Page 40 - Changes and Challenges

Dementia
Changes and Challenges
times it was after long flights. It is interesting that some aspects/abnormalities
of sleep have been linked with Dementia. The nature of that link is highly
debatable as yet, but it is something to consider.

Another interesting observation is that the busier I am doing something
meaningful, the better the quality of sleep. My most exhausting days are
those days where I have nothing to do. Not only are they draining, but sleep
quality is minimal. Contrast this to a day where I am busy, either carrying out a
meaningful task at home, or traveling and speaking publicly about my
experiences. I would be active for far more hours in the day, not feel
exhausted and have better quality sleep.
The hard thing is that Dementia robs me of much of the choice of the type of
day I can have.

To Make Sense, It’s Not Just One Sense!
Most people when given the granular list of 20 or so senses are initially
sceptical that we could have more than the ‘traditional’ 5 senses. Some
research groups suggest that the number of individual senses could be near
30! What I was trying to do with this list, is reflect the increased knowledge
about brain function and how brain anatomy relates to sensory interpretation.

We have evolved the ‘most complex’ organ in the known universe to enable
us to better understand our environment and to interact with others of our
species. To this end, our brain does not interpret sensory input in isolation.
We work with all our senses together to better make sense of our
environment. Imagine a ‘caveman’ peering into a dark forest. Are those
stripes he can just make out a potential dinner in the form of a Zebra, or are
they a Tiger that has him on the menu? Does it sound like a Zebra? Does it
smell like a Zebra? (If the Zebra was smart it might evolve an odour like a Tiger
to confuse our caveman). We rely on interpreting our senses together to help
with our survival.

Now, let’s take an example out of my experience, food. Take a humble
chocolate biscuit and separate out our sensory interpretation of it.

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