Page 4 - OASC March 2021 Newsletter

A variation on that tool, the VR image is projected in the whole room so people unable to wear a headset can still have this therapeutic experience. As well, VR is supporting education and training, e.g., helping doctors practise surgery. It can also be used to support physical health. Lia showed one study that gamified rehab to help motivate people to do their exercises. Patients wear a sensor device, e.g., a glove, that is linked to an on-screen game (a bit like Wii) where they compete to achieve some task that involves doing the prescribed exercises.
For SCER, age is a number; on its own, it shouldn’t dictate what you should or shouldn’t do.
Learn more at: facebook.com/serclab, twitter.com/Sheridanelder, or elder.research@sheridancollege.ca
Among questions raised by Group Members:
1. When will we be done with Covid so we can go back to doing all those things that make us feel a lot better and a lot younger? Especially because we are social beings.
a. That’s the million-dollar question. Zoom meetings like this are an example of how you are leverag- ing a single piece of technology to support your cognitive health, having an opportunity to be social, and to have fun with a game. Technology is a tool that can support a lot of these elements and maybe compensate just enough to get us through. Given where we are now, the more ways that we can design or integrate technologies that the maximum number of people can at least use for something
is our hope.
2. When I have too many things on the go or on my mind, I tend to be forgetful of little things. When is that a problem or do I just have too many things on the go?
a. I would defer to your doctor’s advice, but I recommend you keep having things on the go as long as you can keep up with them. It’s when you stop that you lose the ability to keep juggling those balls. If you’re noticing you’re forgetful, that’s showing a level of introspection and awareness. When you stop noticing that, then it might be a concern. It’s good to push yourself, not just with Sudoku, but to make things new and continually changing because that will push you.
3. My doctor said a few years ago that as long as you remember you’re forgetting, you’re fine. When you start forgetting that, then come and see me. FYI: For Wasaga Beach residents, the local library has
2 virtual reality headsets and a number of programs that you can use.
4. Bell Let’s Talk Day was about mental health. How is that different from cognitive health?
a. They’re related but different. Cognitive health is about rational thinking, decision making, regulat- ing one’s emotions, inhibiting actions. Mental health is more your state of mind; it’s a more integrated emotional component, how you look at and interpret the world from an internal perspective. It’s more impacted by neurotransmitters and hormone levels and can be more precarious than cognitive health.
5. Do you get involved with board games like chess, checkers and crokinole?
a. They’re very good for cognitive health because they involve skills like memory and strategy. If you’re playing someone who keeps you on your toes, even better.
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