It’s no surprise that exercising and eating right are important for the health of our bodies, but according to a local psychologist they are also important for the health of our brains and can even help stave off memory loss.
Some 25 percent of people over 85 are currently affected by dementia, a condition with debilitating effects on memory, intellect and personality. Palisadian Dr. William Matteson is tackling memory loss with a revolutionary approach that relies more on physical activity and healthy foods than on popping pills.
A published author of five books and a Palisades resident of nearly 20 years, Matteson opened his business, Sound Minds, a couple months ago, aiming to educate the community about behavioral and emotional disorders in seniors.
Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
Although he has been a practicing clinical psychologist specializing in geriatric care for nearly 30 years, his career has consisted primarily of traveling the country and giving seminars on dementia. That is, however, until the Internet took him off the road as the need for in-person seminars was replaced with online seminars.
“It’s terribly wrong because with the Internet, you’ve got no people in front of you. People need to ask questions in person. Particularly for seminars on dementia, you want to get in front of nurses, doctors and psychologists,” Matteson said.
Matteson’s unconventional treatment of patients involves investigating their present symptoms, altering their diet, helping them incorporate exercise into their lives and taking an extensive look into each patient’s life history. He will often speak with the patient’s adult children whose memory can paint a more detailed picture of the patient’s younger life.
He hopes to build a close relationship with medical professionals in the Palisades and work with them to provide the best overall care to the area’s elderly.
In his book Stop Memory Loss!: How to Fight Forgetfulness Over 40, Matteson states that many people “are seldom aware of the potential side effects [of medications] and therefore if they develop memory problems, they do not ponder the possibility that the symptoms may be caused by medication.”
Often elderly patients are prescribed a pill followed by another pill to combat the first pill’s side effects until they are taking upward of 15 prescribed drugs a year, Matteson wrote in Stop Memory Loss!. This is a trend Sound Minds aims to combat.
“I’ve seen people die because nobody has ever looked at how their four prescribed drugs interact. I saw the need for research here and filled it,” Matteson said.
While Matteson knows prescription medications can sometimes be what an elderly patient needs, he adds that psychological disorders, such as depression or anxiety, are often the first signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia and in such a case, adding another pill to a patient’s already lengthy list of medications is not necessarily the answer. Much of his work includes being in close communication with his patients’ doctors to reduce their medications and the probability of his patients developing negative psychological side effects, including memory loss.
Matteson said that surprisingly, “About 50 percent of people with Alzheimer’s on their chart do not have it. We misdiagnose things because of their symptoms rather than their causes.”
There is good news regarding memory loss. “I’ve seen people change their brains significantly for the better,” he said.
Sound Minds is located at 860 Via De La Paz, Suite F6, Pacific Palisades.
Tips to Prevent Memory Loss
Dr. William Matteson advocates the following lifestyle behaviors to help ward off memory problems.
• If you’re over 40 and you want to remember something, write it down and put it somewhere you will see it often.
• Exercise. The brain and body are connected. If you don’t exercise, your brain is not going to get what it needs.
• Eat a healthy diet and cut down on sugar and fat.
• Read. It’s hard work for the brain.
• Have fun and laugh!
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