• Exercise daily if possible.  Set exercise priorities and stick to them.
• Regular exercise reduces depression and reduces cardiovascular risk factors, even a simple walk lets you think freely
• Some exercise states may produce euphoria, but even 12 minute bouts of exercise (to 85% maximum heart rate) release serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline (like taking Prozac)
• Exercise in the evening after a stressful day, rather than early in the day
• Take exercise opportunities- climb stairs (up to three floors) instead of taking the lift, schedule in regular five-minute walking breaks, park your car away from lifts, escalators so you have to walk further.

• Spend time with friends and loved ones
• Meet new people and meeting
• Join a Parkinson’s Support Group. Call Parkinson’s NSW for more information about a Support Group close to you 1800 644 189.
• Take part in research

• Play “brain games” online
• Do crossword or jigsaw puzzles (get a group together so you can socialize too!)
• Learn to speak a second language or
• Play a new instrument
• Take up a new hobby

• Anxiety increases heart rate and blood pressure and can lead to stroke
• Acute stress – “flight or fight reaction” – is normal and short-lived.
• The brain produces substances that tell many organs of the body to speed up and perform more effectively, then it returns to normal.
• Some suffer chronic stress – a long-term problem.
• There is increasing evidence that stress actually damages the brain.
• The mechanism for this is thought to be the brain’s response to hormones that increase during periods of stress.
• These stress hormones can actually kill nerve cells in animals and are thought to do the same in humans.
• The steps you take to reduce stress are likely to preserve nerve cells and help maintain mental abilities.
• One of the toughest stresses is depression.
• Major depression is not just sadness or grief, it is indescribably painful.
• Depression affects memory and slows brain metabolism.
• Major depression can lead to some degree of brain damage, affecting memory.
• Major depression is a medical emergency.

• Meditate? Meditation may lower blood pressure, even not actively meditating
• Relax? Actively relax by tensing then relaxing individual muscle groups
• Exercise? Channeling internal stress into external action can relieve stress
• Ensure there is a balance of work and recreation in your life?
• Let go of things that are outside your control?
• Take time out for yourself
• Visit your general practitioner

• During deep sleep, the brain repairs itself and boosts the immune system.
• During rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the brain consolidates information learned during the previous day.
• Poor sleep or sleep loss leads to fatigue, immune suppression, memory, concentration and mood disorders. Optimal learning cannot take place against a background of sleep debt.
• Seek help for sleep apnoea as it increases the risk of stroke.

What can you do if you can’t get to sleep? The most common causes of difficulty are not being able to shut off the anxieties and worries of the day and preparing for tomorrow’s problems.

• One way you could help is by preparing for sleep:
  • Don’t take one last look at email messages
  • No phone calls, business, late-night news, planning for tomorrow after 9pm
  • Don’t go to bed until you feel sleepy
  • Don’t have caffeine after noon
• Have regular checks for blood pressure, diabetes, heart rate, cholesterol
• If you have diabetes and high cholesterol, you have 4x the risk of stroke
• If you have diabetes you have 2x the risk of stroke
• Lots of mini-strokes can lead to dementia in later life

• Frequently go through your medication list with your doctor
• Request a medication review with a specialist pharmacist
• Always speak with your doctor before making changes or adding medications
• Review any supplements you are taking as well
• Keep handy the medications to be used with caution list
• Frequently review and update your Parkinson’s Passport