Studies show that people who engage in meaningful, productive activities tend to live longer, boost their mood, and have a sense of purpose. Getting out and being social leads to better health and lower rates of depression. Volunteering is a wonderful way of interacting with others in the community and keeping the brain working. Volunteering also has great social benefits. In 2019,
volunteers with the Auxiliary were instrumental in operating nine year-round services at the hospital and Cairnsmore Place, and together with equipment purchases & construction funding for Hospice, this provided over $250,000 in financial support. Please join us!

Your brain is constantly monitoring and fine-tuning what is going on in your body. Consciousness emerges from the frontal lobes of your brain. The right and left hemispheres of your brain are connected by 50 million neurons. The consistency of a brain is very much like warm butter. The fuel used to keep you moving and functioning is glucose, which comes from the carbohydrates you eat. Your brain is 85 percent water. Getting dehydrated can have bad effects on your brain, including a decrease in your ability to concentrate. Be sure to drink 8 glasses of water a day to stay healthy and alert.

Did you know that missing some of your teeth can affect your general health and appearance and may be the reason for depression and low self-esteem? Social embarrassment is a very real problem related to worrying about missing teeth and poorly fitting dentures which may result in people avoiding social interactions. Don’t let tooth loss or improperly fitting dentures affect the quality of your life. Your denturist can explain the best ways to restore the function and appearance of your smile. Properly fitting dentures can restore your self-esteem and bring back your smile.

A common ritual around New Year is to make resolutions for the up-coming year. For many, these resolutions are typically broken within the first couple weeks. The greatest challenges with these resolutions is that they are focused on what we ‘think we should do’ as opposed to what would be really helpful to us. Common resolutions are: exercise more, lose weight, quit smoking, and so on. Now, all of those ideas are healthy, however they are not always a good plan for self-care. Make your New Year’s Resolutions about increasing Self-care, which is about finding activities you enjoy doing, and doing them regularly!

Many people opt for extra support when enrolling in the Voluntary Self-Exclusion (VSE) Program. You can have a friend or family member, a GameSense Advisor, or your counsellor join you. Remember, you can access free support and treatment services any time before, during or after your VSE term through the BC Responsible & Problem Gambling Program. If you wish to renew your exclusion, you can do so in person at any gaming facility in BC, via email at [email protected] or by mailing a letter to: BC Lottery Corporation Manager, Casino Security and Surveillance 74 W. Seymour Street Kamloops, BC V2C 1E2

If your loved one is constantly asking others to repeat themselves, it is an indicator that they may be experiencing some form of hearing loss. Lovingly explain to your spouse that it is becoming increasingly frustrating to have to repeat yourself as frequently as you are. Propose that for one week, you will track the number of times you need to repeat yourself. Discuss the results, and gently encourage them to get a hearing assessment, even if it is just to get a baseline of their hearing. Test your hearing today.

Our mind is our most important asset – more important than our house, bank account or stock portfolio. We insure our house and work hard to pad our bank account. To enhance our brainpower we need a brain workout. A vigorous and diverse mental life with mental challenges stimulates growth of new neurons and new connections between them. The brain is a complex organ with different parts in charge of different mental functions. Functions such as memory, attention, perception, decision making, or problem solving requires a whole network of brain regions rather than a single region.