Page 180 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

164 • Chapter 6

women who had the surgery earlier in the menstrual cycle,
were cancer free after five years. 2
Just to reemphasize, be sure to ask your doctor about the
best times to take your medication. Do not attempt to
change the timing or dose of your medicines without the
prior approval of your physician. In addition, when a doctor
asks you whether your condition is worse in the morning,
the doctor is probably asking you about when you wake up.
If you are doing shift work and waking up in the evening,
alert the doctor to this situation before answering that ques-
tion. And for all you people out there who have experienced
major difficulties with medical insurance claims, think of it
as an excellent learning experience exercising those inter-
personal, intrapersonal, linguistic, mathematical, and logi-
cal intelligences.
This information about your body’s natural rhythms is
important to both your physical and mental abilities. You
need to be aware of the effects of your natural rhythms on
your body in order to minimize stress, perhaps decrease the
amount of medicine you take, increase your resistance to dis-
ease, and help regulate your sleep. All these factors are dis-
cussed in greater detail throughout the rest of this chapter.

RESTING YOUR BRAIN

Before you read the information regarding sleep, answer the
following questions about your current sleep patterns:

1. How many hours a night, on average, do you sleep?
__________

2. How many hours a night, on average, do you lie awake
in bed? __________

3. When you wake in the mornings, do you feel refreshed
and ready to get started on a new day? __________

4. If you take a nap or naps during the day, how many
hours, on average, do you sleep? __________