Tina McCrea Brings Staying Sharp to Caregivers

A community leader is on a mission to teach self-care and brain health

Layla White

Updated January 26, 2026

Tina McCrea and her daughter

Courtesy Tina McCrea

On the third Wednesday evening of each month, Tina R. McCrea opens her laptop, adjusts the camera and greets caregivers from across the country.

These virtual gatherings, which she calls Wellness Wednesdays, offer caregivers a space to exhale, connect and rediscover the power of caring for themselves as deeply as they care for others. A Certified Dementia Practitioner trained to educate those affected by dementia and ministry leader in Covington, Georgia, McCrea combines her own caregiving experience with professional expertise.

She also relies on AARP’s Staying Sharp program. McCrea knows from experience that caregivers often neglect their own health, yet taking better care of themselves may help them provide better care for the person they support. Research shows that Staying Sharp’s six pillars of brain health play measurable roles in supporting a healthy lifestyle.

McCrea includes the pillars in each Wellness Wednesday session, showing about a dozen caregivers each month how to turn research-based practices into habits that they can realistically apply to their busy lives. She explains, “Staying Sharp gave me tools, and I wanted to share them with others who might not know where to start.” She launched the sessions in February 2025 and hopes to grow the community further.

From caregiver to community teacher

McCrea’s journey began with her mother’s dementia diagnosis. Like many families, hers faced the confusion, stress and exhaustion that often come with caregiving. She slept on the sofa in her mother’s apartment, providing constant support while balancing her own responsibilities. Life with chronic stress planted the seeds for Wellness Wednesdays.

“I learned that stress could take me out if I didn’t manage it. I realized if I was struggling this much, others must be too,” she says.

McCrea often shares that story when discussing the brain health pillar manage stress. She talks about Staying Sharp tools, like breathing techniques, journaling prompts and social connection, to show caregivers how to calm their bodies and recharge. The takeaway: Taking care of yourself is part of taking care of your loved one.

During a recent session on Ongoing exercise, McCrea invited a local fitness instructor to demonstrate chair exercises. She told participants: “Step by step counts, and every bit of movement adds up.”

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The restorative sleep pillar can be the hardest for caregivers to manage. They typically deal with heightened stress and irregular routines that make quality rest difficult to come by. McCrea recently explained during a Wellness Wednesday why sleep is so important for brain health. Deep sleep is when the brain’s housekeeping system flushes out toxins and cellular waste products. Many caregivers nodded as she reminded them, “When they sleep, you sleep. Even short naps matter.”

On a week devoted to eating right, McCrea blended a simple beet-and-berry juice on camera and introduced a brain-healthy approach to eating inspired by the Mediterranean and DASH diets. Throughout, she emphasizes that protecting brain health is not a luxury; it’s a lifeline.“There are things we can all do to keep our brains strong. And the earlier we start, the better,” she says.

Empowering caregivers with doable habits

McCrea says that Staying Sharp fills an important gap. Many caregiver programs focus on the person living with dementia, but fewer address caregiver health.

Rather than weighing caregivers down with another to-do list, she aims to empower them to make small changes that fit their lifestyle. Participants often tell McCrea that Wellness Wednesdays give them relief as well as information. Many arrive feeling drained and overwhelmed, yet they leave with one or two specific things they can do right away.

For some, it is weaving small moments of joy into everyday routines, like listening to music to ease stress. For others, it is setting a “caffeine curfew,” as coffee, sodas and other caffeine-heavy beverages late in the day can disrupt sleep. As one attendee said, “I finally see ways to care for myself while caring for my mom. The pillars make it doable.”

Impact through storytelling

McCrea has expanded her advocacy beyond the weekly wellness sessions. She founded Barbara Jean Metcalf (BJM) Dementia Services, named for her mother, for families affected by dementia. The organization provides education on dementia and caregiving and links to related services and care. It also offers respite scholarships for caregivers.

Along the way, McCrea co-wrote and co-produced “Mama, Where Are You Going?” The short film encourages families to take note of early signs of dementia and offers faith-based guidance on navigating grief and preserving memories.

She was also an associate producer for “Remember Me: Dementia in the African American Community,” an award-winning documentary released in 2024 about how dementia disproportionately affects Black families. Her latest: a memory cafe launching in February 2026 with Newton County Senior Services and the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission.

Layla White is an intern with AARP’s Staying Sharp team and a graduate student at The George Washington University, where she is pursuing her MBA. She is passionate about supporting people in meaningful ways — a commitment reflected in her youth mentorship, community service and her contributions to projects within the Staying Sharp team.