Smiling Exercise:

Find a mirror and smile at yourself. Observe your smile. Does it look natural or is there tension in your jaw? Now relax your shoulders, close your eyes, and smile gently. Feel your brain and heart relax. Now distort your face into a frown. If you had connected to a peaceful sensation earlier, you will immediately feel the difference in your brain caused by the change in facial expression. Now for the real thing: Relax your face again and keep your eyes closed. Start by smiling with the left eyebrow. Then the right eyebrow. Make your forehead smile. Next, the tip of your nose. Now make the corners of your lips touch your ears. Now 1, 2, 3 make your belly button laugh!!

We hope all of you had a good laugh and continue to smile…..

When Joan was born in Flushing Hospital it was a recipe for success. Growing up in Manhattan, Joan enjoyed playing softball and stickball. Joan was an only child, raised by her mother who worked at Metropolitan Hospital. Joan says her mother was a good person and a hard worker. Joan didn’t have to go far to find her true love; he lived right on her block. He had just returned from the army, he was stationed in Korea. Their first date was to the movies.

Joan started her career as a nurse’s aide at Doctors Hospital and the Hospital of Special Surgery. Next she worked for Hygenic Phone Service Company. Then Joan found her passion, she became a cook at the elementary school located right on her block. She worked there for 14 years. Chili was her favorite meal to cook for the students. “Preparing meals for 162 kids was a hard job, but the food was always good!” Joan had four children-Daniel, Rose, Joseph and Joan, who is named after her mom. Joan has fond memories of her daughter Rose, who passed away. Rose had two children, Amanda who works at Vanity Fair Magazine and Stephen who attends high school. Her daughter, Joan also has two children, Samantha and Michael. When they visit grandma at Lake Shore, they enjoy watching a game of pool and are always looking to play a game of Connect 4. Her son Daniel lives in Florida.

Joan likes to keep herself busy. She enjoys joining friends for Bingo, watch soap operas, play card games and even a round of chair volleyball helps to keep the day going. Outside of Lake Shore you may see Joan at one of her new favorite places, Crystal Gardens, the Chinese Buffet having lunch and spending time with her family.

Story by Lynne R.

Those who live in industrialized countries have easy access to healthy food and nutritional supplements, but magnesium deficiencies are still common. That’s a problem because new research from Tel Aviv University suggests that magnesium, a key nutrient for the functioning of memory, may be even more critical than previously thought for the neurons of children and healthy brain cells in aging adults.

Begun at MIT, the research started as a part of a post-doctoral project by Dr. Inna Slutsky of TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine and evolved to become a multi-center experiment focused on a new magnesium supplement, magnesium-L-theronate (MgT), that effectively crosses the blood-brain barrier to inhibit calcium flux in brain neurons.

Published recently in the scientific journal Neuron, the new study found that the synthetic magnesium compound works on both young and aging animals to enhance memory or prevent its impairment. The research was carried out over a five-year period and has significant implications for the use of over-the-counter magnesium supplements.

In the study, two groups of rats ate normal diets containing a healthy amount of magnesium from natural sources. The first group was given a supplement of MgT, while the control group had only its regular diet. Behavioral tests showed that cognitive functioning improved in the rats in the first group and also demonstrated an increase of synapses in the brain – connective nerve endings that carry memories in the form of electrical impulses from one part of the brain to the other.

Bad news for today’s magnesium supplements

“We are really pleased with the positive results of our studies,” says Dr. Slutsky. “But on the negative side, we’ve also been able to show that today’s over-the-counter magnesium supplements don’t really work. They do not get into the brain.

“We’ve developed a promising new compound which has now taken the first important step towards clinical trials by Prof. Guosong Liu, Director of the Center for Learning and Memory at Tsinghua University and cofounder of Magceutics company,” she says.

While the effects were not immediate, the researchers in the study — from Tel Aviv University, MIT, the University of Toronto, and Tsighua University in Beijing — were able to assess that the new compound shows improved permeability of the blood-brain barrier. After two weeks of oral administration of the compound in mice, magnesium levels in the cerebral-spinal fluid increased.

Toward a more “plastic” brain

“It seems counterintuitive to use magnesium for memory improvement because magnesium is a natural blocker of the NMDA receptor, a molecule critical for memory function. But our compound blocks the receptor only during background neuronal activity. As a result, it enhances the brain’s ‘plasticity’ and increases the number of brain synapses that can be switched on,” says Dr. Slutsky.

“Our results suggest that commercially available magnesium supplements are not effective in boosting magnesium in cerebro-spinal fluid,” she says.

“Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body, but today half of all people in industrialized countries are living with magnesium deficiencies that may generally impair human health, including cognitive functioning.”

Before the new compound becomes commercially available, Dr. Slutsky advises people to get their magnesium the old-fashioned way — by eating lots of green leaves, broccoli, almonds, cashews and fruit. The effects on memory won’t appear overnight, she cautions, but with this persistent change in diet, memory should improve, and the effects of dementia and other cognitive impairment diseases related to aging may be considerably delayed.

When to wash your hands:
As you touch people, surfaces and objects throughout the day, you accumulate germs on your hands. In turn, you can infect yourself with these germs by touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Although it’s impossible to keep your hands germ-free, washing your hands frequently can help limit the transfer of bacteria, viruses and other microbes.

How to wash your hands:
It’s generally best to wash your hands with soap and water. Follow these simple steps:

• Wet your hands with running water.
• Apply liquid, bar or powder soap.
• Lather well.
• Rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
• Rinse well.
• Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel or air dryer.
• If possible, use your towel to turn off the faucet.

How to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers (which don’t require water) are an excellent alternative to soap and water. If you choose to use a commercially prepared hand sanitizer, make sure the product contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Then follow these simple steps:

• Apply enough of the product to the palm of your hand to wet your hands completely.
• Rub your hands together, covering all surfaces, for up to 25 seconds or until they’re dry.

If your hands are visibly dirty, however, wash with soap and water.

Henry C-Room 205
Marian W-Room 213
Maria B-Room 301

We would like to wish all our new Residents a Happy & Healthy stay!

Refer a Friend!

Wouldn’t you love to have your friends as your neighbors? So would we! And we’ll reward you with $300 off your next monthly payment for recommending Lake Shore. Make sure your friends list you as their referral and you’ll see the savings when they join our community. Speak to Lori Brandt or Christine Klein for more information.

New Resident Welcome Tea -

Monday February 22nd at 4:00pm
Come discover all about your new home!

Have you ever seen the television show “The King of Queens?” As a child,
Bill’s favorite place to go with his grandmother was The Lemon Ice King of Corona, which is featured on that show.

Bill was born at Flushing Hospital in 1953. He has fond memories of his childhood in Corona, especially of being invited to watch his grandfather play bocci ball. Bill’s father worked for the post office and was in the
navy. Bill’s mother worked as a waitress and raised Bill and his two younger brothers. Bill’s brother, James, is a game enthusiast; and Robert is an author who writes about celebrities.

In 1973 Bill started his career working in an electronics warehouse packing stereos and radios. In 1980, Bill was hired at Ademco, the alarm device manufacturing company. There he unloaded merchandise and made production tickets on the computer. Bill liked the nice group of people who worked with him. He stayed at Ademco 23 years. Bill said “I was amazed that I lasted that long. It was because of my dedication, loyalty and perseverance.”

Bill has many interests, including watching horror movies and reading. His favorite book is Anne of Green Gables. Bill enjoys “things to do with the brain.” He likes trivia, crossword puzzles and word search games. Residents often ask Bill for help with trivia answers. When asked how he knows so many trivia answers Bill responds, “A lot of them are common sense.” Bill keeps himself very busy at the Lake Shore from going on trips to socializing with friends during Happy Hour. Bill is a very active member of the Lake Shore Community.

Story by: Lynn R.

Administration: Handling issues on a daily basis is not easy. It is nice to know we have such a great Administrative team working to solve all problems

Admissions: You welcome new families and residents with a warm and friendly hello. Taking them on a tour from room to room you go. It won’t be long before they move in and become our roommate or friend.

Dietary: Cooking three healthy, nutritious meals a day, 365 days a years is amazing. Setting the tables, doing the dishes and even cleaning up-all jobs that must be done and we are glad to have a wonderful staff to do it, service with a smile goes a long way.

Bookkeeping: We know you are good with dollars and cents. You’re kind to us ladies and gents.

Hairdresser: Perms, touch ups, haircuts and trims you are always here to help us look great.

Housekeeping: From doing our laundry, making our beds and cleaning our rooms you make our living here a real delight.

Maintenance: You are the glue that holds everything together. This building is so big it is great to know we have you around.

Medical: Your jobs are the toughest of all. Busy days and nights you care for us all, making sure everything is just alright!

Recreation: Parties, trips, games galore it’s never a bore!

Volunteers: We have such great Community and Resident Volunteers; we thank you for your great BIG hearts.

When Lynn was nine years old her family moved to Long Island in a little town called Roslyn. They made the move in order for her family to have more room. In Roslyn, Lynn would visit the Duck Pond usually three times a week. She would enjoy spending time there playing her guitar.

In 1973 Lynn married her husband Robert Lewis Horn in a lavish ceremony at the Hampshire House in Manhattan. Lynn still recalls their first date at a little coffee house called “My Father’s Place” in Roslyn. Two years later Lynn and her husband had a little boy named Daniel. He was their pride and joy. Little Daniel kept the family busy. He was into little league, soccer and baseball.

Lynn enjoys many things in life. She is extremely talented, you can find her playing the guitar, writing poetry or painting (especially here where she can paint pictures of the sunsets over the lake). Lynn is very active at the Lake Shore going out on our trips, enjoying a diet Pepsi at our cocktail lounge and sharing her stories with all of us! We always look forward to having Lynn and even her son Danny, who joins us on some of our outings!

As many of you already know The Lake Shore celebrates the holidays by providing a festive environment that reflects the joys of the season. Families and friends are always welcome to join us for our weekly parties, come along on a trip to the theater, and even come to lunch or dinner with us on monthly restaurant adventures. For the month of November we have some really great activities and outings planned. Check your activity calendar each day; you don’t want to miss out on any of the excitement!!

From our Lake Shore Family to yours, we would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Until Next Month,

Your Recreation Staff