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How Does Santa Remember Who Is Naughty or Nice?

  • Writer: Patricia Faust
    Patricia Faust
  • Dec 9, 2021
  • 5 min read

There is no doubt that Santa always rises to the occasion of delivering all those gifts around the world on Christmas. But he isn’t the young pup he used to be. So how does he prepare throughout the year to be in top physical and cognitive shape? Since I have never had the opportunity of seeing Santa in action, I am going to draw my own conclusions based on his performance! Let’s take a look at the parameters of a healthy brain lifestyle and see if that is how Santa maintains his youthful brain and spirit.


I have to start with physical exercise. Santa could not be that agile on Christmas Eve if he didn’t stay physically active all year. He has a workshop, reindeer farm, and a staff of elves he oversees. And since he is located in the North Pole he has the extra challenge of maneuvering around in all that snow. I am certain Santa must get his 10,000 steps in everyday. His packed daily schedule doesn’t allow for him to ‘veg’ out in front of the TV for hours on end. All of this physical exercise keeps Santa’s heart beating at a nice, strong level sending lots of blood, oxygen and carbohydrates from each heartbeat to his brain. That keeps his brain functioning at maximum while stimulating BDNF to encourage new cell growth in the hippocampus, center of learning and memory!


Santa has ample opportunity to use those new cells he grows. Can you imagine the mental challenge he is presented with everyday? There are so many advances in toys and technology occurring constantly that he must be able to understand what the next newest thing is! So Santa is constantly on the cutting edge of manufacturing. He has to have a very active learning and development department in order for the elves to keep up. Santa’s leadership skills, attention to quality and providing a vibrant, creative atmosphere for productivity uses everyone of Santa’s neurons to capacity. He must have a very extensive amount of brain resilience with all of the mental activity he participates in everyday.


Santa needs to stay in tip-top shape to function on such a high level. This becomes a bit more of a challenge when you have an aging body. This is where Mrs. Claus probably comes in. Although I am sure that Mrs. Claus has just as many duties she performs on a daily basis, I just believe that she oversees Santa’s dietary needs. Now Santa appears to be a bit on the heavy side. Is that necessarily bad? I don’t believe so in his case. Remember they live in the North Pole and having some extra body insulation should benefit him. We have also established that Santa stays very physically active. Throughout the year I bet that Mrs. Claus prepares meals that contain lots of dark-skinned fruits, dark green vegetables, lean red meat, fish, whole grains, olive oil, nuts and maybe a glass of red wine with dinner. Santa needs to stay healthy and eating a brain-healthy diet protects his brain as well as his heart. Then on Christmas Eve all of those treats of cookies and milk won’t be a problem.


The North Pole may be on the edge of our world but Santa doesn’t lack friends or companions. In fact, he has quite an extensive ‘tribe’. Mrs. Claus provides such loving support and companionship that Santa is always upbeat and happy. The elves love Santa and always have his back. If something is awry in the workshop they have the ability to problem-solve the situation. Santa is a very involved leader but trusts his elves to do their job. He has developed a very productive environment where morale and camaraderie are exceptionally high. Santa derives much satisfaction from his enterprise. He is passionate about making sure that children the world-round have a very happy Christmas. His passion is palpable throughout all of the North Pole.


Santa has a very long night shift when he travels around the world delivering all the gifts. How does he recover from that demanding night? No doubt Mrs. Claus makes sure that Santa has time to unwind when he gets back to the North Pole. Taking a little time to decompress after such a hectic season followed by a demanding night is important for Santa to let the adrenalin subside and feel tired enough to fall asleep. Now the North Pole is very dark most of the day as well as the night, so Santa’s circadian rhythms are a bit exaggerated. He makes sure that they have full spectrum lighting in all of the workshops and in his house. On Christmas Eve day, he makes taking a good nap a priority so that he has enough energy to deliver gifts to kids all over the world.


You would think that with all of these responsibilities Santa would be totally stressed out. For 364 days he is overseeing a massive operation so that everything is perfect on Christmas Eve. It is enough to stress me out just thinking about it. But he is Santa and he knows that he has no time for stress to shut him down. It turns out that Santa meditates!! He takes time for himself everyday to sit and quiet his mind. That has been a practice for him as long as he has been around. Santa stays centered as the whirlwind of his activities surround him. And it must work! Have you ever seen a picture of a stressed out Santa? Not me – I am impressed with his jolly demeanor.


The question still exists – How does Santa remember who is naughty or nice? As I just demonstrated, Santa’s brain is high functioning. He does all of the right things to keep it in tip-top shape. How does that impact his memory? Delivering gifts to everyone around the world is actually a numbers game. As the status of behavior comes into the North Pole all year round, Santa can stay current on his naughty or nice list. Since the number of those being naughty is very small compared to the nice group – Santa has a smaller set of names to remember. He chunks that information so that he has more brain power to draw on. Santa uses other memory tools to stay on top of this list. Creating the list is a very beneficial memory tool. Even though Santa’s amazing feats of memory are well known, he recognizes that he can’t afford to make a mistake and he always checks his list twice. And he draws on the experience of delivering gifts for many, many years to be able to be on autopilot when it comes to the ‘Big Night’. He doesn’t have to think of every little step he needs to take to get all his deliveries made. Repetition and consistency create new neural pathways in the brain. Santa has developed some deeply embedded and active neural pathways over the years. That is what makes him the best at what he does.


So, to recap – Santa’s healthy brain lifestyle enables him to stay at the top of his game. He has honed his memory skills over the years and has created a very successful plan of action for Christmas Eve. Your brain doesn’t know how old you are. Santa is proof of that. He should be thanked for being the model of a healthy brain lifestyle, a sharp, reliable memory, and providing a vision that we can believe in. New Year’s resolution: live like Santa Claus.


“Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!”



 
 
 

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March was an unusual month for me.  Normally I work on articles, give presentations and generally just stay tuned to what is going on in the field of aging.  This month I “learned” a lot.  Last year I learned how to write a book.  At the time I took the course I thought it would just be a natural extension of all the writing I had done over the years.  WRONG!!  The actual writing of the book was the easy part.  Putting it together into a book was difficult for me.  The course gave me step by step lessons on constructing a book.  Then editing and formatting were just as challenging.  On June 7 last year the book was published!  It was one of the most satisfying days of my writing career. 

Naturally, when you self-publish, you do not have a publisher promoting the book and getting it in the right categories for best sales on Amazon.  That was crushing because I really didn’t know to appropriately market it.  I am a brain health person!  In December of last year, I purchased a marketing program that is based on statistics.  I am technical minded and so this approach made sense to me.  The course is almost completed.  Can’t wait to see if it improves sales!

The next step I am looking at is recording an audiobook.  This is another venture I knew nothing about.  But I am already tagged on Facebook for marketing of audio book programs.  Facebook picks up everything.  Now my husband was creative director for an advertising agency and when I told him I purchased another class – he couldn’t believe it.  “This was my business.  I know how to do recordings, why didn’t you ask me?” Well, I knew he was an expert in that business, but this audiobook needs to meet all the criteria that Amazon requires for publication.  So, he can take care of the recording part of this audiobook, and I will navigate the process of meeting Amazon’s requirements.  We worked on the book together like this. 

Then I talked with some coaching experts on the viability of starting group teaching programs.  Reading The Boomer Brain book and implementing the Brain Healthy Lifestyle have two entirely different outcomes.  This lifestyle is important to maintaining high cognitive function throughout the later years of our lives.  Look for updates as to when I will roll this program out.

My last learning endeavor was attending a two-day bootcamp for Speakers.  I am really excited about what I learned there.  That is a late this year or next year project, but it is one I am really looking forward to.

 

What Is Happening in April?

The American Society on Aging is having their annual conference in Orlando Florida April 21-24.  This is the largest multidisciplinary conference on aging and the annual conference for Members of ASA.  I have attended a number of these conferences throughout the years, and it is consequential.  Keynote speakers and special events are focused on combating ageism in our society.  Although this is a professional meeting, the attendees come from all aspects of aging services.  They have their work cut out for them this year!

April is Stress Awareness Month.  We should be aware of stress every month and understand how we can break the stress cycle.  These are stressful times, and we need to protect ourselves

Here is a positive one “April is National Volunteer Month”.  When I am working with new retirees who don’t know what to do, I talk to them about volunteering. It is important to have a purpose after you leave the workforce.  There are so many nonprofits who need help in all aspects of their organizations.  It is a perfect way to give back.

Finally – It was Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds – the oldest major league team in the nation.  Cincinnati takes that responsibility seriously.  There is always an Opening Day Parade through downtown to the Ball Park.  Huge crowds line the streets and every year there is talk of making it an official holiday.  Schools and employers look the other way when there is an empty desk.  No matter what the outcome of the game is, there is so much joy, and you can feel that energy.  I am fortunate that I get to experience that.  We all need some joy right now. 

Enjoy your April.

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