The more exposure to new
information and
the more practice in new skills the brain has, the more practice
it gets in
pattern finding and meaning making:
- listen to someone who is an expert in something you don't know
and ask
questions
- travel somewhere you've never been, even in your own hometown
- take your new learning to a different level and share it with
others -this provides another experience for you, and for them
