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SPECIAL OFFER: Pop-Up Conversation viewers and listeners will receive 20% off one of Jill’s memory programs with the code: PopUp Go to the “Additional Links and Resources” section on this page for details and links.
Episode 8: Minding Your Memory with Memory Care Specialist Jill Hoven
Jill is a former cardiac ICU nurse who gradually shifted her professional focus from healthy hearts to healthy minds. She now works to help others preserve and develop their memories. She founded an organization called MemoryMinders and gives programs, workshops, classes, individual instruction and she writes about the subject of memory wellness.
Memory wellness can be helped by a wide variety of programs. Jill says the way you keep your brain healthy is the same way you keep your heart healthy, with exercise, nutrition, and sleep—but you also need mental stimulation.
With time, as her own faith matured, she realized more and more how faith also contributes to memory wellness because of the purpose and meaning it provides. She began to merge her work and writing on issues of faith with her work on memory. Her website states:
““I believe wellness is rooted in our soul and directed by our mind. A settled soul and engaged mind form a foundation for wellness.””
The Interview: Minding Your Memory With Jill Hoven
Note: We apologize for the minor technical difficulties with the video. The audio version is available as an alternative. The Wisconsin-Maryland connection was slow.
Listen to the Audio File
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Socialization is important to memory health.
We need socialization to actively engage the mind, so the pandemic and resulting isolation has been difficult, especially for the elderly. Our minds need a social environment to have a healthy semantic memory. Semantic memory is defined as a type of long-term memory involving the capacity to recall words, concepts, or numbers— essential for the use and understanding of language.
So, how do we promote memory wellness during the pandemic?
We all need habits to help us put into action the healthy behaviors we probably already know about. Start with small steps in each category. See Jill’s course on habits (below) for ideas.
Exercise. Physical exercise is number one!
Fuel. Eat foods that encourage brain health, similar to a healthy heart foods.
Sleep. Prioritize your sleep. Get help if you have insomnia.
Mental stimulation. Challenge yourself everyday with a mental activity that is different from your normal, easy routine…a challenging book, study a new method or approach to a current hobby, e.g. gardening, mind games.
Jill reminds us: “You can do anything for 10 minutes.”
Challenge Your Working Memory
Here is an example of one of Jill’s methods to challenge your working memory. Take a string of 7 digits and work with them, such as: add the first 2 digits; then divide the total by the 3rd digit; then add the total to the ratio; then divide the total by the 5th number…in your head, of course.
“Settle Your Soul” to Direct Your Mind to Healthy Habits
Find the “soul settling” component that will bring peace and meaning to your life and will help you direct your mind to develop those healthy habits that are so important.
““My soul roots me and my mind directs me.”
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She sees her soul as her roots, her mind as her trunk, and her outward body as the visible expression of the end result—like the fruit or a flower. The outward appearance of wellness depends on having healthy roots, trunks, and branches. The mind, body, and spirit are one body.
Additional Links and Resources
SPECIAL OFFER: Jill is offering Pop-Up Conversation viewers and listeners 20% off one of her courses with the code: PopUp
Begin a Daily God Time
Creating Habits that Stick
How to Remember Names (coming soon)
FREE A Study of Hope, based on scripture
View all of here courses here.
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Watch More Episodes of “Pop-Up Conversations”
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About Jill M. Hoven
Jill M. Hoven
Jill is a recovering perfectionist with a passion for wellness. As a former ICU nurse, family caregiver, and founder of MemoryMinders, she witnessed how soul and mind wellness impact our entire lives. She believes wellness is rooted in our soul and directed by our mind. A settled soul and engaged mind form a foundation for wellness. With this foundation, we understand wellness isn't about perfectionism but living our best life daily. Jill offers memory care resources and courses on her website JillMHoven.com
About Donna
Dr. Donna Chacko promotes health of body, mind, and spirit through her website (serenityandhealth.com), her blog, and programs at her church. She is the author of Pilgrimage: A Doctor’s Healing Journey (Luminare Press, 2021).
Donna previously practiced medicine for forty years, first as a radiation oncologist and later, after re-training, as a family medicine doctor. What she learned taking care of immigrants and the homeless in Washington, D.C., continues to influence her programs. A central theme is that health of body, mind, and spirit is interrelated and connected to God, all as a package deal. Donna is a wife, mother, and grandmother and lives in University Park, Maryland.
Questions? Reach out to Donna Chacko.
Do you use these excuses to avoid having to take action?