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DISCLAIMER: You should always contact your local health professional before making any major changes to your diet or exercise regime. This report offers helpful information to better assist those who wish to stimulate their minds; however it remains the sole responsibility of the reader to choose whether or not to implement these changes in their life. The report may contain some errors which the author is not accountable for, as it is not intended for medical or professional reference. Readers may wish to talk about any major lifestyle changes with their doctor before commencing on any extensive brain training program.
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Table of Contents Chapter 1: All About The Brain ....................................................................................................................... 7 The Human Brain ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Size differences ...................................................................................................................................... 8 The brain’s structure .............................................................................................................................. 9 The Anatomy of the Brain ........................................................................................................................ 12 Brain Food ................................................................................................................................................ 13 The importance of stimulating your brain ........................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Memory ...................................................................................................................................... 15 What is memory? ..................................................................................................................................... 15 Long-term Memory .................................................................................................................................. 17 How is Information Encoded in Long-term Memory ............................................................................ 17 Short-Term Memory ................................................................................................................................ 18 Sensory Memory ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Studies About Memory ............................................................................................................................ 22 The Atkinson and Shiffrin Model ......................................................................................................... 22 George Miller’s Study........................................................................................................................... 23 Brown and Peterson Procedure ........................................................................................................... 24 Studies by Tarnow................................................................................................................................ 24 Studies by Robert Bjork and William B. Whitten ................................................................................. 24 Studies by Ovid J.L Tzeng ..................................................................................................................... 24 Studies by Koppenaal and Glanzer....................................................................................................... 25 Baddeley's model of working memory ................................................................................................ 25 Studies by Payne .................................................................................................................................. 26 Studies by Holtz ................................................................................................................................... 27 Phineas Gage........................................................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 3: Exercise and the Brain ................................................................................................................ 29 How exercise affects the brain ................................................................................................................. 29 The relationship between exercise and dangerous chemicals................................................................. 31 Exercises’ Protective Effects ..................................................................................................................... 33 Exercising for Brain Health Tips ................................................................................................................ 37
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Chapter 4: Brain Diseases Prevention .......................................................................................................... 38 Lifestyle Options ....................................................................................................................................... 38 Exercise Routines ..................................................................................................................................... 39 Diet Options ............................................................................................................................................. 39 Stimulation Activities ............................................................................................................................... 40 Peaceful Sleep .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Managing Stress ....................................................................................................................................... 41 Social Connections ................................................................................................................................... 41 Final Tips................................................................................................................................................... 42 Chapter 5: Lifestyle and Dietary Changes To Boost Brain Power ................................................................. 44 Step 1: Exercise ........................................................................................................................................ 44 Step 2: Stay hydrated ............................................................................................................................... 45 Step 3: Eat brain foods! ............................................................................................................................ 46 Step 4: Stay away from junk food ............................................................................................................ 49 Step 5: Build a routine .............................................................................................................................. 50 Chapter 6: Holistic Ways to Stimulate the Brain .......................................................................................... 51 Holistic brain gaining ................................................................................................................................ 51 Natural ingredients for brain power increase .......................................................................................... 51 Herbal remedies ....................................................................................................................................... 53 Meditation and yoga ................................................................................................................................ 54 Praying can increase your brain power .................................................................................................... 55 Chapter 7: 30 Quick And Easy Brain Stimulation Exercises .......................................................................... 56 1.
Drawing ........................................................................................................................................... 56
2.
The Journal ...................................................................................................................................... 58
3.
Self-massaging ................................................................................................................................. 60
4.
Exercising and sports ....................................................................................................................... 61
5.
Puzzles ............................................................................................................................................. 63
6.
Neurobics......................................................................................................................................... 65
7.
Creating stories and fairytales ......................................................................................................... 67
8.
Sudoku ............................................................................................................................................. 69
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9.
Breathing ......................................................................................................................................... 70
10.
Meditating ................................................................................................................................... 72
11.
Using the other hand .................................................................................................................. 74
12.
Reminding – re-reminding .......................................................................................................... 76
13.
Dancing and singing .................................................................................................................... 78
14.
Playing ......................................................................................................................................... 80
15.
Eliminate routine......................................................................................................................... 81
16.
Uncommon answers to weird questions .................................................................................... 83
17.
Learn new languages ................................................................................................................... 85
18.
Visual stimulation exercises ........................................................................................................ 87
19.
Daily recapitulation ..................................................................................................................... 88
20.
Building things ............................................................................................................................. 90
21.
Multi-tasking ............................................................................................................................... 92
22.
Mnemonic activities .................................................................................................................... 93
23.
Brainstorming .............................................................................................................................. 96
24.
Emotional Intelligence ................................................................................................................ 98
25.
Gardening .................................................................................................................................. 100
26.
Decorating ................................................................................................................................. 102
27.
Memorizing numbers ................................................................................................................ 103
28.
Chess ......................................................................................................................................... 105
29.
Dieting ....................................................................................................................................... 107
30.
Brain games on paper ............................................................................................................... 109
Chapter 8- Quick Tips To Boost Brain Power .............................................................................................. 111 Exercising Your Brain: A 21 Day Workout Plan .................................................................................. 115
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Chapter 1: All About The Brain The human brain is by far the most fascinating thing we have ever had the chance to study and observe, but at the same time we know so little about it. Just as we don’t really understand what is going on in the depths of the ocean or in a black hole, we have little idea as to what’s going on in the human brain. However, we have discovered enough to be able to study it, and in this book we will use our current understanding in order to find out how to stimulate our brains and help ourselves achieve superior cognitive performances. But first, let’s take a closer look at this mysterious organ.
The Human Brain The human brain is not much different from that of any other mammal when it comes to its structure and basic functionality. The first and most noticeable difference between human brains and the rest of the Mammalia class is the fact that our cerebral cortex is much more developed. The cerebral cortex is formed by two hemispheres and can be found at the base of the brain, on the outside of the cerebellum. Because it is connected to many other regions of the brain via different connections, the cerebral cortex processes various types of information. The cortex plays an important role in the sensorial processes and our voluntary movements, but
by far the most remarkable task of the cerebral cortex takes place in the association area, which is responsible for perceptual experiences. Roughly, it’s responsible for abstract thoughts, empathy, language, planning, self-control and everything that differentiates us from other mammals. Page | 7
Size differences When it comes to size, the human brain is not the largest. Bigger mammals, such as elephants or whales, have much larger brains than humans. The brain of an elephant weighs around 5 kilos, while the brain of a blue whale weighs about 7 kilos. The brain of a human who has reached biological maturity weights about 1-1.5 kilos. But if it we compare the size of the brain related to the total body mass, humans have the largest brains indeedabout 2% of the total body mass. This measurement is known as the Encephalization Quotient (EQ) and it’s the most efficient way we’ve developed, so far, for establishing which mammals are the most intelligent of all. Based on this criterion of measuring the brain’s weight and assessing the total weight of the animal’s body, we have the following classifications.
Species
Encephalization Quotient (EQ)
Human
7.5%
Bottlenose Dolphin
4.1%
Orca
2.7%
Chimpanzee
2.5%
Rhesus monkey
2.1%
Elephant
2%
Dog
1.2%
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Even if other animals don’t have brains as powerful as we do, they are also capable of displaying some kinds of superior cognitive abilities. Some of these abilities include selfrecognition in a mirror, numerical value, memory, mimicry, artificial language communication, self-behavior monitoring and the usage of tools.
The brain’s structure The complexity structure of the human brain can’t be comprehended in its totality by a single sub-chapter. There are entire scientific fields dedicated to the cerebral structure, but in the following paragraphs we have divided the brain into three main parts for a better understanding: ·
Brainstem
·
Midbrain
·
Forebrain
The Brainstem When it comes to the brainstem, you should know that it’s the part of the brain that has not changed in the later evolutionary phases. This part is not only common with all the other species in the mammalian class, but with lower classes as well. The structures contained by this part of the brain are responsible for the most basic cognitive processes required by life. Two main structures can be differentiated in this region: the medulla oblongata and the cerebellum. The role of the medulla oblongata is to control basic processes of the body and organs, such as heart rate, digestion, and breathing. The cerebellum’s function is to maintain balance, basic muscle movements and automatisms (walking, blinking, swallowing, etc.). If anything goes wrong with the development of these areas at an early age, their functions can be overtaken by superior structures of the brain. Page | 9
The Midbrain As we go further into our classification, the parts of the brain which fall into the midbrain structural region are starting to handle more complex processes. The main responsibility of the midbrain is to process various pieces of information from the surrounding environment and react in the most efficient way. Among the processes that take place in the midbrain, we can notice vitally important functions such as hearing, vision, motion control, temperature control and even alertness or quick responses to dangerous situations. The exchange of information back and forth between the midbrain and the rest of the body is completed by the connection of this region with the thalamus. Besides, the midbrain also presents a limbic system, responsible for the regulation of body temperature, emotions and hormones. The long-term memory process is another role of the midbrain. The limbic system of the midbrain is divided into three main structures: ·
Hypothalamus - which regulates both emergency responses, the so-called “fight or flight” process, and vital processes such as feeding, reproduction and sheltering
·
Amygdala – responsible for behavioral moderation
·
Hippocampus – responsible for processing, organizing and storing information (memory)
The Forebrain Specific to the mammals, the forebrain is the latest evolutionary step of the cerebellum. It surrounds the midbrain and contains the cerebral cortex. Its main roles are related to communication, self-awareness, and problem-solving, as well as abstract thinking and one of the aspects that define superior intelligence, such as curiosity and boredom. The cerebral cortex is formed by two hemispheres that
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present a wrinkled surface composed of folded layers called sulci. When unfolded, this part of the brain can extend to more than 1.5 square meters- and it’s only a couple of millimeters thick. Although we use both hemispheres of the cerebral cortex during cognitive processes, one of them is dominant. Usually, right-handed people have a dominant left hemisphere and vice versa. The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes, and each of them is responsible for certain cognitive processes.
·
The frontal lobe – found right behind the forehead, this area of the brain is responsible for planning, smell, voluntary movements, decision making, and emotions.
·
The parietal lobe – found right behind the frontal lobe, towards the top of the head, this area is responsible with positioning, spatial awareness and environmental navigation. It’s also involved in processing sensorial information, such as taste, touch or temperature.
·
The occipital lobe – found at the back of the head, this area is also known as the main region of the visual cortex and it’s where the information perceived by the eyes is processed to form clear images.
·
The temporal lobe – found between the ears, this region is responsible for storing long-term memories, regulating emotions and developing communication skills and languages.
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The Anatomy of the Brain Even though its role is so important and it’s the most complex organ we have; the brain is mostly made out of water. About 75 percent of the brain’s total weight is water- stored mostly in fat cells. Besides fat cells and blood vessels, the building bricks of the brain and the ones that make it so unique are the nerve cells; these are bulb-like cells interconnected through nerve fibers. There are two main types of nerve cells: ·
Neurons
·
Glial cells
Neurons A neuron is an electrically excitable cell specialized in retaining, processing and transmitting information. The information is processed and transmitted through chemical and electrical signals, which are used for intercommunication with other neurons. The process of transmitting information is done via synapses, which are connections between an axon terminal which transmits neuronal signals and a dendrite which receives it. From this process, we can deduct that a neuron is composed of a cell body, also known as soma, and neurites, which are the axons and dendrites we were talking about in the transmitting process.
Glial cells The glial cells, also known as glia or neuroglia, are non-neuronal cell-like structures with the sole purpose of maintaining the good functionality of the neurons. These cells are not exclusively found in the brain but are also present in the peripheral nervous system. The ancient Greeks saw glial cells as the glue that keeps the nervous system together- but their purpose is more complex and more important than that. Here are the three main roles of a glial cell:
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1.
Insulators – the glial cells act like an insulating material between two neurons, so that chemical and electrical signals won’t mix up and create errors in the brain’s functioning. These errors are acting exactly as short-circuits.
2.
Suppliers – another job of the glial cells is to transport and supply the neurons with oxygen and nutrients.
3.
Protection – the neurons are sensitive to pathogen factors, so they need a protector around them to keep away any dangers. Besides, the glial cells are also removing dead neurons and other glial cells, keeping the brain clean and functional.
The glial cells also play a minor role in neuronal transmission, being implicated in the breathing process and assisting chemical impulses by directing chemical compounds on the right path.
Brain Food The brain is a major consumer of the total intake of nutrients. Even if it weighs only 2% of the total body mass, your brain can consume up to 20% of the total energy produced by your metabolic system. This means that it burns more than any other organ of the body, and it’s highly sensitive to diet changes and lack of nutrients. There are two main substances used by the human brain as fuel: glucose and ketone bodies.
Most of the time, a person has an equilibrated diet the brain will use glucose as its main source of energy. The glucose, along with galactose and fructose, are chemical compounds primarily found in plants. This group of nutrients are easily processed, being absorbed directly into the bloodstream once the digestion process starts. When glucose is lacking or is needed in another function of the body, such as moments of metabolism imbalance (poor diet, hard work, exercise, sleep deprivation, stress), the brain starts using ketone bodies for energy. This type of water-soluble molecule is produced by the liver. The process of producing ketone bodies requires more resources than simply obtaining glucose. However, since the ketone bodies are a Page | 13
derivative of fatty acids produced by the liver they are more abundant, since diets are usually richer in fatty acids than sugars.
There is another nutrient used by the brain as a source of energy: lactate, which are basically lactic acids. This nutrient kicks in during risen physical effort and its side effects are an increase in motivation, better regulation of stress responses, control the blood pressure and can even increase appetite. It was designed by our bodies to keep us motivated during hunting and is now known as the compound that causes the so-called “runner’s high”, the euphoric experience felt during long and intense physical activity sessions.
The importance of stimulating your brain Maybe you’ve heard the saying: “Your brain is the most important muscle”, but if you have paid attention to the previous paragraphs, you have seen that your brain is mostly made out of fat and nerve cells. However, that statement is true in the sense that you can train it. A sharp mind is the result of a stimulated brain. It would be a shame not to train your brain since it’s a magnificent piece of natural engineering. Here are the most common ways through which you can stimulate your brain.
It’s proven that the regular stimulation of the brain can lead to a better memory, faster cognitive processes, and even a higher IQ. In the past, researcher thought that the IQ can’t be changed. However, recent studies on taxi drivers from New York have proven that their IQs increased from 4 to 10 points after memorizing all the streets of the metropolis. The favored methods of stimulating your brain include memory exercises, appropriate diet and an efficient work-break schedule to increase focus and reading. Find out more about the human brain and how can you improve your own cognitive capacity in the following chapters of The Brain Stimulator.
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Chapter 2: Memory What is memory? Memory is a brain process through which information received by the brain is encoded, stored and retrieved. Let us take a look at these three primary processes of memory from the perspective of information processing. ▪
Encoding: Encoding is the first step of the memory process by which information from the outside is perceived or registered by our brain through our 5 senses as physical or chemical stimuli. This information is then encoded or processed so that it may be stored depending on the relevance of the information.
▪
Storing or storage of information: It is one of the main functions of memory. Whatever information we gather over time is maintained and stored in our memory. The memory process allows us to create permanent records of the information that has been encoded.
▪
Retrieval: It is the final process of memory through which we recollect, remember or recall information that is already stored from our consciousness.
There are three main types of memory based on storage of information. They are as follows: ●
Long-Term Memory (LTM): LTM can store larger quantities of information for much longer or unlimited durations. LTM encodes information semantically and consists of episodic memory that allows us to remember specific events and dates.
●
Short-Term Memory (STM): STM has a recall time period of few seconds to a minute without repetition or rehearsal. STM depends more on sounds or acoustic code than visual code for storing information.
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●
Sensory Memory: It holds sensory information for less than a second once the information has been received by the brain. Sensory memory is an automatic response that is not under our cognitive control.
Memory is also classified based on the type of information that is stored. They are as follows: ●
Declarative memory: This memory is for information that requires conscious recall. It is also known as explicit memory as it contains information that is stored and retrieved explicitly. It is divided into semantic memory and episodic memory.
●
Topographic memory: This memory allows us to orient ourselves in a space, in order to understand and follow a schedule or to recognize places. It is useful to us when we travel or get lost.
●
Procedural Memory: This memory is based on implicit learning and is mainly functional in learning motor skills. The information remembered can be automatically transferred to actions through procedural memory. This is what helps us remember how to drive a car or ride a bike.
●
Flashbulb memory: It contains very clear episodic memories that are of a highly unique and emotional nature such as people remembering what they did on their wedding day or remembering what happened during a natural calamity if one has experienced it. Such memories are called flashbulb memories.
Memory can fail when certain information fades over long periods of time because it hasn’t been retrieved for so long, or simply because of absent-mindedness or lack of attention. The loss of memory is medically known as amnesia.
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Long-term Memory Long-term memory is the part of memory that can store information for longer periods of time sometimes even indefinitely. Example: Your knowledge of arithmetic operations or your understanding of world history will be information that is stored and retrieved in the long-term memory. The information in our long-term memory decays very little over time, and it can store almost unlimited amounts of information for unlimited periods of time. Sometimes when we try to remember something from long ago it feels like the memory is just there but we can’t seem to recall it. This is because over long periods of time it becomes more difficult to retrieve certain memories. It does not mean that the information is forgotten.
How is Information Encoded in Long-term Memory? Information is encoded semantically in the long-term memory for storage. However, the information needs to be received by the working memory before it can be transferred and stored in the long-term memory. The speed of learning information by the long-term memory depends on the capacity of the working memory to store different stimuli. Information is transferred from the short-term memory to the long-term memory by the process of synaptic consolidation. Within minutes or hours after the information is acquired by the long-term memory, the memory trace gets encoded in the brain synapses which makes it a permanent memory. Information in the long-term memory is also susceptible to the natural process of forgetting or fading, so rehearsal and maintenance are important to preserve this information. Types of Long-term Memory Explicit memory or declarative memory: All conscious memories are found in the explicit memory. The information is encoded by the entorhinal cortex, peripheral cortex and hippocampus, but it is stored somewhere else in the temporal lobe. There are three main types of explicit memory. They are as follows. •
Episodic memory: It is the memory for specific time-based events. Episodic memory
helps to encode and retrieve such information. For example, when we try to recall a person’s
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name or remember our last conversation with another person it is our episodic memory that is at work. •
Semantic memory: Semantic memory contains factual information, knowledge and their
meanings. For example, when we are writing an exam it is our semantic memory that provides us with answers. •
Autobiographical memory: This is the memory that contains our personal experiences
and other relevant events. It is similar to episodic memory, but it only contains memories directly related to oneself. It is a self-memory system. •
Implicit memory or procedural memory: The implicit memory stores our skills of body
movements or the use of everyday objects. For example, our knowledge of how to drive a car, swim or use scissors comes from our implicit memory. This is why it is also called procedural memory. This memory is presumed to be encoded and stored by the striatum and areas of the basal ganglia. Nonassociative learning occurs in our implicit memory.
Short-Term Memory Short-term memory is the active or primary memory that can hold very small amounts of information in the brain for short periods of time- about several seconds to a minute. Example: When someone gives us a phone number, and we try to memorize it because we have no means of writing it down it is our short-term memory that is at work. Once we write the phone number down we forget it. The commonly cited capacity of the short-term memory is 7 plus or minus 2 elements. Short term memory is different from working memory as working memory involves processes for the temporary storage and manipulation of information. Information can be retained in the short-term memory through rehearsal. When you repeat the information mentally, it gets re-entered into the short-term memory and therefore the information is stored for 10 to 20 seconds longer.
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The Capacity of Short Term Memory The information holding capacity of the short-term memory is called the memory span. There are simple tests to test the memory span. Example: In a basic memory span test you will be given a list of words or digits which will keep increasing in length. Your memory span can be determined depending on how many words or digits you can recall in the right order for the longest list, for at least half of the total trials given.
Anything that causes us to forget the information in the short-term memory can limit us severely in our ability to retain new information over short periods of time. This limit in our memory is called the finite capacity of the short-term memory. The famous psychologist George Miller published an article about short-term memory span called ‘The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two’. In his article, he proposed that the short-term memory of human beings has a forward memory span of seven elements plus or minus two approximately.
The Duration of Short Term Memory Since short-term memory has a very limited duration of retaining information, it is assumed that the contents of short-term memory decay spontaneously over time. One of the most notable theories of this assumption is ‘Baddeley’s Model of Working Memory’. For information to be retained for longer periods of time, it must be rehearsed or repeated mentally or verbally out loud. This will cause the information to re-enter the short-term memory, and it will be retained for a longer duration of time. There are researchers who believe that older information gets pushed out of the short-term memory when new information enters it unless the older information is rehearsed or given attention to.
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How to Improve Short Term Memory Short-term memory can be improved by the method of chunking. Through chunking, we can expand our ability to recall or remember things in the short-term. Chunking also enables us to organize information into meaningful lists or groups. Generally, the average person can retain about four different items in the short-term memory, but with chunking they can increase their recall capacity greatly. Take the example of the phone number again; if you chunk the digits into groups of 2 or 3 you will be able to recall the number more easily than if you had to recall each single digit separately.
Sensory Memory The sensory memory retains the memories or impressions of sensory information once the sensory stimulus has ceased. Sensory information is perceived by our sensory receptors and then relayed to the brain through the nervous system. In the brain this information is encoded, processed and stored in sensory memory long enough for it to be transferred to the short-term memory. Human beings have five senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch which are enabled by the five sense organs: the eyes, ears, tongue, nose and skin respectively. Sensory memory generates automatic responses and does not come under cognitive control- it also has a very brief duration.
Features of Sensory Memory There are four main features of sensory memory:
When a sensory memory trace is formed, it is independent of any attention on the stimulus.
Sensory memory stores are modality-specific information. For instance, echoic memory is exclusive for storage of auditory information, and iconic memory is exclusive for storage of visual information.
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Sensory memory stores show a great amount of detail which results in high resolution of information.
Sensory memory stores last for a very short duration of time and therefore are very brief. Information is lost or inaccessible once the sensory memory trace has decayed or gets replaced by new memories.
Types of Sensory Memory
There are three types of sensory memory. These include iconic memory, echoic memory and haptic memory.
Iconic memory: Iconic memory is the mental representation of visual stimuli that are also known as icons. Icons are basically fleeting images that act as stimuli. Iconic memory also has visual short-term memory and visual long-term memory. It has two main components, visible persistence, and informational persistence. Visible persistence is the phenomenon that gives the impression that a visual image is present even after it has been physically removed. Informational persistence is a representation of information regarding a stimulus which persists even after it has been physically removed. The stimulus is visual in nature, but it is not visible.
Echoic memory: Echoic memory is the sensory memory representation of the auditory sense of hearing. The process of hearing occurs when auditory information travels in the form of sound waves that are sensed by the tiny hair cells in the ear canal. The information of the sound waves is carried to the temporal lobe and processed there. Auditory stimuli cannot be repeatedly scanned in the echoic memory the way visual stimuli can be scanned many times in the iconic memory. However, echoic memories get stored slightly longer in the brain than iconic memories. Page | 21
Haptic memory: The haptic memory is the representation of sensory memory for the tactile sense or the sense of touch. There are sensory receptors all over our body under our skin which can detect sensations like pressure, pain, and temperature. The information from tactile receptors travels through the nervous system to the spinal cord straight to the postcentral gyrus in the parietal lobe of the brain. This neural pathway is known as the somatosensory system. Haptic memory helps to familiarize us with the touch and feel of everyday objects that we use so we can remember with what force or pressure to grip them or use them.
Studies About Memory
There have been hundreds of studies done on memory, most of which the focus is short-term memory and long-term memory. There were many noteworthy studies conducted on shortterm memory and long-term memory over the years in the field of psychology. Let us take a brief look at some of the famous and notable studies that were undertaken in the areas of both short-term and long-term memory. The Atkinson and Shiffrin Model This multi-store model was formulated by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin based on their studies in 1968. According to this model, memory is made up of three different memory stores namely: short-term memory, long-term memory, and sensory memory.
The sensory memory: It relates to sights and sounds. What we see is stored in the iconic memory and what we hear is stored in the echoic memory.
The short-term memory: In the short-term memory information lasts only for a few seconds to a minute, but it can be retained longer with repetition and rehearsal.
The long-term memory: Here limitless amounts of information can be stored for limitless periods of time- even for a lifetime.
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According to Atkinson and Shiffrin, the information in short-term memory can be transferred to long-term memory if it is learned or processed fast enough. They believed that memories remained in the short-term memory stores in a buffer state, and when they get transferred to the long-term memory stores, their associations are strengthened. However, this model has been criticized for being too simple in its components. It is believed that the long-term memory has many other subcomponents like episodic memory and procedural memory. Another issue with this model is that it states that rehearsal is the only way to transfer information from shortterm memory to long-term storage, but there has been evidence to show that humans are capable of remembering and recalling certain information without any rehearsal.
George Miller’s Study based on his article “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information” According to Miller, the storage capacity of the short-term memory is seven plus or minus two bits (7+2 or 7 – 2). He believed that the performance can be almost perfect 5/6 stimuli, but if the number of stimuli goes above that performance declines. He also proposed the main cognitive limitation is the memory span. Youngsters according to him have a memory span of seven items. He later concluded that memory span is limited not as bits but in term of chunks. Current studies have shown that the capacity of short-term memory is estimated to be lower in the order of four to five items, but the short-term memory capacity can be improved with the method of chunking information. A chunk represents the largest recognizable and meaningful unit of information. Miller realised that the correspondence that was found between the limits of single dimensional absolute judgment and that of the shortPage | 23
term memory span was merely a coincidence since only the first limit and not the second limit can be understood in information and theoretical terms. Miller used the term “Magical number seven” only rhetorically; it has nothing to do with magic. Brown and Peterson Procedure They conducted studies to test the capacity limits of the working memory. They tested how many items can be held in the working memory using mnemonics and other memory techniques. An important aspect of their procedure is that it blocks the process of rehearsal which is much needed in order to recall information from short-term memory. This study especially helped to point out that the long-term memory and short-term memories are free of one another in functioning. Studies by Tarnow All theorists do not reach a decision that short-term memory and long-term memory are distinct components or systems. Tarnow’s studies indicate that recall possibility vs. latency curve forms a conventional line from 6 seconds to 600 second, and the possibility of failure to recollect saturates only 600 seconds later. In case there are two dissimilar memory capacities working within this time limit, a discontinuity of this curve can be expected. Tarnow also theorised that the memories in the long-term memory are stored in the form of dreams. Studies by Robert Bjork and William B. Whitten They conducted studies to provide evidence contradicting the existence of short-term memory stores with experiments that involved continuous distractor tasks. They presented research subjects with word pairs that had to be recalled but before and after every word pair the subjects had to do the distractor task of simple multiplication for 12 seconds. Once the final word-pair was presented they had to do the same distractor task again for 20 seconds. Their studies showed that the recency effect increases the chances of subjects remembering the last item while primacy effect increased the chances of remembering the items presented at the beginning. Studies by Ovid J.L Tzeng In his studies Tzeng also discovered that the recency effect in free recall did not appear to occur from the short-term memory functioning. Research subjects were given four study test periods
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with lists of 10 words. They had a continuous distractor task of counting numbers backwards for 20 seconds. When each list was presented, subjects had to freely recall as many words as they could. After this had been done with the fourth list, they were told to freely recall the items from all of the four different lists. The results showed that both initial free recall, as well as final free recall, presented a recency effect, and therefore the results contradicted the assumptions of a short-term memory model. Studies by Koppenaal and Glanzer In 1990, Koppenaal and Glanzer tried to explain the phenomena of recency effect and primacy effect as a result of the participants’ adaptation to the distractor task that they were given. Hence, it permitted them to retain some of the operations of the short-term memory’s stores. They presented their results as evidence that, in the long-term, the recency effect vanished when the distractor post the final item was different from the distractors that preceded it and followed the remaining items. Baddeley's model of working memory This model was proposed by Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch in 1974. Their three part model was proposed as an alternative to Atkinson’s and Shiffrin’s model. They divided memory into three components: the central executive, the visuospatial sketchpad and the phonological loop.
Central executive: It is a flexible system that controls and regulates cognitive processes by combining information from different sources and arranges them into sensible information. It aids in shifting between tasks and strategies of retrieval and provides selective attention and inhibition. It supervises all cognitive processes and intervenes if there is a problem.
Visuospatial Sketchpad: It is located in the right hemisphere of the brain. The visuospatial sketchpad is believed to contain information regarding what we see. It is utilized for the temporary storage and manipulation of information that is spatial or visual, example: trying to remember shapes and colour or the location or speed of
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things around us in space. It also handles tasks of planning spatial movements such as when we plan our way through a complicated maze. The visuospatial sketchpad has two separate components, the visual component, the spatial component and even possibly, the kinesthetic component.
The Phonological loop: It is also known as the articulatory loop, and it deals with sounds or phonological information that is received by the brain. It has two parts: a shortterm phonological store which is for auditory memory traces that rapidly decay, and an articulatory rehearsal component which can revive the old memory traces. Auditory and verbal information enters the phonological store automatically. Language that is visually presented can be changed into the phonological code by silently articulating it and therefore encoding it into the phonological store. This occurs through the articulatory control process. The phonological store is like an inner ear, it can remember sounds of speech in their temporal order and the articulatory process is like an inner voice and can repeat series of words or other speech items in a loop to prevent losing them. The phonological loop can play an important role in acquiring vocabulary during early childhood years. It can also be useful if we want to learn a new language.
Studies by Payne Payne and his colleagues conducted experiments where subjects were selected at random and then split up into two groups. These two groups were presented with semantically related or semantically unrelated pairs of words. One group was presented the words at 9am while the other group got their words at 9pm. The subjects were then tested on their pairs of words at one of three different intervals: at 30 minutes, 12 hours or 24 hours later. The result was that the subjects who got a period of sleep between the sessions of learning and testing were able to perform better in the
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memory tests. This study is quite similar to studies conducted previously in experiments done by Jenkins and Dallenbach in 1924. Studies by Holtz In his studies of memory Holtz discovered that sleep not only affects the consolidation of declarative memories, but it also affects the consolidation of procedural memories. In his experiments, fifty adolescent subjects were either taught word pairs that represented the declarative memory or a task of finger tapping that represented the procedural memory at one among two different times during the day. the results showed that the procedural task of finger tapping was encoded the best and recalled immediately before sleeping but the declarative task of learning word pairs was remembered and encoded better if it was learned at 3pm in the afternoon time.
The above studies and many hundreds more, have been conducted on short-term and long-term memories. When people get some sort of brain damage that affects their memory, it is an opportunity to understand and learn more about how the human memory works. One man contributed to the study of memory after a tragic accident caused him brain damage- Phineas Gage. Phineas Gage As a simple American railroad construction worker in the year 1848, on September 13th, Phineas Gage lived through an almost impossible to survive rock blasting accident, when an iron rod got driven straight through his head leaving most of his left brain’s frontal lobe damaged completely. Prior to his accident, Gage is said to have been an intelligent, social and active man who was very involved with his work and family. It has been reported that his behavior and personality over the rest of the twelve years of his life had such intense effects that people who knew him did not consider him to be the same man he was anymore. His condition initially caused him much trouble, he was delirious and lost control of his memory on the second day after the accident, but two days later he appeared to remember people in his life and be
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rational again. However, this improvement did not last. Later that year, Gage became semicomatose and would rarely speak unless he was spoken to and even that with monosyllables only. By October the same year Gage seemed to be recovering more as he was up and about and felt no pain in his head. In 1994 studies done by Hanna Damasio, it suggested that Gage’s brain damage was bilateral. Other studies by Ratiu and Van Horn rejected Damasio’s studies stating that only Gage’s frontal lobe in the left side of the brain had been damaged. Psychologist Malcolm Macmillan hypothesised that the difference between Gage’s behavior after that accident, and much later after the accident, shows that he gained social recovery over time. It is said that Gage’s accident was one of the reasons for the development of certain kinds of surgeries like lobotomy in the later years.
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Chapter 3: Exercise and the Brain
How exercise affects the brain We all know that physical exercise is good for the body. It helps us stay fit and keeps us healthy. Apart from your body, your brain can benefit from hitting the gym once in a while too. There are many ways in which exercise affects the brain in a positive way, and below are listed a few of the main reasons.
Protects against depression and anxiety Research explains that exercise has a positive effect on the nervous system. It helps release pleasure chemicals like dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin that make us feel happy and calm. This can effectively help us alleviate depression, chasing away the blues. Doctors, in fact, recommend a dose of exercise to reduce depression and anxiety.
When depressed, exercise may be the last thing on your mind, but once you get motivated to work out it can have a positive impact on your mood and can take your mind off your worries. Furthermore, exercise also helps to keep depression from coming back once you begin feeling better.
Keeps your mind focused According to research, strength training helps you focus because it requires focus. When doing strength training you have to keep track of your breathing while muffling out noise in your environment. Keeping your mind focused while exercising, can in turn keep your mind focused on other tasks out of habit. In addition, vigorous exercise increases brain blood flow and oxygen Page | 29
circulation in cells which immediately enhances focus and concentration. That is why people with ADD/ADHD, are required to exercise on a daily basis.
Improves memory We all wish that we had a good memory and never have to forget things, especially the most important ones. Unless you are gifted or have a photographic memory that can enable you to recall the slightest details to precision, then one way you can greatly improve your memory is by exercising.
Exercise gets your blood pumping faster and improves blood flow in the brain which helps to boost memory and the overall function of the brain. According to recent research, when blood and oxygen flow to the brain, new brain cells are generated in the temporal lobe and the prefrontal cortex, parts of the brain associated with retention and judgment and planning respectively. As these cells die after 4 weeks unless stimulated through social and mental interaction, it’s important to exercise continuously in order to enhance new cell growth in the brain. This explains why those who study after hitting the gym tend to be smarter than those who only study.
Helps to de-stress You may have a million things you are doing or a mile long list of tasks that are burning you out, leaving absolutely no time for you to fit exercise into your routine- perhaps you should begin rethinking things. There is a good reason why you should include exercise in your routine. Studies now show that any form of exercise from yoga to aerobics can act as stress relievers. So even if you are not athletic or never imagined hitting the gym, there is now a good reason for you to include it as part of your stress management.
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Helps deal with insomnia If you are suffering from insomnia, either having difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, exercise can help improve your sleep drastically. According to a study that looked at the effects of moderateintensity exercise such as walking on sleep, exercise was found to increase the length of sleep in those with insomnia compared to when they did not exercise. However, it was found that vigorous exercise done late into the evening may leave one too energized and awake. It’s recommended to carry our moderate exercises like walking daily. If you’re doing vigorous exercise, try not to do it for at least four hours before going to sleep.
Continuous exercise also has long-term effects on sleep. It was found that after 4-24 weeks of exercising, those with insomnia fell asleep faster, and the sleep lasted longer. Exercise increases body temperature which then drops after the exercise; this creates an environment that triggers sleep. Likewise, it helps reduce depression and anxiety which are linked to insomnia.
Helps keep you on track As exercising requires consistent effort, doing them frequently can help you develop the ability to consistently follow tasks through. This will in turn help you in performing tasks that require effort and stick to them.
The relationship between exercise and dangerous chemicals Scientists have identified a slew of chemicals and toxins that are responsible for the various behavioral and cognitive problems we see around us today. These chemical and toxins affect children the most. Exercising outdoors can leave you more exposed to chemicals, especially if
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you live in the city. Below are a few of the most common in our environment and how to avoid them.
Pesticides Pesticides are commonly used when growing produce; however they tend to have diverse effects on children exposed to the chemical. Studies link chlorpyrifos to low birth weight and attention deficit problems through agricultural exposures. Still yet, a small dose of the pesticide reaches other populations through food. One way to reduce exposure is by washing all fruits and vegetables thoroughly to ensure all lingering chemicals are gotten rid of- or you can switch to organic foods entirely. According to pediatric research, children fed on organic food show lower levels of pesticides in their systems.
Mercury Mercury is usually found naturally occurring around us or in products such as batteries, paint, light bulbs, and thermometers. People get exposed to mercury through breathing mercury fumes, eating food such as fish with mercury exposure, drinking contaminated water, absorbing it through the skin or eating objects containing mercury, e.g., batteries. Mercury affects the visual cortex, cerebellum, and dorsal root ganglia. They kill neurons in the brain and cause dizziness, confusion, and headaches. Mercury exposure by eating contaminated fish can also lead to death and is linked to several abnormalities when children are exposed through their mothers. Bulbs, thermometers and other things containing mercury should be disposed of in a safe hazard center located in various municipalities throughout the world.
Lead Lead is another dangerous chemical that alters brain function. Exposure can cause low IQ and reduce the ability to learn. Other symptoms of the exposure include abdominal pain, headache, confusion, irritability, coma, seizures and even death. Lead is found in paint, especially in old
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buildings, piping and blinds. Exposure can also occur through contaminated air, soil, water, and food. One way to reduce lead intake is through removing blinds and piping in old houses. Government efforts include cleaning up lead contamination in soil and water as well as placing a ban on lead contamination into the water. If you are exercising unknowingly around a source of lead, it can increase the damage as it is being pumped around your body at a faster rate than usual. Take care that the weights you use for exercising do not contain any lead to weigh them down as in times past.
Exercises’ Protective Effects
Going to the gym stimulates growth of muscle cells in the body, but exercise has a positive impact on brain functions as well. It affects brain functions right from the molecular level up to the behavioral level. Exercising increases heart rates, pumping more blood and oxygen to the brain. This provides a nourishing environment that helps in the generation of brain cells. Most studies that link exercise to the creation of new brain cells focus on running, but other types of aerobic exercises provide benefits too.
Exercising even for 20 minutes can aid in memory processing and memory function. It stimulates the growth of new neural connections between cells in the different areas of the brain. This creates a denser network which is able to process and store information. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s progress due to the loss of neurons, exercise can act as a preventative and therapeutic measure.
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Regular exercise acts as a natural anti- depressant and anti-anxiety. Exercise triggers the release of endorphins and naturally occurring opiates that diminish pain and helps increase feelings of well-being. It also boosts levels of neuron-transmitting dopamine which regulates our sensations of attention, reward, and motivation. In addition, the antidepressant effect of exercise is associated with more cell growth in the hippocampus – the area associated with learning and memory.
What Happens When you don’t Exercise
Whereas some people can get away with not exercising and live very long and healthy lives, most of us can’t. When you choose not to exercise, you are more likely to end up with a low mood and depression. Exercising helps to release serotonin that helps to balance moods and when you don’t exercise you put yourself in a situation where you are likely to develop depression.
Lack of exercise increases tension and worry, especially when you are already in a stressful situation. This can lead to high blood pressure, anxiety and many other illnesses. Lack of exercise can also cause an increase in weight which can lead to lack of confidence and esteem which are good for a healthy state of mind.
When you do not exercise, you are more likely to have low focus and concentration, insomnia, memory problems and are more prone to develop dementia. A 20 minute run can do wonders for your mind and brain.
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Chemicals Released when you Exercise
Your body is made of many chemical reactions that result in all types of mental and physical feelings. When you hit the gym, there is a lot going on in your body chemically. The feelings of euphoria are just some of the effects that appear. Dr. Loretta Graziano Breunin is a well-known author in the field and has released publications which clarify each chemical in a deeper way. Below are some of the chemical and hormones released when you exercise, and how they are beneficial for you.
Dopamine Dopamine is a pleasure chemical. Exercises increase blood calcium that stimulates dopamine release and uptake in your brain. According to studies, a person’s whose brain has few dopamine receptors is more prone to gaining weight because eating raises dopamine. As they need more dopamine, they will eat more food to gain the same level of satisfaction as someone with normal levels. Exercise can help keep those dopamine levels up and prevent us from overeating and gaining weight. Dopamine helps in improving memory, cognition and attention plus it reduces pain.
Endorphins Endorphins are neurotransmitters released by the pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain. They lead to feelings of euphoria, happiness, modulation of appetite and enhance your immune response. In addition, they interact with the opiate receptor in the brain and reduce the perception of pain. Page | 35
Endorphins are linked to the ‘runner’s high’ that athletes experience during long exercises. Similarly, they are used to explain why sometimes people become addicted to strenuous exercises.
Serotonin Serotonin is another neurotransmitter that is released when we exercise. It is the chemical responsible for maintaining mood balance and deficiency can lead to depression. When we work out we increase the level of serotonin in the blood and brain which helps in maintaining a healthy appetite, happiness and restful sleep. Serotonin also works with endorphins to make exercise pleasurable. The more serotonin in our brain, the more energy we have and the clearer we are able to think.
Cortisol Cortisol is a stress hormone produced when one is stressed. It can be formed in any stressful situation, including when exercising. The longer you exercise, the more cortisol you produce. Production is also increased when you take longer breaks while exercising. Cortisol helps to break down protein into amino acids which are required for the body. However, too much cortisol is bad for the brain and can damage brain cells. It is recommended to keep exercise breaks short to minimize the body’s production of the hormone.
Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF) BDNF triggers the brain’s neurons to grow and develop stronger connections. They, therefore, play a role in how your brain learns and processes information. Exercise can increase the level of BDNF and effectively increase the ability at which you learn challenging things, process and retain information.
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Exercising for Brain Health Tips 1.
Aerobic exercises are good for the body and the brain. Aerobic exercises are ones that
increase your heart rate. They help repair damaged brain cells, generate new ones and improve brain functions. 2.
Any exercise that is good for the heart is also good for the brain. Practice good heart health
to also keep the brain healthy. 3.
Exercises in the morning to fortify the brain against stress. Exercising in the morning also
helps to improve memory. 4.
Exercise does not have to be traditional in order to give positive brain health results. Try
incorporating a dance class into your regular exercise routine. Not only is it fun, it can also act as cardiovascular exercise while teaching the brain something new. 5.
Exercise can revitalize a tired mind. When mentally exhausted do some quick jumping jacks
to get your brain working.
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Chapter 4: Brain Diseases Prevention Two of the most emotional diseases of the brain are dementia and Alzheimer’s, where the affected patient is robbed of memories that enhance the quality of life- especially in later years. Although you may have read that there isn’t much that you can do to prevent these dreaded diseases, there are a plethora of avenues that you can take to reduce the risk of experiencing these memory-loss diseases yourself. By engaging your brain in a myriad of activities, you may prevent the symptoms, slow down the progress of their advancement, and perhaps even reverse the process altogether. If you’ll begin a regimen of brain exercises, no matter what your age, you can protect the brain and your mental capacities until well into your golden years.
Lifestyle Options Just as with other muscles and organs in your body, your brain needs regular stimulation, exercise, and special attention to remain healthy and strong. Six areas on which you should focus are: ●
Getting regular exercise
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Eating a healthy diet
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Engaging in mental stimulation as much as possible
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Enjoying quality sleep each evening
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Managing your stress effectively
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Having a social life that helps you to have a healthy balance in your life
When you do everything within your power to keep your brain engaged, you’ll find that both Alzheimer’s and dementia can be effectively prevented. Let’s take a look at each of the Page | 38
elements that can make your brain a part of your body that is well-developed and continually healthy.
Exercise Routines If you want to decrease your risk of getting Alzheimer’s by almost 50%, you should exercise on a regular basis. Exercise will reduce your stress, boost your mood, improve your memory, and increase the amount of energy that you have each day. You should try to exercise about thirty minutes every day so your heart rate will rise, and you’ll feel energised. Try activities like walking, gardening, or even using household chores as a means of exercising your body. You’ll want to use balance as well as coordination exercises to help you remain agile and able to move freely about your home; you can engage in yoga, use balance balls, or try Tai Chi which will improve your ability to concentrate and focus on the task at hand. It will take about a month for your exercise routine to become a habit, so be sure to stick with your regular exercises for at least a month; by this time you will feel additional energy, enjoy the way that you feel each day, and begin to look forward to the time that you do your regular exercises. If you are participating in biking, riding motorcycles, or skating, you’ll want to wear a helmet for head protection. The older you are, the more important protecting your head becomes, so make sure that you are using the proper equipment and techniques that keep your brain safe and sound.
Diet Options The old adage, “you are what you eat,” can certainly ring true if you are working to improve your mental abilities and memory recall skills. As with all of your other organs, the brain requires a healthy diet filled with nutrients and vitamins to work at its optimum level. You should focus on getting good helpings of fresh fruits, Page | 39
vegetables, proteins, and the right type of fats for your individual needs. You might want to consume five small meals per day instead of three large ones that are harder to digest. Green tea is an excellent source for enhancing your memory and your brain’s alertness. Enjoying daily cups of herbal tea can increase the power of your brain and keep you at the top of your mental game.
Stimulation Activities Besides diet and exercise, there are some fun ways to keep your brain engaged and to prevent the loss of your memory from Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases such as dementia. When you actively participate in communication with your friends and colleagues, interact socially with groups in your neighbourhood, and try to learn something new each day, you will keep brain disease at bay. Some of the mental exercises in which you can participate are: ●
Learning a foreign language, playing your favourite musical instrument, enjoying a new hobby, or reading the newspaper daily. The greater the challenge for you, the more your brain will be stimulated, and the sharper your brain will become.
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Trying to memorize a list of facts. You might want to commit to memory your favourite poem, memorize the members of your local government, or develop a set of patterns with items around your home that you see each day.
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Playing games, riddles, and puzzles. Enjoyable activities such as bingo, brain teasers, and crosswords can increase your cognitive associative skills and provide you with a solid mental workout. You can play Scrabble, board games, number games, or engage in Sudoku to increase your mental acuities.
●
Varying your regular habits to make new pathways for your brain. This means using the other hand to eat your meals, taking another route into town, or rearranging your computer files.
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Peaceful Sleep As it needs rest to function well, your brain must have a period of peaceful sleep in order to rejuvenate itself; this is a critical factor for your memory and your ability to retain and recall what you have learned or know. You will need about eight hours of sleep per night that is a deep and restful type of sleep. You’ll want to have a regular schedule for going to bed, nap only to recharge your batteries, create the right atmosphere for your bedroom area, and try to control your inner anxieties. It may be helpful to establish a relaxing ritual each night before you retire for the evening.
Managing Stress Most of the factors already mentioned are good tools to use to control your stress, but in order to manage stress effectively, you must keep it under control at all times. Breathe with the focus to quiet your brain and increase the levels of oxygen; you’ll feel much more powerful and rested if you can use your breathing to control your stress. You can also use meditation techniques, times of reflection, and daily activities that cause you to focus on something other than your stress. By staying active, you will eliminate higher levels of stress which can increase your risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia; use these tools each day to keep your brain functioning effectively.
Social Connections The more socially connected that you are, the less likely you are to lose your memory and cognitive skills; engaging with others in social settings will keep you alive, alert, and actively seeking new knowledge and experiences. As you get older you may want to spend more time Page | 41
alone, or with just a few of your friends, but there are many ways that you should consider to maintain strong support and an active social network. Some of these avenues for social interaction include: ●
Volunteering at your community charity events
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Joining social clubs and groups
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Attending activities at your local senior centre
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Taking classes at a nearby college or gym
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Going to movies with friends and family members
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Connecting with others through email and telephone calls
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Trying new things with new people
Even something as simple as sharing a cup of tea or coffee at a neighbourhood café can alleviate your loneliness, stress and can help you to improve the health of your brain.
Final Tips Whether you are living independently or are in a group home, you can take steps to prevent the dreaded brain diseases of Alzheimer’s or dementia with regular attention to the details of your life. Follow some of the guidelines below to assure yourself of keeping an alert brain and sharp cognitive skills no matter what your age. ●
Get up and get moving each and every day to keep yourself physically fit and mentally alert.
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Eat the right kinds of foods and enjoy a cup of tea with friends as often as you can.
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Stop smoking and drinking heavily to reduce your chances of experiencing Alzheimer’s or dementia.
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Stay active mentally by working
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puzzles, challenging your brain daily and learning something new quite often. ●
Get enough sleep and set the right kind of mood for yourself and your bedroom before you try to go to sleep.
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Control your stress levels by engaging in some activity that reduces your chance for dementia and Alzheimer’s. Something as simple as walking can alleviate your frustration and be a catalyst for a new and refreshed you.
●
Connect with others. Remember, “no man is an island,” so you must interact in worthwhile ways with your friends, colleagues, neighbours, and family members.
By using some of these practical tools, you can successfully slow or prevent the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s in your brain. You will be controlling your destiny, enhancing the quality of your life, and enjoying life itself to the fullest. Doing something each day will exercise your brain, the same way you do other parts of your body, for stronger mental health and help you be happier, healthier, and disease-free.
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Chapter 5: Lifestyle and Dietary Changes To Boost Brain Power A healthy and powerful brain is only possible with an appropriate diet and lifestyle. What you eat, when and how much, as well as your daily routine and resting time, are contributing to the overall performance of your brain. In this next chapter, you will find valuable info, tips and advices that can help you adopt a diet which can help you improve the performances of your brain. You will also find out how the bad habits of the modern person can influence brain health and well-functioning. Follow this five-step guideline and customize your very own diet for the brain.
Step 1: Exercise Before we go any further, you have to understand that this kind of diet must be combined with physical activity in order to achieve any results. During physical activity, both casual and intense, the body is flooded with hormones, which are contributing to your well-being and cognitive capacity. First of all, exercising is constantly increasing the blood flow and the oxygen levels of the blood. The increased blood flow is enhancing the size of the capillaries, helping the brain get irrigated properly and improving its cognitive abilities by increasing the oxygen level. An improved blood flow is also helping glucose, fatty acids, and other nutrients, reach the brain faster. Besides, active people are losing gray matter slower, and they can produce healthier brain cells faster. Here are the top three physical activities you can do for a healthier and smarter brain:
1.
Jogging – The simple morning or evening run could help you more than you think. Even if it seems pretty dull, running is one of the healthiest and beneficial forms of working out. It helps you increase the blood flow and the quality of the blood. If the
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intensity of the exercise is increased, the body can start producing lactic acid, which is responsible for the “runners high” and it can be a very efficient stress reliever. 2.
Yoga – Yoga is a physical activity that combines two of the most efficient ways of relaxation and improvement for your brain: exercises and meditation. This is the kind of workout that will improve your focus, balance the two hemisphere of your brain and help you achieve a peaceful state of mind- all while boosting your memory and learning ability.
3.
Hiking – The best thing about hiking is the fact that it takes place outside the city, in the great and green outdoors. If you leave near a mountain, you must take the opportunity of achieving a sharper mind while improving the look of your body. The physical effort you put in during a hike and the clean air are contributing to your brain’s diet while the surroundings will help you relax.
These are just the most popular ways of exercise for people who use physical activity in their diets for the brain. However, these are not the only ones you can choose from. Basically, any kind of workout will help you improve your brain’s power, as well as you also respect the following advice found in the rest of this chapter.
Step 2: Stay hydrated
The brain is very dependent on water for proper functioning. Once the water level in your organism decreases, the water level in your brain starts to get low as well, and the brain cells will lose efficiency. That’s why staying well-hydrated throughout the day is crucial both when you are following a diet to increase the performance of your brain, but also when you want to maintain that performance.
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Your brain loses water even if no physical effort is involved. One of the best examples of this phenomenon is the morning thirst. Even if you sat still all night, your brain would still consume and put to use significant amounts of water. One of the tricks of waking up a lazy brain early in the morning is having a glass of water before anything else, in the first half hour of the day.
At the same time, new studies have discovered that during thirst, our brain will put a lot of effort into managing the remaining water and informing the body that there’s a drought going on. This kind of activity takes up brain regions and functions during bearable thirst, the kind that we all experience during long work hours, when we would rather stay thirsty than take a break. It turns out that a simple glass of water can make you 14% smarter by enhancing the cerebral connections and interconnected brain parts.
Another great moment in which you can drink water and improve your brain’s power is before a meal. The water will help your digestive system do its job, delivering nutrients faster to the brain and helping you get the energy you need.
Step 3: Eat brain foods!
What many people think is that the brain requires a lot of sugar, since it’s fueled mainly by glucose. But sugar won’t help the brain function well, because it will overfeed the cells, making it hyperactive- moments during which it can’t focus or function well. The glucose needed by the brain can be taken in appropriate amounts from other foods and dishes, ones that can offer many other nutrients besides glucose. For a wise mind, you must be wise with what you eat. So here are ten of the most recommended groups of food for a powerful brain:
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1.
Green vegetables
The green vegetables such as spinach, Brussel sprouts, broccoli or cauliflower, are some of the healthiest organic things you can eat. Besides their properties of improving blood flow and offering nutrients to your brain, the green vegetables are claimed to be capable of shortening the period needed for new brain cells to be produced by your body.
2.
Fish
Fish meat is one of the best sources of omega-3 and fatty acids you can find, and it can be super delicious if cooked properly. Fatty acids are your brain’s second pick when the glucose levels are decreasing. The elements and the nutrients found in fish can be easily absorbed by the organism, being used in the brain as regulators for the neurotransmitters, helping you achieve a better focus.
3.
Seeds
Nuts and seeds can be a great source of power for your brain, and they have no side effects either. Walnuts and sunflower seeds are known to be helpful in the protection of your brain while the docosahexaenoic acid found in them is efficient in boosting your memory and increasing your reaction time. Including seeds and nuts in your diet is simple. You can either use them sprinkled on your dishes or have them as healthy snacks.
4.
Dairy products
All dairy products are recommended for your brain since they contain magnesium and calcium, both highly important elements in the neurotransmission process. However, one of the most recommended foods in this category is Greek yogurt. Even if it has more fat than the regular products, this kind of yogurt has an increased level of protein and no added sugar. It can be easily included in your diet as a healthy replacement for sour cream or mayonnaise, but it can also be enjoyed between meals or for breakfast.
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5.
Tomatoes
Even if we can’t agree if they are legumes or fruits, the tomatoes have a huge potential for people who want to increase the performance of their brain or stay away from mental diseases. The secret of tomatoes is the lycopene, a carotene, responsible for the red color. This ingredient is a powerful antioxidant, highly efficient in protecting brain cells from damages that might be the cause of certain types of dementia.
6.
Whole wheat
Found in breads, grains, and pasta, the whole wheat is rich in fibers (both insoluble and soluble), complex carbohydrates and B vitamins. The richer protein level of whole wheat is the reason why you should choose products based on whole wheat, rather than the ones based on white grains. 7.
Dark chocolate
Yes, there is a diet that recommends chocolate; but not any kind, just the dark chocolate- the one with over 65% cocoa. The main reason for this is a brain-friendly ingredient- the flavonoid antioxidant- which can also be found in tea, wine and even beer. Besides keeping your brain safe from damage, dark chocolate also gives your brain energy that boosts your focus.
8.
Berries
The most recommended fruits for a healthy and active brain are the berries. These can be consumed on a daily basis, with no limitation as their sugar concentration is low while they’re abundant in antioxidants and potassium. In this category of fruits, we can include blackberries and raspberries, but also pineapple, which is, in fact, a berry.
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9.
Coffee
Coffee is yet another ingredient no one thought of reading about in a diet guideline. Despite its bad reputation, coffee consumed in moderation can increase your attention span, learning ability, short-term memory and help you release stress. At the same time, it’s beneficial for other aspects of the body, preventing heart diseases and even cancer, thanks to its rich and diversified antioxidants.
10. Alcohol Even if the alcohol is thought to be one of the main causes of dementia, consumed in moderate quantities it can be really helpful. Alcohol prevents heart diseases and cerebral accidents by cleaning the blood vessels while its effects will allow the brain to create new neuronal connections, and it’s also believed to bring balance between the two hemispheres.
Step 4: Stay away from junk food Junk food is not only affecting the health of our bodies and the way we look, but also the wellbeing of our brain and the way we think. For an efficient and powerful mind, you need a carefully balanced diet based on glucose, fatty acids and vitamins, backed up by proteins, fibers, and other nutrients. What a fast food diet does is offering you too much of some nutrients and too less of others. On top of that, the level of trans fats in these kinds of diets is enormous.
Soft drinks and sodas are just as dangerous for your health and can have a negative effect on your brain’s proper functioning. These fizzy drinks are loaded with sugar, which reaches your brain and overcharges it. This effect is known as “sugar rush”, a period in which the cerebral activity can be intense, but the cognitive processes are incoherent, and the focus of the brain is destroyed.
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Step 5: Build a routine If you want to improve your mind, you have to live an organized life. You have to take time to eat when your body requires to and sleep when your brain needs rest. You should respect the 3 main meals of the day. Try having your breakfast first thing in the morning, before coffee or smoking. Also, for a rested and efficient mind, you should get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. A daily eating routine and a well-defined sleeping cycle are crucial in the efficiency of a diet for your brain.
Another way you can improve your brain’s power is by organizing its moments of maximum intensity and rest. If you are a student or you put in a lot of intellectual effort at your workplace, the best thing to do is to adopt a work/rest cycle. The most common and efficient cycle is the one used in universities and by musicians, with 90 minutes of cognitive effort followed by a 15 minute break. All these steps are the building blocks of any diet, not just when you want to take care of your brain. Respecting them will help you achieve the much-expected results. All these steps are equally as important in an efficient brain diet, so make sure to stick to them. A diet like this will also increase your morale and motivation, so it won’t be hard to keep the focus on your goal of achieving a sharper mind. The only side effect of this diet is the fact that you will also achieve a healthy and good looking body to boot.
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Chapter 6: Holistic Ways to Stimulate the Brain
Holistic brain gaining At a first look, the brain already does a lot of things, and its power doesn’t stop surprising us. It’s capable of storing massive amounts of information, and it can outperform even the most advanced computer processors. However, that’s not all - the performance of the brain can be increased in many ways. In this chapter, we will discuss the natural ways of increasing your brain power. There are certain tricks and tips which can be used to achieve a higher cognitive performance without using medication or physiological treatment. The best thing about the holistic ways of increasing your brain power is that you can try them on your own. Besides, each of these remedies is also good for the rest of your body, not just for your brain, and there are no side effects either.
But before we start, you have to know that no remedy is targeted at your brain itself. For a great performance from your brain, you will have to take care of your whole body because it all acts as a mechanism, and if one part of it is not working properly you can’t achieve the results you want. That’s why it’s important to live an overall healthy life before you think about increasing the power of your brain through natural remedies.
Natural ingredients for brain power increase If you want a more powerful brain, you should start by taking care of what you eat. There are certain groups of food that can give your brain the energy and the ability to work faster and more efficiently. At the same time, some of the foods consumed by the regular person are basically brain stoppers, acting as an inhibitor and Page | 51
affecting the cognitive process. Ironically, the people who need a power increase for their brain are the ones who consume the wrong foods. Here we’re talking about students in particular and about their lifestyle that implies poorly cooked food, junk food, alcohol and many nights without sleep. For a noticeable increased brain performance, here are 5 healthy, wholesome and holistic ailments that should be present in your regular diet.
1. Milk - A glass of milk a day can do wonders for your brain. It’s rich in the vitamins needed for a memory boost, and it can improve your learning capacity by 50%. It also includes a protein called alpha-lactalbumin, which can help stress-vulnerable people perform better under pressure.
2. Spinach – Remember Popeye? He was purposely created to love spinach in order to convince children that spinach is good for them, in an attempt to improve the younger generation’s cognitive capacity. Spinach, along with broccoli and Brussels sprouts, are rich in magnesium and potassium, nutrients that increase the electrical conductivity of the brain cells, making them react faster and outputting a better performance.
3. Potatoes – Even if you might think that potatoes fall under the “junk food” category, there are many ways of consuming this vegetable other than as French fries. It might seem weird, but baked potatoes are just as efficient as the previous two foods combined. Besides an increase in brain power, the nutrients of a potato can help your brain get some much-deserved rest. It’s rich in vitamin B6, the one that keeps depression away by helping out with the production of serotonin. It also helps you get a good night of sleep by boosting the production of melatonin.
4. Honey – probably the fastest way of assuring energy for the brain and at the same time, the healthiest way, is consuming honey on a regular basis. It’s made of glucose and fructose, the fuel of the brain, keeping it active and away from exhaustion. Honey is also rich in antioxidants, phosphorus, magnesium and B-vitamins.
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5. Fish – the benefits of consuming fish are endless. Besides the fact that it can help you prevent heart diseases, it’s also good for the brain. The fatty acids found in fish meat are used as a backup fuel for your brain while the high omega-3 found in fish can prevent mental diseases, such as Alzheimer's and depression.
Herbal remedies You’ve most certainly stumbled upon supplements and medication that claim to improve your cognitive capacity in your search for an increase in brain power. The fact that such medication works can’t be contested. However, the side effects can’t be avoided and in the end, if you weigh up the results and the problems caused by this kind of approach towards a better functioning brain, you will think twice before taking such a pill.
Fortunately, Mother Nature can offer you the same substances to help your brain increase its power, but without the side effects which deter many people- and many come in tea form. Here are the top five herbs that can help your brain achieve a better performance:
1. Ginkgo – As one of the oldest natural remedies across the world, the leaves of the Ginkgo biloba tree are also good for your mind. It has the ability to improve your concentration and memory while increasing your stamina, giving you a stronger willpower and the capacity to endure long days without feeling down or mentally tired. New research is showing that people who consume the active ingredients found in ginkgo are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.
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2. Ginseng – There are three varieties of ginseng, all of them used as natural remedies since the olden days. However, only one is known for its effects on the brain, the Asian Ginseng. Studies have shown that the individuals who consume ginseng on a regular basis show an improve in task-managing and learning abilities, because of an increase in attention and the capacity of the brain to receive information and store it as memory.
3. Rosemary – This is the perfect herbal remedy for your family, because it can be included in the daily diet as a healthy spice. Besides the effects that it has over your liver and heart, it also helps you protect your brain from malfunctions due to its rich concentration of carnosic acid. Rosemary is also used in the form of essential oil in aromatherapy, another natural way of releasing stress and achieving a positive state of mind.
4. Green tea – Popular all over the world, green tea is known for its many benefits, such as protecting the organs from certain types of cancer, preventing heart disease and assuring an optimal digestive process. In the same time, it can be used as a substituent for coffee as it offers increased cognitive abilities and relaxation during the day.
5. Bacopa Monnieri – Bacopa is one of the oldest plants used as brain supplement. It’s also known as nature’s smart pill, and it can be used for numerous brain related issues. It is effective in treating attention disorder cases, increasing the focus and boosting the memory. In the same time, it has a calming effect over the mind and body, without affecting the cognitive capacity of the individual.
Meditation and yoga The brain is divided into two hemispheres, and intense cognitive effort can desynchronize these two regions of the brain. Meditation is reducing the intensity of your cognitive processes will help your brain find the balance between the right and left hemisphere. Meditation is also Page | 54
helping you establish new connections in the brain. This process is the same that takes place when you learn a new language or how to play an instrument, but it’s also a great way from releasing the stress and there’s nothing more efficient than having a calm and peaceful mind.
If you want to combine brain power increase with physical exercise, the best solution you have is yoga. This ancient form of bringing balance between your mind and your body works just as well as a meditation technique. It’s scientifically proven that people who practice yoga on a regular basis have a more developed somatosensory cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible with the physiological organization of your body. In the same time, you will improve the visual cortex and the superior parietal cortex, which play a major role in our capacity to pay attention and retain information from the surrounding environment.
Praying can increase your brain power
If you are a faithful and spiritual person, regardless of your religion, you can turn your face to the Creator for enlightenment and a more powerful mind. There is no miracle involved, no scheme and no preaching involved, just the incredible things our mind is capable of. Thinking of God and other abstract aspects of religion can create new connections in your brain and help you clear your mind from everyday stress factors, which pale in the face of the spiritual world. Basically, praying works just as well as meditation, with the only difference being that religious people will take it more seriously, and they tend to do it on a regular basis.
No matter what method of increasing your brain’s power you choose, one thing is certain, the natural remedies will offer you a sharpened mind for a much smaller price when we compare them with the costs of medication and supplements or with their side effects. Page | 55
Chapter 7: 30 Quick And Easy Brain Stimulation Exercises
1. Drawing Drawing is like a “dance” between creativity and logic. Logic starts when we think about what we want to put on paper, and creativity is connected with the changes that we need to do after. Drawing is one of the most effective brain fitness techniques, as it stimulates five of the factors of brain development: attention, self-control, taking decisions, estimating, and memory.
How to use drawing for brain stimulation
We all have our daily tasks and activities, so we probably don’t have time to draw for one hour every day. However, only five minutes of drawing is enough. What can you draw? Anything. You don’t need to be a Pablo Picasso to draw, even if your creations bring smiles instead of admiration on the faces of those that see them. You must not be discouraged. Drawing requires talent indeed, but if you don’t plan to open a gallery, you will do just fine.
You can use simple pencils in the beginning, to draw only black and white landscapes and portraits. Well, those might look like caricatures, but your goal is to try to replicate details from reality on paper, not to draw surrealistic representations of the surrounding environment.
Try simple drawings
Start by drawing a table, chairs, bottles, or anything that you have in the house. Use real models for inspiration. This will help you to appreciate shapes and to put 3D objects on a 2D piece of Page | 56
paper. Don’t worry about straight lines, and don’t use a ruler. Try to respect the dimensions of the drawn objects. We all remember our first drawings picturing our home and our family near the house, in which the people were bigger than the house. One of the main goals of drawing for brain stimulation is to appreciate this size of objects. If you draw yourself pouring water into a glass, try to respect dimensions, even if this will be difficult at the beginning.
Creativity and logic Drawing can stimulate estimation and logic if you insist on details and shapes. By trying to draw all the details of an object and make it as close to reality as possible, you will develop logical thinking. If you want to stimulate creativity, you will have to draw objects from your memory, without the actual model. For example, you can try to draw a portrait of your husband while he is at work, and when he comes home, you can ask him to be your model. In the end, compare the two drawings, and you will notice some major differences. Later, you can try colored crayons for drawing as this will develop creativity even more.
Is it effective?
Drawing is used by kindergarten teachers, and our children learn it before learning to write, so the effectiveness of drawing as a brain training method can’t be neglected. Drawing helps the emotional state of mind, helping people to imagine new things, and to “improve” the life using their creativity and imagination. Eventually, whether you draw a house or a person, it all comes down to your perception about reality.
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2. The Journal It is old fashioned, time wasting and useless. That is the opinion of smartphone fans, those that have an agenda on their devices, and who believe that a journal is a method to organize work, and nothing else. The daily journal as a brain fitness technique stimulates organization, memory and multi-tasking, but also the capacity to make decisions. However, the journal must be kept in a certain way if you want it to be effective as a brain stimulator.
Write
The journal must be written on paper. Sure, we write faster on our computers, and we can arrange the daily tasks in an agenda, but this technique is not effective if you don’t write. Use your old notebooks and a pencil. The feeling that you are back in your childhood writing about your first love, or about the small things in life, is what you need for the journal to be a real brain training method.
How much to write
You don’t need to set yourself a “writing schedule”, or a number of daily words, but you will have to write every day. Try to focus on the pleasant activities and on your achievements. The journal can easily become a depressive burden, and this is not your goal. Well, you can write about things that you don’t like, or about your failures, but those must end with a “but”:
“Dear Journal, I know I told you that I wanted to exercise today, but I was not able to get out of bed. I am sorry for failing, BUT I need to tell you that staying in bed was quite relaxing, and I promise to exercise tomorrow, for sure”. Page | 58
What to write?
The journal can be a method to develop attention and organization, if you write about your daily tasks, and at the end of the day, you can write whether you managed to accomplish those goals or not. However, the best journal is the one in which you write whatever you like. If you want to stimulate creativity and to relax your brain, you can write random thoughts in the journal. Today, you can write about the groceries that you want to buy, but if you meet an old friend in the store, you can come back to write about that also.
Secret or public?
Both the secret and public journals are effective for brain stimulation. If you choose to keep a secret journal, you will probably want to write about your deepest thoughts, maybe about the reproaches that you have for your son or husband, or even about your hidden desires. Well, writing a secret journal is somewhat difficult, and you will worry about keeping it hidden, about when to write, and about what people would think if they would find it. Even if you can’t write exactly what you want in a public journal, it is recommended.
Don’t worry and don’t be embarrassed
When your teenager daughter or friend finds your writing a journal for the first time, they will probably laugh, recommending you some smartphone app instead. Your husband will ask you what is wrong, while your friends will want to read what is in there. They will get over it, and after a while, they might even envy you a little for your capacity to write your thoughts on paper in this old-fashioned way.
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3. Self-massaging We are stressed, we complain about migraines and headaches, and we are not able to pay attention to what we need to do. Selfmassaging of the head, face and scalp are some of the best rejuvenating techniques, especially because they work, and because you can do this whenever you feel like it.
Self-massaging is not a 100% brain stimulation method. It is not like you will enhance the capacity of neurons to transit information by massaging your scalp, but the physical benefits of this technique will eventually reflect in better overall functioning of the brain. This way, we can say that self-massaging improves the attention, eliminates brain tiredness, helping you to regain your strength and your brain’s capacity to function normally.
Best massaging techniques
You can try scalp and face massaging using essential oils. A combination of almond oil with perfumed oil (lavender or strawberries) is good, but if you decide that you need a massage at work and you don’t want everybody to stare at your while you pour oil on your face, you can do this without it. Sit on a chair, with your back straight, and follow the next steps:
1. With the tips of your fingers, make circular moves in the area of the forehead, to eliminate stress and to increase the blood flow in that area. 2. Massage different portions of the forehead, starting from the back of the neck, releasing tension and activating the blood flow. Use firm but short moves. 3. Using the top of your fingers, continue by kicking the area from the back of the neck to the maxillary. Repeat this move two or three times.
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4. Use two fingers from the both hands to press firmly, from the chin to the line of the hair. 5. Repeat this move on each side of the chin, to the lateral sides of the nose, and make a triangle on the cheeks. 6. Use the two fingers to contour the face, and to “climb” to the forehead, until the hands meet at the line of the hair. 7. Move your fingers from the head under the cheeks, and then to your ears.
Those are only some proposed exercises, but the massage techniques can be different. It is important to insist in the areas that are more tensed. For example, the forehead is exhausted after a long day in front of the computer, while the maxillary and the cheeks are tired after talking on the phone for a long time. Five minutes of self-massaging the scalp and the face will release tension, and will eliminate stress.
It is recommended in the evening, or in the late afternoon, as this way, you will feel more relaxed during the night. You can try a self-massage in the morning, but usually, if you slept well, the face muscles are relaxed, so they don’t need this kind of treatment.
4. Exercising and sports Exercising and fitness are perfect for the brain. As long as some specialists use the term “brain fitness” to describe the techniques used to train thinking and memory, it is normal for the exercises that we do for other parts of the body to be useful to. However, not all the fitness exercises are good for stimulating the brain. Even simple walking is more effective for the brain than bodybuilding. This does not mean that bodybuilding won’t help, but we will try to focus on exercises that are really useful for our state of mind.
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Walking and running
Walking rapidly or running are the perfect blood circulation stimulants. With minimum effort, you can gain huge benefits for your brain. Walking and running stimulate self-control, memory and the general physic functions of the brain. A well irrigated brain will help all the functions of the body. Try to run in a park, or in your neighborhood, and choose different places if you can. This way, besides the physical capacity, you will observe new things, stimulating the visual and observational functions of the brain.
Fitness and aerobics
If you want to preserve the functions of the brain for as long as possible, fitness must be a part of your life. Start the day with five minutes of aerobics, and you will be ready for a long and stressful day at work. Fitness creates new neuronal networks in the brain, and as we grow older, the networks that die are replaced with those new ones. Studies show that regenerating the neurons is strictly connected with physical activity. As long as your other organs are healthy, your brain will use fewer resources to ensure the well functioning of the body, being able to focus more on the cognitive functions.
Nature sports
Rafting, hiking, and climbing are demanding activities, but also useful for the brain. If the blood circulation is good in this area, the possibilities of Alzheimer’s or dementia are reduced when you grow old. Sport is a low-cost treatment of mild depression and anxiety. Moderate effort will
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increase the secretion of serotonin, which is also named “the hormone of happiness”. Serotonin is helpful for creativity also, so sports can help all the important functions of the brain, including multi-tasking and taking decisions.
Team sports
Basketball, soccer and football will improve the brain not only at a physical level, but also from the emotional point of view. Socializing is one of the basic brain fitness functions, and this is improved with team sports. The secret of success in those sports is collaboration, and the feeling of winning a game, well, that is another one of the beneficial effects of sports.
Sports of all kind stimulate the sexual life, a key factor for brain’s health. As long as you have a healthy sexual life, your mood will be good, and your brain will function better on the overall.
5. Puzzles Solving puzzles stimulates logical thinking, creativity, memory and attention. Puzzles can be found in many versions. As a child, you probably had that 10 piece puzzle that you used to solve tens of times. Later, our parents gave us the more complicated puzzles, with 1000 pieces and complex pictures. You can try puzzles as a challenging activity for the brain, but remember that each kind of puzzle is useful in a different way.
You don’t need to make the puzzle your main goal in life. If you have a spare table, you can put it there, and you can play with those pieces for 5-10 minutes every day. If you have a 1000-piece puzzle, putting two or three pieces at their place every day is enough. If you have the time for it, you can stay more in front of the board, trying to solve bigger parts of the mystery. Page | 63
The secret trick of puzzles
The best method to solve puzzles as a brain fitness activity is not to know the image that you are about to make. The majority of puzzles have the photo as the landscape on their box, and you just need to recreate the landscape using the picture.
A challenging brain activity is not to look at the photo every day. Take some time before starting the puzzle to admire the landscape, and try to observe the hidden elements. Then, hide the box away and try to recreate the photo from your memory. It will last longer and it will sometimes be annoying, as you will look for a piece of the puzzle for minutes without finding it, but this a great method to improve memory and attention.
Will any puzzle do?
The puzzles picturing simple landscapes and important objectives from major cities, such as the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower are less demanding, especially because we know those photos already. You can try unknown landscapes and portraits, as this way you will develop attention to details.
If you are looking for challenging puzzles, you can try the ones picturing the interior of a machine, mechanical parts or abstract landscapes. Those will allow you to focus more on logical thinking, but they will not be so useful for stimulating creativity.
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The 3D puzzle
The 3D puzzle has plastic pieces, and they will create a three-dimensional object. Each piece has some “clips” on the edges, which will help you to put it in its right place. An advanced version of 3D puzzles is the Happy Cubes game.
Puzzles are perfect as brain fitness training methods, because they work on the brain in many ways. Attention, memory and logical thinking are the most important characteristics developed by solving puzzles of any kind, while creativity and estimation are also developed, but in a smaller proportion.
6. Neurobics Neurobics is a relatively new term defining the majority of brain fitness techniques, but it is also used in a more specific way, to define those techniques connected with the unforeseen and with novelty.
Many times, novelty, fighting with new and extreme situations, and overcoming those with success, represent some of the best methods to train decision-making, self-control and multitasking. Those three functions of the brain are harder to train, simply because the other techniques are usually focused on developing other functions such as memory, attention, and logical skills.
Getting out of the comfort zone stimulates certain reactions, which are intense, positive and beneficial. No matter how frightening an event might be, if it is out of the ordinary, it will become a pleasant memory that you will laugh about after a while.
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People have a tendency to create certain routines, which are rarely broken. Even the rarer events, such as the yearly vacancy in a foreign country tend to be the same. Well, maybe the tourist objectives, the beaches, and the hotels are different, but overall we never get out of the comfort zone we love so much.
Neurobic exercises as a method to exit the comfort zone
Neurobics is a sum of activities that you can do every day to get out of the comfort zone. You can try this whenever you feel like it. Small modifications of the daily routine can be considered as neurobic activities. Here are some simple but easily applicable neurobic exercises, which will have beneficial effects: -
Change your pen with a pencil
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Write with the other hand
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Type on the keyboard with only one hand
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Don’t speak while eating
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Climb a tree
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Eat in the dark
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Try unconventional sports such as curling or bungee jumping
We will talk more about some of those activities in their own right in other brain stimulating exercises. Usually, a neurobic activity is the one that takes you out of the ordinary; it is something that you don’t do every day. The new tasks have to be challenging, new, provocative, and sometimes annoying and scary.
The brain will be involved in so many new activities and will be developing so many new plans. It will use supplementary senses that are rarely used, developing those to a new level. We take a
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shower with our eyes open, trying to spot any portion of the body where there is soap, or to make sure that we are washed everywhere. By closing the eyes, we force other senses such as feeling and smelling to replace the missing ones, stimulating the brain in so many new ways.
You can invent your own neurobic activity when you expect the most. The brain is stimulated by new and funny activities, which are out of the ordinary. If you see a person singing in the rain, you can join him or her, even if the normal reflex is to hide and wait for the rain to pass. Choose a new way to work, change your daily way home, the store from where you shop, rearrange the desk often and change the wallpaper of your computer.
7. Creating stories and fairytales You are patiently waiting at the dentist cabinet, and it seems like you have a long time to wait. This doctor is never able to schedule his patients, and this happens every time! Well, you are lucky that the two people waiting in front of you are Red Riding Hood and Mickey Mouse. The Red Riding Hood needs a tooth extraction, while Mickey Mouse seems a little nervous. Well, you know the doctor, and you know that he can make Mickey Mouse relax before treating his problem. The Red Riding Hood seems smart enough to take the bus, so you don’t have to worry that the Big Bad Wolf will catch her on her way home.
It sounds like a pretty weird story invented by a childish person, right? Actually, it isn’t. Inventing stories and associating people with fictional characters is a great method to develop creativity and to chase away boredom. It is funny to associate a little girl wearing a red skirt with Red Riding Hood, and that gentleman with Mickey Mouse just because he has a long nose. As long as they don’t know what is going on in your head, everybody will be just fine.
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Some doctors say that there is a thin line between imagination and being mentally ill. However, you do know that those are actual people, and you only use those associations because it is fun and because making up stories is one of the best brain fitness exercises. At night, instead of reading the same old stories to your child, how about inventing a new one? A child will be a little confused about a story with White Snow and Porky Pig, but the questions that will follow will challenge you even more! Well, don’t start talking with your husband about the dental problems of Mickey Mouse either, as this will come across as a little weird indeed.
Writing or imagining
It is easier to think and to make up stories while you wait in line at the supermarket, or when you are on your way home on the subway. Writing those down will stimulate your imagination even more, and if you have talent, you will end up having some pretty good stories in your archive. Making up stories and fictional characters is beneficial for creativity anyway. If you have a child to help you, it will become one of the funniest and most interesting activities for brain stimulation.
You can use the characters of your childhood, but you can also invent new ones. Try to draw the ones that you invent, giving them special powers. There is nothing wrong with becoming children again, as long as we are able to make the difference between fiction and reality. It is a relaxing and constructive activity, which helps you whenever you are bored, or when you are fed up with scrolling Facebook on your smartphone. If you are interrupted from your “self-story telling”, you can try to continue the fairytale from the point where you left it the next time when you need some relaxation.
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8. Sudoku You’ve definitely heard about this game, and maybe you have tried it before. If it didn’t attract your attention at first sight, you must know that solving a Sudoku game is the best method to develop your logical skills, memory, attention, helping you to take decisions easier in the long term. What is Sudoku anyway?
Sudoku is a board game based on numbers. The board is divided into nine equal squared regions, each one of those regions having nine boxes (3x3). Each row, column, and square must contain the numbers 1 to 9 only once. Each board of Sudoku comes with some numbers already written in their respective places, and the player needs to put the other numbers in their place, completing the board.
Sudoku develops some of the basic functions of the brain, such as mathematics and logical skills, as well as estimating, attention, and memory. Basically, it is helpful for all the logical functions of the brain at the same time.
How should we play it?
If you want to play Sudoku for developing your brain capacity, you need to use a crayon and paper. There are many computer versions and Google apps for playing Sudoku, but staying in front of the paper, putting numbers down and erasing those when you realize that you made a mistake, is the actual trick of Sudoku brain development.
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Sudoku is interesting and popular because the rules are simple, but the game can be complicated. Sudoku is not only useful for brain training when you solve it, but also when you create Sudoku boards, or when you play the advanced versions of the game.
Creating Sudoku Boards
It is believed- although not proven- that any Sudoku game can be won if you have 30 numbers in their right position from the start. In other words, you can try to create your own Sudoku game by putting the initial 30 numbers on the table (respecting the rules of the game, of course), and then by trying to solve your own game!
The numbers are used only as a convention as you can play Sudoku with letters, colors or other symbols. The only rule is to have nine different letters or colors. The game becomes more interesting this way, as it must be solved using the visual capacities of the brain more, and the mathematical ones less.
There are Sudoku boards with different degrees of difficulty. When you invent your own Sudoku game, it is impossible to establish the degree of difficulty, of course. Creating Sudoku games can be considered as a neurobic activity, as it uses unforeseen elements to create something new.
9. Breathing Oxygen is indispensable for life, as every child learns from an early age, but we must know that it is also helpful for brain development. Learning how to breathe is important for the physical but also for the emotional functions of the brain. Breathing correctly will help the cardiovascular
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system to irrigate the brain with blood, improving all the functions of this organ. Breathing correctly is the best training that you can do.
Correct breathing does not stimulate a certain function of brain fitness, such as attention, logic or memory. It has some direct benefits on self-control, but generally, we can’t say that breathing favors one function of the brain or the other. At the same time, it is useful for us to control as a healthy body means a healthy brain. Let’s see the most useful breathing exercises that can improve the blood circulation in your brain.
1. Stand straight, on your feet, with one arm lifted, so the underarm touches your ear. Breathe in and out for a few times in this position, then inhale as you bend the opposite side of the lifted arm. Repeat this exercise ten times, and then repeat with your other arm lifted. 2. Concentrate on expiring. When we think about breathing, we often neglect expiring. The key for correct breathing is to expire completely. The average person expires only 30% of the inspired air, while those exercises allow you to expire 70%. Why is this important? Well, if you exhale all the used oxygen, the next inspiration will come with a lot more fresh air. Force expiration as much as you can, concentrating on the abdominal muscles. 3. Sit down, in a relaxed position, inspire slowly, as much as you can. Expire normally, relax a few seconds and start over. It is important to expire and inspire completely as this is the key for this exercise. Repeat ten times. If you feel slightly dizzy, it means that you are doing this correctly. If it becomes uncomfortable then stop. 4. Blow the candle – this is an exercise “borrowed” from yoga. Try to imagine a candle and try to blow it. The trick is to imagine the lightened candle and to try blowing it with all
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your force. Repeat this exercise ten times. Then, repeat the exercise with strong and short expirations, like you are trying to blow the candle out completely without it flickering.
You can try breathing exercises whenever you want. Generally, there are no special exercises for brain fitness, but the ones that are good for your body will be good for your brain also. While running, you must only breathe on your nose, even if this will be more demanding.
By controlling how you breathe, you will be able to control all your body functions, including self-control of thinking. While running, the lungs have the tendency to breathe faster, with short inhalations and exhalations. By trying to expire and inspire completely, you will force the body to use fresh oxygen, and the effectiveness of running is improved on the overall.
10.
Meditating
As soon as the alarm clock rings in the morning, the brain starts to plan the day. “Shower; then I need to prepare breakfast; dress and leave for work. Well, I have that important deadline today, so maybe I should go to work earlier. Maybe I should skip the shower, or maybe Steve can make his own sandwiches for school.” The day hasn’t even started, and it is already ruined.
What if we tell you that there is a method to start the day in a positive manner, which will help you to plan the day with a positive mood, and to organize your work better? Meditating is one brain trick that has been used by many. Unfortunately, some of us don’t have five minutes in the morning to meditate because we don’t know how beneficial this could be.
Maybe the “specialists” are to blame. There are many articles and books about meditating, telling you when to do it, what position to use, and how to breathe. Many of those articles don’t Page | 72
tell us a simple, but yet important thing: what should we think of? If we get up in the morning and meditate about the burdening tasks of the day, we end up in the same way, worrying and being stressed about the tight schedule.
The meditating trick that changes everything
Meditating is a great brain fitness technique, which develops multi-tasking, self-control, memory and decisionmaking. As soon as you get up, get into the “lotus” position, and thank nature, God, or yourself for being alive and for having the opportunity to do so many things. By starting your meditation in a positive way and by repeating to yourself that only good things will happen, you will be able to meditate about the positive aspects of life and you will organize your day in a perfect manner.
Five minutes is enough, and even if the morning time is precious, you will have the “directions” of the day contoured. Even if something comes up to ruin your plan (and it will), the day is already good for you, and nothing can change it.
What to think of?
The daily morning meditation is about positive thoughts, but besides that, you need to take 30 minutes per week only for yourself for a longer meditation session. During this session, you are allowed to think about anything. In meditation, the position is more important. You can keep your eyes closed, or you can look down. It is important not to be distracted by the exterior elements, such as a window or music. Have the attitude like nothing can touch you or affect you.
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Any wish or hidden desire is a monster that has to be accepted during the weekly meditation. Accept your flaws, think about correcting those, try to eliminate the worries, and clean your mind. After 30 minutes, you will feel fresh, all the negative thoughts from your mind will be eliminated, and you will be ready for a week full of positive challenges and happiness.
11.
Using the other hand
Using the other hand is more like a game, but it is great for stimulating all the important brain functions. It is perfect for making decisions, for stimulating memory and logic, but most importantly for improving self-control. If you are able to use your “less skilled” hand for activities that you usually do with your main hand, you will force the brain to think about some activities that are otherwise automatic.
If you are right-handed, you can try your left hand for throwing, writing or cooking. If you are left-handed, you can try to use your right hand for many of your daily activities. If you like soccer, trying to kick the ball with both feet is important. Any fan of this sport knows that the best players are those that can use their both legs with the same efficiency.
When our brain develops during the first years of life, it focuses on activities such as writing, building things, and generally any new activity to be learned. As the activities become a part of the routine, the brain stops thinking about those. If you try to use your other hand, you will force an unused part of the brain to develop. Here are some common activities that you can do with the “weak” hand.
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1. Brush your teeth
Well, it will be weird in the beginning, and if you care about your dentures, it is important to use your main hand after. Otherwise, brushing your teeth with your “secondary” hand every day might not be so great for your teeth.
2. Washing
While you shower, try to use the other hand. It is like somebody else is washing you, which is not unpleasant at all and will let you experience how much you need your usual hand!
3. Eating
In the morning, when every minute is important, we might not have the time to try experiments such as eating with the other hand, but at dinner when we have time we can try this fun activity. The other members of the family might laugh seeing us splash food on the table, but when you are able to use your left hand just like you use the right one, they will envy you. You might not believe it, but learning to eat with the other hand perfectly takes less than one week.
4. Cooking Make sure not to hurt yourself, and that you are not ruining the food. When you take that hot plate from the microwave oven, maybe you should use your main hand, because using your “unskilled” hand might lead to severe accidents. However, for simpler and less dangerous activities in the kitchen, such as using a spoon to mix the eggs or to use a mixer, you might want to think about using the other hand.
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5. Sports
Trying to throw a ball or use a baseball bat with the other hand is one of the most demanding activities for the brain.
Using the other hand is simple and fun. You can try this in many of the daily activities. Just think about it now and then, and you will discover tons of things that you can do with the other hand without hurting yourself!
12.
Reminding – re-reminding
My grandmother used to say that recapitulation is the mother of learning. The modern learning methods are based on stimulating creativity and imagination, but a recapitulation develops logical skills, memory, and the capacity to remember things. The habit of reminding and rereminding things all the time is useful for the brain, as it allows you to perform better in exams and to learn new things a lot faster.
Try to connect the new memories with older sensations- it will help your memory a lot. For example, if you want to learn how to use the new version of the Windows operating system, associating the new functions with the ones of the old and trusted Windows XP will help you to learn easier. Moreover, by developing some remembering habits it will be a lot easier for you to remember practically anything!
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1. Rebuild your steps. If you were doing things around the house and you forgot what your next planned activity was, try to remember the previous steps. By connecting those with each other, you will probably remember the activities that were planned for the near future. 2. Try to remember the last hour. The answer to the question, “What was I doing one hour ago?” will help you to remember older things, including memories that were long forgotten. It acts as a kick-start to memories that maybe played an important role in your development. 3. Remember the day. At the end of the day before sleeping, try to think about what you accomplished during the day, for just five minutes. What were your plans in the morning? Were you able to accomplish all the proposed tasks? If not, what went wrong? If you want to accomplish those failed tasks tomorrow, what do you need to change? 4. Take notes. Our smartphones have become our trusted friends, and whenever we want to remember something we write that something in the special notes application, but is that useful? It might be useful for efficiency, but your mind will start to linger. Writing on a piece of paper is a lot more effective because you will take more time to write, so you will remember those things more easily. We know that it is sometimes hard to take your notebook out of the house with you wherever you go. We also know that it is a lot easier to check a box on your smartphone application, but if you are concerned about developing your memory, you will have to make this effort.
Besides the everyday tasks, remembering old memories is another useful activity. You will thank yourself when you are old, and when you will be able to remember even your first school trip as a child. The best things in our lives are the important moments spent with our families and friends. Whenever you have the time, take those old photos out and try to remember the exact moment when those were taken. What were you doing at that moment? What else you did during that day, when you took that incredible photo of the sunset? What was the name of the
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hotel? Was the food expensive? All those small memories will contribute to the developing of memory, and it will help you to remember things for the rest of your life.
13.
Dancing and singing
Music and dancing are activities that attract the attention of children from an early age. The toddlers like to hear music and to move with the rhythm. If you think about it, music and singing are some of the first activities that we learn, long before writing or reading. Things don’t change that much with the age, and this is why dancing and singing remain some of the most relaxing and useful activities, even for adults.
Singing is not developing a certain part of the brain, but it is relaxing and creative. Dancing gives self-confidence and fulfillment. These two activities in tandem are perfect for brain fitness. Even if they are not developing a particular part, they are perfect at enhancing progress overall.
Singing
It is not important what you sing. Singing allows you to understand the differences between levels of the voice tone, and it stimulates creativity. It was proven by studies that slow music and opera helps people to regulate the cardiac rhythm and to oxygenate the organism a lot better. Hearing instrumental music is also good, but music that implies human voice is better. If you want to use singing for brain developing, you need to choose the gender that you like, and to sing the verses along with your favorite music star.
You can find orchestral versions of your favorite songs, try to sing over them, in karaoke style. Well, you might not win a Grammy award, but it is surely useful for brain training. During our Page | 78
early ages, the voice of our parents singing cradle songs gives us a feeling of safety. Well, the voice of Rihanna doesn’t compare to that, but it surely puts you in a good mood.
Dancing
Dancing is one of the best methods to build self-confidence, and it also has benefits on the general state of mind. Dancing alone at home helps your mood, but the best method is to use dancing as a brain fitness technique is to try to learn new dances.
If you register for dance classes, you will meet new people, you will gain self-confidence, and learning a new dance is always useful and practical. You can try what is in style at a certain moment. For example, salsa and Latino dances were popular for quite a while, but today, it seems like people are more passionate about modern dance.
The classical dances are perfect for brain development because they are complex and also rare. You would surely like to dance tango, and even if it seems a little complicated, if you take some classes, you will discover the wonders of this dancing style on your mind and body.
Singing and dancing are two of the best brain fitness techniques, especially because they can be practiced anywhere. Don’t be afraid to sing in the shower, even if the other members of the family might be a little annoyed about your “barrel voice”. Dance on the streets, sing in the rain, and everything will be just fine!
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14.
Playing
Playing is one of the first activities we learn as children. It develops attention, creativity, and technical skills. Playing is at the base of some complex activities. It was proven with studies that the best engineers and constructors are those that played with Lego figurines as children, and the best fashion designers surely had a Barbie doll as their favorite toy.
Playing as an adult
If you have a child, you probably can’t complain of a lack of playing in your life, but if you don’t you should give more attention to it. When we say, “playing,” we don’t refer to the computer and console games. Playing as an adult is a little more difficult and different. However, it is necessary if you want to train some basic brain functions such as creativity, memory, and logic.
Mime
Mime is one of the children’s games for adults. By miming and imitating objects, the creative functions of the brain are developed to a new level. It is an excellent family game, but a smart method to animate a dull party. You can try to imitate simple objects and actions, but the most demanding mime activities are those for imitating complex phrases. Try to mime “an engineer designing a mechanical frog”, and you will discover the complex brain functions of mime.
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Board games
The board games are always a part of our lives since childhood. As we grow, the complexity of the games grows. Today, we can play many versions of Game of Thrones, a game that stimulates a large number of brain functions. Logic, memory and especially the spirit of competition are greatly stimulated by board games. You can choose the simple ones which are more for relaxation, but the complex games are perfect for advanced mind training.
15.
Eliminate routine Routine is one of the biggest enemies of healthy thinking. Routine allows us to create a solid comfort zone, in which we know what we do, and in which we have the right to feel kings. The traps of routine for healthy brain development are diverse. It makes us feel good about ourselves because we are able to do some tasks
perfectly, and we think that we are better than anyone else at those things. This might be true, but by focusing our resources on certain tasks, the other brain connections are greatly affected.
For example, we are so great at writing on the computer, and we are proud of our speed of 200 characters per minute, but how about handwriting? It might be considered useless by some people, as they can write anything they want on the computer even faster, but your brain does not think the same way- different areas are used.
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The benefits of eliminating routine and exiting the comfort zone
Any neurobic activity is designed to take us out of our comfort zone. Shift hands, do some things with your “weaker” hand, change your daily habits. Don’t eat the same thing every day, cook something new whenever you can, learn new languages and read new books.
Try to get back to the basics. Handwriting is a relaxing and useful activity for your creativity skills. You might get tired fast at the beginning because your hand is not used to writing as it normally does, but you will have to make those changes in small steps. While you are reading this chapter, how about switching hands from time to time to view it?
Some of those routine changing activities were presented in previous chapters, but here, we want to highlight the importance of changing routines in any way possible. Think about the rewards that are there for any little thing that you change.
If you renounced salt in your food, don’t be surprised that you can run faster. If you sacrificed yourself for a diet, you will feel better. If you renounced the daily night show in front of the TV for a long walk, you would probably feel great for doing something new.
Generally, any simple activity becomes a routine after a week. Changing routines does not only mean replacing one activity with the other, it also means to vary that same activity. You went in the park for a run every morning for the entire week? How about trying Zumba or Aerobics for the next week? Your brain will thank you for the change, and you will feel the benefits in the long run.
Self-control is improved by renouncing routines. You will be able to keep up with the difficulties of life a lot easier, and your brain will be prepared for the unforeseen. If you are used to leaving
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your comfort zone, you will discover the beauty of those zones where you don’t feel so secure, and eventually, your “non-comfort” zone will become the place where you feel the best.
16.
Uncommon answers to weird questions
This is more like a game that you can play for five minutes every day, allowing you to develop creativity and to solve unforeseen situations. If you apply for a job at Google, you will be asked the weirdest questions, and you will believe that the people inventing those questions are crazy. Well, it is not true. This small game will help your brain fitness level greatly as it works both for the creative side of your mind as well as for logical skills, memory, and attention.
If Germans were the tallest people in the world, how would you be able to prove this? How much money would you require to wash all the windows in the city of Seattle? Do you think that Bruce Lee would beat Rambo in a one-on-one basketball game?
By trying to answer those questions, you will train so many sides of your brain fitness, even if some of those can be annoying. It is one of the simplest neurobic activities, and it is great because answering these don’t take too much time.
You can put yourself a question like this in the morning, and you can try to answer it whenever you have the time during the day. You will develop your skills to react to unforeseen situations and your creativity.
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How do you answer these questions?
Well, there are no right or wrong answers to those questions. It is more important to have creative answers and even more questions coming from the original one. In this way, your mind will get used to difficult scenarios and have the right attitude towards uncommon problems.
1. If Germans were the tallest people in the world, how would you be able to prove this?
What is the determining factor for the height of a person? The length of the pants? The size of the shoes? If you contacted the most reputed pants manufacturer in the world, you could ask them about the average length of pants sold in Germany. From here, it is in your imagination to decide how you could get the right answer to this question.
2. How much money would you ask to wash all the windows in Seattle?
This kind of question leads to many other questions designed to develop imagination. Would you have to use the water from the respective buildings, or would you need to bring your own water? Would this include the windows of the cars in Seattle also? Are you allowed to get help from cleaning companies, or you would have to clean it all yourself? As said before, getting an answer is less important than putting the right questions forward. After all, the goal of this exercise is to develop imagination, not to have an exact answer- which is not so useful to you anyway.
Asking yourself weird questions and giving answers to them, is the best method to develop creativity, and to increase your capacity to solve uncommon problems. Have the patience to examine the problem from all of its angles- and take your time. You can find many websites on the internet with these kinds of weird questions, and with possible answers to inspire you.
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17.
Learn new languages
Learning a new language is usually considered a burdening and demanding task, especially for people that need this skill for a job. If you consider learning a new language as a method for increasing your brain fitness, it can become a pleasant activity. The idea is to learn a new language with pleasure, without a deadline, and without exhausting yourself too much. This will develop logical thinking, memory, and attention. If you focus on writing, spelling and talking in a new language, the efficiency of the exercise will be greatly improved.
As we have already said, learning a new language for brain development is different from learning a new language out of obligation, so let’s see the characteristics of learning new languages for fun. These ideas will not help you to master the respective language like a pro, but it will maximize the brain training effects that you are looking for.
Don’t set yourself time limits
Remember that you don’t have an exam so don’t set yourself goals. If you only have five minutes today to repeat a few words- don’t panic as maybe tomorrow you can learn more. If you want to learn French, there are many great French movies which you can watch with English subtitles. It will be a great method to learn French and to relax at the same time, especially because the words will “fix” in your mind at a subconscious level, which is the best type of learning.
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Listen and read every day
Whether you read for five minutes or one hour, learning every day is crucial otherwise you will start to forget. Replace the music on your iPod with French or Chinese lessons, and listen to those whenever you can. Everyday practice will help you to develop your brain skills faster, and you might end up mastering the new language without even knowing it!
Focus on the new words
If you want to maximize the brain fitness effects of a foreign language, you must learn vocabulary. Two or three new words every day are mandatory. Learn how the propositions are formed and speak it too. Repeat what you hear to consolidate your knowledge. Read books and keep a dictionary close. Whenever you find a new word that you don’t understand, see what it means.
Don’t forget about the fun factor
You are learning a new language because it is relaxing and useful, but most importantly it is to develop your brain skills. This means that you don’t have to burden yourself into learning many hours on end just because you think that you are behind. You might even quit after a while because the motivation is not strong enough.
Every language has about 2000 basic words which are used in most of the conversations during the day. If you are able to learn the basic vocabulary of a language, you can call yourself a conversational speaker in the respective language. This only requires a few months of learning, so it is not a huge effort, especially because it comes with some incredible benefits for brain fitness.
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18.
Visual stimulation exercises
Visual stimulation is maybe the most educative method used for children, but it works perfectly for adults too. Since kindergarten, children learn how to distinguish objects, how to find hidden items and how to make differences. Without visual stimulation, it is impossible for a child to learn how to read and write. Unfortunately, as we grow old, we forget about the importance of visual stimulation, and about its benefits on relaxation.
The visual stimulation exercises for brain fitness must be done with the help of some other person. They are perfect for memory, multi-tasking and attention, but also for taking decisions. The good news is that the other person can be anybody, from your child to your grandmother. The visual stimulation exercises are simple, and they can be the perfect educative method both for you and for your child.
1. Ask your child to present you ten objects: cubes, Lego pieces, dolls and other toys. Close your eyes and ask your child to hide one of them. Try to detect what object is missing. As you probably assume, it is a great exercise for your child also. 2. Use the same objects from the first exercise. Ask your child to put them in a certain order. Ask him to change the order of two or even three elements from the row. Try to detect what is changed in the entire picture. 3. Ask your child to find six different objects and to put those in front of you. Close your eyes as your child hides the objects. Try to remember all of them.
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4. Ask your partner to present you some images, preferably drawn by hand. Close your eyes and ask the other person to draw some other elements on the boards. For example, he or she can add a tree in the forest or a person in a group. Try to detect the new element. 5. Examine two or three photos, images of puzzles, in succession. Try to draw all the three images into a single one at the same time.
Those are only some simple exercises, but you can ask your child to tell you more about what he or she is doing in school. Try to play those games, but this time, your child will be in the role of the teacher. We know what you think of: would the kindergarten exercises be enough to stimulate my visual memory and attention? Of course, they are! As we grow older, we tend to replace visual elements with other things that are easier to remember. We think in numbers, words, and letters, and this is why we lose contact with the basic elements of learning, such as the visual stimulants.
By trying this exercise, you will get back to the basics, and the effectiveness of the exercise will be huge. Moreover, it is also fun to play, especially with your child. You can try this with your partner or even with some of your friends, and you will discover the joy of being a child again.
19.
Daily recapitulation
The daily recapitulation is a method to improve memory, multitasking and attention, and it also allows you to plan your life better. Daily recapitulation is required before an exam, but it is good for everyday activities too. Take five minutes in the evening to remember what you have done during the respective day and what you need to do tomorrow. This exercise lasts for a few minutes, but if you have time, you can always try daily recapitulation on paper.
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What went wrong today? Was I able to accomplish all the proposed tasks? Why I was not able to go to the doctor? It was an event beyond my control, or I was just lazy?
Daily recapitulation is more than a method to improve brain fitness; it is the perfect method to organize our work and plans. We have our smartphone applications that help us to organize time with a precision of seconds, but usually brain fitness is about using our mind- without so much external help. Using smartphones might be easier, but it leads to our brain lingering. If you don’t want that, you will have to write your own recapitulation on paper daily.
Establish a daily program. Usually, you can do the recapitulation after dinner, before the movie or whatever it is that you do before you sleep. Don’t lose too much time with this, because it is supposed to help you, not to become a burden.
Try not to write about all the small things that happened to you during the day- you have a journal for that. The daily recapitulation must be a list with 5-10 things, with a short explanation for each. You can talk during dinner with all the members of the family, to see what they need and to make your program consider those things too
Any recapitulation starts by assessing the things that you have done during the day, but it also requires planning for tomorrow. Don’t despair if you were not able to check all the points of the list. Try to think about some methods to organize your time better, and don’t blame yourself for the failed objectives if it was not your fault: “I was late at the doctor because I got stuck in traffic, but I should have left home 15 minutes earlier”. It is not true. If you are able to take some time and to plan your day considering the inherent problems, it is better. However, if you are not able to, you must not despair.
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Try to make it fun
The daily recapitulation must not be a burden or something that shows how incapable you are. We are sure that you are able to accomplish the majority of things that you want, and for the others, just try to take more time. Some of us believe that it is impossible to check all the points on the list, but after a while, we will be able to make realistic plans and the daily recapitulation will become a reason to rejoice after a successful day.
20.
Building things
Building is one of the best fitness techniques for creativity, logic, and analytical thinking, but it is also a relaxing activity. Building gives us that peace of mind and relaxation, and the satisfaction of creating different objects with our own hands is also beneficial. You noticed that we used the term “things”. It is because any type of creative activity is useful, and you should only focus on what you like. If you don’t like nails, hammers, and saws, you don’t need to build a tree house. Instead, you can try other relaxing and constructive activities such as origami.
Building things as a brain fitness method
You don’t need to spend a fortune for the materials required. Building for mind training must be a relaxing activity, and there are so many of those that don’t require so many expenses upfront. There are some simple methods to express your creative side, and the small pieces of art will be helpful for your brain and mind in so many ways. Moreover, the satisfaction of saying, “I made this!” to a friend that admires a newly created living room decoration is huge.
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Decorative depositing boxes
You can buy boxes to store different objects, but the problem is their aspect. You can find simple and dull plastic boxes, but also those made of paper- with no personality and style. Well, you can buy those for a small price, and you can offer those your own touch of art.
You can wrap the simple paper or plastic boxes with textile materials. You need some patience and lots of glue, but the result will be some beautiful boxes that fit the décor, and a method to express your own creativity.
Carpets for walls
The idea of putting carpets on walls was old-fashioned for quite a while, but today, it seems like old things are back in style. An interesting textile decoration for your wall can be made of different textile materials, with different textures and colors to suit any room. Of course, you will also need a support and some adhesives, but the result will be a unique decorative element that you can proudly put in the most visible place of your living room. A wooden panel is perfect as a support for this creation. The fact a carpet is on the wall will get your brain racing every time you see it in your room.
Unique vases
We all like plants in our houses and they are useful for our peace of mind as well. However, the plants are even better when they are put in a nicely painted vase. As long as the plants are decorative, the vase will become a stylish element also. Use the special paint for glass and your vases can become even more interesting and attractive than the flowers!
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Building decorative elements for your home is useful in so many ways. It stimulates creativity and a sense of color, and it is also helpful because it gives you peace of mind- helping you to relax. There are no limits for your imagination, and any old junk can become the perfect decorative element if you have the will and patience to transform it.
21.
Multi-tasking
Multi-tasking is a brain fitness technique itself. Many of the methods proposed in this book have the goal of developing multitasking capacities. However, by doing many things at the same time, you will also develop some other important brain functions, such as attention, memory, and making decisions.
A contested method
Lately, some “brain development specialists” contested multi-tasking as a method for brain fitness, saying that people should focus on one thing to do it right. Nothing is farther from the truth as many of the methods stated in this book are based on multi-tasking. The entire process of neurobics is based on doing many things at the same time, and of getting out of routine. Moreover, without multi-tasking, it is impossible to perform at work, or to accomplish everyday goals.
It is true that breaks are required, even when we are multi-tasking. We will not hide that this method is demanding and exhausting, and it comes with tiredness, but making many things at the same time will develop your brain on so many levels.
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Try to think about multi-tasking whenever you can. When you wait for some files to be copied, and your computer needs a few minutes to finish, you can use this time for something else. Two minutes is not much, but if you are able to respond to an email, or to call your colleague to establish what you will order for lunch, you will use your time in an effective manner.
Try to solve any problem when it appears, if possible. If not, try to put it in your “mind queue” as soon as possible, considering its importance also. For complex subjects, think about a period of the day when you are less busy. For multi-tasking, it is great to have a list with all the things that you must do. You can keep this list in your mind, but as we always recommend writing as a brain fitness method, you can write those on a piece of paper.
There are moments when you can’t answer phones, and you can’t write emails, and those are few and far between. Don’t panic, and even if your list is longer than ever, try to impose your own rhythm. You will probably have to work overtime, but as you learn the secrets of multitasking, you will find it easier to solve many problems at the same time.
Multi-tasking is not only for your job. At home, when you need to cook, help your child with his homework, clean the house and to the shopping list too, you might end up in distress asking yourself how to accomplish all those. It is simple. Ask the child to join you in the kitchen and to ask you whenever something is unclear. Keep a shopping list on the kitchen table also and write in it whenever you remember something else that you need to buy. Cooking will be more pleasant when you have somebody to keep you company, and when you finish cooking, the shopping list and the homework will be ready also.
22.
Mnemonic activities
Mnemonics are a kind of memory instrument, techniques that allow you to retain information. The secret behind these is coding the information that you need in a simple manner. Page | 93
The human brain evolved so much that it can code and interpret complex stimulants such as images, sounds, and colors. The memory stores those in an efficient manner, giving the world a meaning. The simplest way to retain information is to code it using happy mental equivalents.
How can you use mnemonic techniques?
Some of the information that we receive every day can’t be coded automatically by our brain. We read thousands of words every day, in emails, in articles, on the computer or in books. Some people have a photographic memory, and they are able to code the information in images, but for the rest of us, this process has to be trained. -
Use positive images. The brain usually blocks the unpleasant ones. For example, even if you need to remember to go to a funeral, don’t try to picture the dead person in a coffin. Better, try to remember buying flowers for the funeral and the mind association will be made.
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Use colored images, as those are easier to retain. Use all your senses to code the information, and remember that mnemonics is made of sounds, images, smells and tastes.
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Always think in three dimensions. A mnemonic memory has a certain space and movement.
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Exaggerate the most important parts of the image.
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Symbols such as the red stop light or the circulation signs are perfect for coding complex messages.
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The three basic principles of coding information using mnemonic techniques are imagination, association, and localization. By using those together, you can create strong systems, allowing you to remember anything.
Imagination is what is used to create and consolidate associations. If you are able to visualize and imagine a situation, it will remain in your memory. The images that you use for remembering can be violent, sensual, colored or in any form that you want, but remember that negative images might be harder to remember.
Association is a method for you to connect the thing that you need to remember with the method used to remember that thing.
Localization offers you two things: a coherent context, where you can put the information, and a method to distinguish between one mnemonic memory and the other. A memory from a vacation is associated with the respective country, while a memory about a nice night out with your friends can be associated with the neighborhood where you had fun. This way, the mnemonic memories are easily distinguished and fixed.
Mnemonic is maybe the best method for developing memory, but it is also perfect for developing imagination. You will use your imagination to develop clear memories that will stick in your brain for the rest of your life. It is a perfect brain fitness method that will develop your cognitive capacities to a completely new level.
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23.
Brainstorming
The method of brainstorming has the goal of obtaining as many ideas as possible from as many people as possible. It was invented in large companies, with the goal of finding the optimal idea to solve a problem. Lately, it is being used as a great brain fitness technique because it allows the mind to obtain logical solutions to problems using creativity and imagination. Write a bubble in the middle of your paper and draw annotated lines which relate in some way to it.
One disadvantage of brainstorming is that it can’t be practiced alone. The good point is that two people are enough for a brainstorming activity. Your child will be more than thrilled to participate in a brainstorming session, and if you convince his older brother and your husband to join too, it will be more fun than playing a family board game. It is, needless to say that this kind of “brain playing” will be useful for all of you.
What should you brainstorm about? Any subject can be used for brainstorming. From choosing the destination for the next family vacation, to choosing the car model that you want to buy, any problem will find its best solution through brainstorming.
How it’s made Brainstorming needs a “project manager”, a person that puts the questions, and which leads the others to the right answers. You can be that person, but if you want a good result to the brainstorming session you will have to remember the basic five principles of this activity: -
free will leads to the best ideas Page | 96
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there are no wrong answers
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delay the verdict
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exchange ideas
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get as many ideas as possible
For example, if you are looking for the perfect vacation destination, an answer like Antarctica or North Korea might sound a little weird, but those must not be eliminated from the start. The project manager has to write those on paper. Antarctica could easily turn into Norway or another perfect ski destination while North Korea is so close to South Korea, which might be an exotic destination for your family vacation.
The rules of brainstorming are also important, if you want to develop the imaginative and logical skills of the participants, make sure that: -
all the ideas are a part of the image
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unusual ideas are encouraged
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the ideas will not be criticized
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the ideas must be combined
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the rules of brainstorming are displayed from the start
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the inevitable moments of silence will be eliminated by the moderator by refocusing on an older idea, or by expanding the horizon of brainstorming
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the less active members of the group are encouraged
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quality is less important than quantity, at least at the beginning, but this must not stop
Brainstorming stimulates creativity, develops the capacity to sustain ideas, helps communication, encourages everybody to participate, and it is a generally positive educational
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technique. It has its disadvantages such as the possible success, which depends largely on the skills of the project manager, but its positive effects are far more important.
24.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the capacity to feel, use, express and explain our emotions. It is one of the most important functions of the brain. Some say that it is even more important than the IQ as it will help us to control our feelings, and to understand ourselves and the people around us.
Emotional Intelligence can be trained. Since childhood, we have learned to cry or scream when we were afraid of something, and we used to wait for our mothers to comfort us. Many times, it worked, but we also learned to stay quiet and to scream less if our mother was upset. This type of behavior has emotions at its base, and it characterizes human nature.
When the concept of Emotional Intelligence appeared, it became one of the most researched and studied concepts of psychology. Until then, the IQ was considered the only method to characterize the chances of success. Studies show that a high IQ is not enough to ensure a successful career or a happy life. Usually, those achievements are connected with EQ (Emotional Intelligence Coefficient)
1. Try to know yourself better. Try to determine what kind of person you are. Selfobservation and introspection are the simplest methods to examine your own emotions, and the best method to fight fears
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2. Reflect on your feelings. Try to be aware of your emotions and their nuances. Try to name and distinguish your emotions and to find their reasons. “I feel confused” is a start, but examining the problem might lead you to “I feel uncertain about my job”, “I want more attention from my children”, or “I need to change the way I am seen by others” 3. Try to make a distinction between thoughts and emotions. “I feel neglected’ is different from “Everyone else has more important things to do than to take care of me.” 4. Take ownership of your feelings. “I am jealous” is different from “You make me feel jealous.” Try to analyze your own emotions and their causes, because many times those are not given by the actions of others, but by our own fears. 5. Use the feelings that you have to take decisions. “If I make this decision to confront somebody, how will it make me feel?” “Is revenge the best method to deal with this problem?” Sometimes, reflecting a few minutes before taking a rushed decision might prevent sorrows and regrets, and actions that can’t be taken back. 6. Use your emotions to achieve your goals. Think about how you want to feel, and about how you want to be seen by your parents, children, and spouse.
Developing emotional intelligence will help you understand the world better and make wiser decisions. Understanding emotions allows you to make decisions based on them, but also to eliminate the possible mistakes that could come from the same emotional decisions. It is basically reduced to knowing what is right or wrong. The effects of having a high emotional intelligence will reflect on all your activities, helping you to have a better and “smarter” life.
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25.
Gardening
Gardening as a brain fitness training method? Why not? People that like gardening know how relaxing this can be and psychologists encourage people to use gardening for relaxing. However, gardening is not just about relaxing, but about developing some of the most important brain skills. Attention, self-control and even multi-tasking are improved by gardening.
If you live in a flat and you have a balcony, you can still use gardening as a method to train your brain. The balcony is a great place to relax after a long day at work, and the smells of flowers were proven by scientists as being beneficial on your overall mood.
Flowers
The variety of smells in your garden affects your brain at the subconscious level. It is known that brain fitness is connected with many senses, including the smell. If you learn how to distinguish the different smells in the garden, you will feel more relaxed, and you will have a great mood.
Vegetables
Besides the effort of planting and taking care of vegetables, the satisfaction given by a salad made of your own vegetables is immense. Taking care of a vegetable garden is demanding, because you will need to take care of many aspects: digging, watering and using the right fertilizers are only a few of the daily tasks required. Gardening is a science, and if you know it, you will help your brain to develop greatly on so many levels.
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Fruits and trees
Taking care of a tree and seeing the fruits growing are fulfilling activities. Any gardener has his or her favorite tree, and it seems like the fruits of that tree are tastier and sweeter. We sometimes don’t like those fruits from the general store which look like they’re taken from a magazine, and which can taste like plastic, so the ones from our garden are always the best choice.
Gardening is a relaxing activity, but also demanding. Being relaxed does not always mean being rested. Some gardens require a lot of attention. Some people find it relaxing to dig the entire yard, even if they will be absolutely exhausted afterward. It is a good brain-stimulating activity also, especially because of the physical benefits, but if you are not strong and if you don’t want to bother yourself with this, you can try planting only flowers and plants that are easily taken care of.
A garden should always have a discrete corner, possibly with a bench, where you can retire for some private moments. This is also a nice activity that would be beneficial in so many ways. The fresh air oxygenates your entire body, and it’s true that you feel fresh and ready for new activities after sitting for an hour in your favorite little corner?
Gardening is beneficial for your state of mind on the whole, and it has long-term effects too. For that, you need some perseverance because a garden can’t be neglected. Just like a nice garden gives you a good mood, a neglected garden can be the reason for depression. If you can’t have a garden, at least a lawn trimmed once a week is recommended to be pleasing on the eyes.
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26.
Decorating
Decorating the house is a pleasant activity. It is also a nice brain fitness technique, as it stimulates creativity and attention. You can make your bedroom a refuge, but you can also think about all kinds of decorative objects for any room of the house.
Decorating for mind therapy
If you want to use decorating as a method to relax, you will have to pay attention to colors. Some colors are suited for a living room, but in the bedroom, they might make you tired, forbidding you to sleep. According to the colors theory, the different nuances can affect your mood. The bedroom has to be a calm place, where you can relax and where you can recharge your batteries. The walls of the bedroom can be enriched with drawings and motifs. The curtains and the wall pictures can make your bedroom a true relaxation oasis. If you want a feminine aspect for your bedroom, choose floral themes. If you are looking for a fascinating aspect, which will be a stimulant for your brain, you can choose exotic birds and tropical landscapes.
Each color and decoration will have a different effect on the brain. The tendency is to renounce the family photos, but this might not be such a great idea for your mood. A nice family photo in the living room will create a familiar and homely space.
Creating decorations for your entire house will be great for developing creative skills and for relaxation. Origami is a complicated method to create figurines from paper, but those will be fascinating for any visitor, and learning how to do those will be a great achievement.
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Manual decorations such as drawings and paintings made by you are great. Painting the walls in different colors and creating your own models is also interesting, but make sure that you have some talent before ruining the wall. You can draw your model on a piece of paper, and if you think that it is good, you can transpose it onto the walls.
Decorating is a relaxing activity, as long as you think about it as a method to relax. Some people become obsessed with the way their house looks, and this is not what you are looking for. Try to create decorations that will not affect the aspect of the home, and if you don’t like one of your creations, don’t expose them.
27.
Memorizing numbers
Memorizing numbers was always a challenge for many people. However, considering the modern devices that we use every day, it has become harder for new generations to memorize numbers. Today, we can’t even remember the telephone numbers of our beloved ones, but in the past, we used to remember many telephone numbers, for the simple reason that we had to call those people from fixed phones. It was proven that the general tendency of not learning numbers affects the brain capacity in the long term.
As a brain fitness technique, remembering numbers develops attention, memory, and logic. It is also useful for those rare moments when you don’t have your cell phone, but you need to call a friend or a family member.
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How to learn numbers and why
Considering the complexity of the numbers that we need to retain, there are several techniques that can be used. These can be used separately or together, but it is important to use the technique that suits you best.
Digits
An association is the simplest method to remember digits. The associations must be made by each individual. For example, we can tell you that zero can be associated with an egg, but if the first association that comes into your mind is with an apple, you should use that. Every person has their own system, which works best for the respective person, and which might not work for other people. If I tell you that I associate 4 with a chair, you might consider that I am right, but if you want to associate it with a bench, there is nothing wrong with that.
When you associate each digit with a suggestive image, you must associate the image whenever you hear the number. Play with the list and start making numbers. From our example, 40 might be a chair-egg. Take a string of telephone numbers from the agenda, and try to generate an image and to make associations for some of the numbers there.
The system is helpful when we need to remember digits and numbers from zero to 99. It is hard to associate 4004404 with chair-egg-egg-chair-chair-egg-chair. However, we usually don’t need to remember bigger numbers. When we do, the best method to remember those is not to use associations, but to try memorizing the numbers as they are. What numbers are important? If
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you are able to remember the numbers for the following list, you can name yourself a skilled number learner, and the effort put into learning those numbers is useful as a brain training technique. -
the telephone numbers of your closest friends, parents, children, and spouse
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your national ID number
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the license and registration numbers of your car
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birth dates of all the family members, including extended ones
You probably know many of those already, so get to work with the rest of them. How? Simply by repeating and memorizing them as they are because sometimes the old-fashioned way is the best way. After this, you will probably discover that learning numbers of any type is a lot easier.
28.
Chess
Chess is a part of the school programs in many countries. Studies and experiments proved that chess is a great method for brain fitness because it works on the brain at so many levels. It is a great method to develop logic, self-control, memory, and the competition spirit. Chess practiced from an early age by children will lead to a healthy personality, and to a general better level of school performance. Play as an adult with your increased brainpower and challenge your friends.
1. It improves concentration: any player can sit at a table preoccupied about a certain problem. It gives you the tenacity to stay in front of a problem until you are able to solve it.
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2. It develops logical thinking: the player must apply strategic principles to analyze the consequences of some moves. 3. It stimulates thinking, imagination and creativity, encouraging the creation of new combinations of moves. 4. It develops the independent spirit by obliging the player to make decisions based only on his own reasoning. 5. It develops the capacity to foresee the consequences of one’s actions, which is really important in life in general. 6. It inspires self-perfecting, and the capacity to look for the best plan. 7. It proves that hard work is rewarded with success. You become a good player only after losing many games, but this will help you to learn from your own mistakes 8. It is a test of patience, nerves, will, and concentration, which increases the ability to compete with other people, respecting the rules at the same time 9. It increases self-esteem and trust, helping the ones who are less physically developed to have the mentality of a winner. 10. It develops the scientific way of thinking: the players explore new ideas, forming new ideas and testing those in a competitive environment 11. It develops mathematical skills, starting with orientation on a chess table to calculating simple and complex moves. 12. It develops the managerial qualities of a player, each player is a general of an army, being the one that analyzes the situation, uses the resources, attacks and defends, sacrificing the present for a possible future victory. 13. It stimulates research, as there is a lot of information that has to be looked for and found, and is also brilliant for self-developing. 14. It offers the player the possibility to be an artist, and to develop his own style of playing. 15. It opens up the possibility to meet interesting people, to make new friendships in any part of the globe, even if we are not talking about professional players. The game is available on multiplayer online via the web or a special app game.
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16. It is cheap and easy to practice, and it is perfect for any age. 17. It is a pleasant way to spend time- a mental fight on the table. It is never boring as one game does not look like the one before it did. 18. It teaches the players to have a sportive attitude, to shake hands with the opponent at the end, no matter what the result of the game is. 19. It will keep you far from the computer and from your smartphone, which is an important thing to do for brain development today. Unless you are following point 15.
29.
Dieting
Dieting is important for maintaining brain health and slowing down the aging process. A healthy diet comes with many benefits, and it is almost impossible to exercise your brain fitness as long as the rest of your body is ill. Well, this does not mean that people not exercising can’t be smart, but a healthy diet combined with fitness will greatly improve the result of any brain fitness activity. The diet section of brain stimulation has already been covered in this book, but this exercise involves eating things that are good for you and remembering what you’ve eaten throughout the day.
We will not propose to you a certain diet that you should be eating. There is no such thing as a “wonder fruit”, which will help you read two pages per minute or to learn the first 1000 decimals of the Pi number in two minutes. However, there are some fruits, vegetables and fruits which will allow your brain to assimilate information faster and to improve the neural connections that are so important for brain fitness. Eat these healthy brain foods and at the end of the day take a few minutes to think about every bite that has passed your lips today. If you are overweight, it might help you to see when you were eating for hunger, or eating out of boredom.
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1. Blueberries – an important source of anti-oxidants that annihilate the action of the free radicals. The arterial tension is also better, which means that the brain is well irrigated. 2. Cabbage and lettuce – the green leaves contain vitamins B6 and B12, which are important for preventing cardiovascular diseases. It reduces the risk of dementia. 3. Salmon, sardines and herrings – fat acids with Omega 3 – they are essential for a healthy brain. Lack of Omega 3 leads to depressive tendencies. People who consume fish at least once per week are less predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease. 4. Spinach has a strong anti-oxidant effect, slowing the memory deficits associated with aging. 5. Red wine – consumed in reasonable quantities it prolongs life. However, alcohol slows the functions of the brain, but you can also choose grape juice. Recent studies show that grape juice improves the memory and the movement functions. 6. Rice and grains – an efficient method to increase the level of nutrients required by the brain is to include rice and grains in your diet. Those are rich in vitamins and magnesium, bringing important benefits for the brain 7. Almonds and nuts – rich ion anti-oxidants, they have the capacity to reduce the level of cholesterol. Women who consume more than 150 grams of almonds or nuts per week reduce the risk of contracting heart diseases. They will not make you fat, compared with other foods, and they have a high level of Omega 3. 8. Olive oil – olive oil has a strong effect against free radicals. It reduces the arterial tension and the level of cholesterol in your body. 9. Garlic – because of the anti-oxidant properties, it prevents premature aging, including the brain. It is also anti-bacterial, which reduces the risk of infections.
The list of foods, fruits and vegetables proposed here are general improvers of the body’s health. Some of those don’t have a direct action on the brain, but they will improve the general state of health of other organs, allowing the brain to function better. Moreover, the state of mind given by the fact that you are healthy is not an aspect to neglect.
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30.
Brain games on paper
Brain games on paper are fun, easy to play and to understand. There are literally thousands of games that you can play with a crayon and paper, alone or with your friends. As there are different games with different aims, they will work differently on your brain. Some stimulate creativity, while others are perfect in developing a spirit of competition. Here are some of the classical games that you probably played as a child, but now when you understand their beneficial effects on your mind, you will probably want to play those a lot more.
1. Tic-tac-toe It is a classical game invented thousands of years ago. The Egyptians and Romans used to play it using a stick and drawing in the sand. It is the same version as the one we play today. The goal is to get three noughts or crosses in a straight line of three. It is simple, fast, and you can play 100 games in one hour. On one hand, you will have to block an opponent from drawing his three-symbol line, and on the other hand you will have to draw yours. Two experienced players will often finish a game in a stalemate. It is possible to draw bigger boards, such as the ones of 9x9, and you can try to draw lines of 4 or 5 in a row. This will make the game more complicated.
2. Battleships The classical game involving hitting an entire arsenal of ships, planes and boats of an opponent was popular in the past, but the era of computers reduced its popularity. If you want to get back to the basics, you can try this classic game. It must be played on a mathematical piece of paper, the one with squares. It is just like a new version of chess, which sometimes lasts for hours.
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3. Hangman Hangman was invented in UK during the Victorian Era, but we don’t know if a person was actually hanged because he or she was not able to guess a word. However, the game remained as popular as it used to be, and the computational era brought it to a new level. Today, it is possible to generate words with the help of a computer, but the charm of playing it on a piece of paper is the real ingredient of this game. If you want to use it as a brain developing technique, you need to play it on paper, just like in the old days.
4. Scrabble Do you like playing with words? Scrabble has remained one of the games that does not have any charm when played on the computer. It is a game that develops the capacity to create words, being equally challenging for adults and children. It is the perfect family game that stimulates imagination, creativity, logic, and vocabulary, so we can safely consider it as one of the perfect games for brain fitness.
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Chapter 8- Quick Tips To Boost Brain Power
There are times when we find our memory failing us, and we suddenly forget something. It could be something from just a few minutes before or hours before or the previous day or week. In our fast paced world today, stress and anxiety cause us to forget the simplest of things sometimes. We are always multi-tasking and at times some small detail or matter slips through and we forget about it. We can forget very basic things like where we parked our car, where we kept something we put down just minutes ago, what we said to someone the previous day or the name of a person we just met. This doesn’t mean that we have amnesia or Alzheimer’s disease; it just means that we are forgetful and absent-minded. It is well known that the more you use your brain, the more exercise it gets and therefore your memory and brain power is better. There are various simple tasks that we can do to boost our memory and brain power in order to stay sharp. These tasks will be different from our regular daily tasks and hence will require our brain to work harder making our brain and memory power better.
Daily Tasks You Can Do To Boost Memory and Brain Power
Here are few simple tasks that you can do at home or outside every day to improve your memory and brain power. These are also mentioned in much more detail in the main brain stimulation exercises in this book.
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Switching hands while doing work: If you are right handed then use your left hand to do tasks you would normally do with your right hand (e.g.: writing, brushing teeth, using scissors) and vice versa. This will increase your brain power and memory by creating new neural networks in the brain. Victims of strokes or paralysis often have to learn to use their nondominant hand, and this improves the nondominant side of their brain by stimulating it through use.
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Learning something new: Whenever we learn something new it gives our brain good exercise and therefore improves its power. You can learn a new skill like carpentry or pottery or you can learn a completely new language. Even taking classes for something like salsa dancing will work. When the brain works hard to learn something new, it is pushed to be more efficient because it has to be flexible in thinking.
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Taking breaks and learning in chunks: If you are a student and you study for exams by continuously cramming things into your brain for hours it will not help you learn and remember better. Research has shown that if you take breaks between study times and learn your matter in chunks you remember it better as it allows you to learn concepts by spacing out learning.
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Playing phone or computer games: Playing phone games or computer games that involve problem-solving, reasoning and critical or strategic thinking gives the brain very good exercise by forcing it to think hard. There are many good brain games and applications easily available online for computers and android phones or iPhones.
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Saying the alphabet: When you are unable to remember something specific like the name of a person or place or thing recite the alphabet mentally or out loud till you reach the letter with which the name or word begins to help you jog your memory. ●
Using imagery as a memory aid: When
you are trying to remember a place or name just close your eyes and try to imagine the
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place or person or anything that you associate with the place or person and you the memory will come back to you. ●
Reading out loud: Instead of just silently reading a newspaper or book in your mind read it out loud as this will stimulate different parts of your brain and make them active by getting blood to flow to these areas. It will keep your brain healthy and enhance your memory power.
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Saying thoughts out loud: it might sound strange to do this as it makes one look crazy but saying things out loud can help you remember things better. Suppose you are looking for your car keys and you can’t remember where you kept them then speak your thoughts out loud as to when you last used them and where you could have possibly put them and the memory will gradually come to you.
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Meditating on a regular basis: Research has shown that meditating for some time every day can bring about physical changes in the brain which create new synaptic networks that can increase memory power, awareness and attention.
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Rehearsing learnt information: Especially with studying or learning new skills or interests if you rehearse, practice or revise the information learnt every day it will help your brain stay alert and you won’t forget the information easily.
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Exercising every day: Many studies have proven that aerobics is a great exercise for improving brain cognitive functions and is also very effective in enhancing memory power. Exercising will encourage the growth and development of new brain cells in the hippocampus region of the brain, and the hippocampus is the main center for memory and learning.
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Typing or writing daily: It is useful to use your fingers in typing or writing as it gives your brain good exercise by activating the regions that deal with writing, typing and hand-eye coordination. If your brain works harder, you can be sure to improve your brain power and memory.
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Attaching meanings to information: If you attach special meanings to different types of information it will be easier for your brain to make the connection and retrieve that necessary information promptly when you require it.
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Changing your computer font: Change your computer’s font size, format, color, etc. regularly or make it in italics or bold, something that you are not generally used to or comfortable with. If it becomes difficult for you to read and adjust to the font, it will give good exercise to your brain and improve its functioning.
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Exercising Your Brain: A 21 Day Workout Plan
A few simple exercises each day can dramatically improve the health of your brain. The amount of time spent on each exercise is not as important as keeping a routine. Start slow and increase the time spent until it becomes a habit.
Day One: Complete A 25-50 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
Practice Breathing Correctly
Day Two:
Walk For 30 Minutes Play A Board Game With A Friend
Massage The Head For 15 Minutes
Draw A Simple Picture
Day Three:
Complete A Crossword Puzzle
Spend Time In Nature
Meditate For 10 Minutes
Write Using Something Different
Complete One Visual Stimulation Exercise
Journal Your Feelings
Day Four:
Play Soduku
Play A Team Sport
Spend 30 Minutes Gardening
Sing Your Favorite Song
Eat In The Dark
Learn 5 Foreign Words
Remember The Last Hour
Do 30 Minutes Of Aerobic Exercise
Memorize 5 People’s Birthdates
Write With The Other Hand
MultiTask For 30 Minutes Tell A Story
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Day Five:
Keep Notes Of The Entire Day
Eat One New Healthy Food
Day Six:
Dance With A Friend Spend A Day With Someone Half Your Age
Create Mnemonic Associations For 3 Things Read A Foreign Language Children’s Book
Day Seven:
Complete A Daily Recapitulation
Meditate For 10 Minutes
Remember The Last Day
Create A Craft
Redecorate Your Room
Play Tic Tac Toe With A Friend
Break The Routine
Brainstorm A Fairytale
Day Eight:
Walk For 30 Minutes
Use The Other Hand For 1 Hour
Play A Game Of Chess Listen To Foreign Music Or TV
Play Soduku
Practice Breathing Correctly
Spend Time In Nature Play A Board Game With A Friend
Massage The Head For 15 Minutes
Draw A Simple Picture
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Day Nine:
Day Ten:
Complete A 50-100 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
Play A Team Sport
Create Mnemonic Associations For 5 Things
Eat Two New Healthy Foods
Write Using Something Different
Learn 10 Foreign Words
Day Eleven:
Remember The Last Hour
Spend 30 Minutes Gardening
Play A Game Of Chess
Sing Two Songs
Mime To A Child
Write A Poem
Day Twelve:
Complete A Crossword Puzzle
Walk For 30 Minutes
Meditate For 15 Minutes
Play A Board Game With A Friend
Massage The Head For 15 Minutes
Paint A Simple Picture
Memorize 5 Phone Numbers Dance With A Friend
Create A Craft
Multi- Task For 30 Minutes
Write With The Other Hand
Spend 30 Min Listening To A Foreign Language
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Day Thirteen:
Day Fourteen:
Complete A Crossword Puzzle
Complete A 100-200 Pc Jigsaw Puzzle
Practice Breathing Correctly
Spend Time In Nature
Redecorate A Friend’s Room
Play With A Child
Tell A Story
Day Fifteen:
Complete A Daily Recapitulation
Eat Three New Healthy Foods
Dance With A Friend
Create A Craft
Complete One Visual Stimulation Exercise
Answer One Weird Question
Write In A Journal For 30 Min
Day Sixteen:
Play A Team Sport Use The Other Hand For 2 Hours
Play A Game Of Chess Learn 25 Foreign Words
Play Soduku Meditate For 30 Minutes
Spend 45 Minutes Gardening Play Hangman
Multi- Task For 30 Minutes Draw Or Paint A Famous Picture
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Day Seventeen:
Keep Notes Of The Entire Day
Sing Three Songs
Day Eighteen:
Do 30 Minutes Of Aerobic Exercise
Create Mnemonic Associations For 10 Things
Complete A 200+ Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
Build A Device
Spend 1 Hour Listening To A Foreign Language
Think Up Answers To 5 Weird Questions
Day Nineteen:
Play Soduku
Sing To Someone
Take A Dance Class Tell Funny Stories To Your Friends
Massage The Head For 15 Minutes
Journal Your Feelings
Day Twenty:
Spend 1 Hour Gardening
Redecorate Your Home
Play Scrabble With A Friend
Sing A Foreign Language Song
Complete A Crossword Puzzle Create A New Recipe With Healthy Foods
Create A Craft
Play A Game Of Chess
Use The Other Hand For 3 Hours
Create Art For A Loved One
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It is important to try all of the exercises until you find the ones you are most comfortable with. Once you are comfortable performing all of them, continue using them on a regular basis. Day Twenty-One is not the end of the program; it is the beginning of creating your own.
Day Twenty-One:
Complete A Daily Recapitulation
Meditate For 1 Hour
Do 30 Minutes Of Aerobic Exercise
Break The Routine
Complete One Visual Stimulation Exercise Draw And Illustrate A Children’s Book
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