The Benefits Of Training Your Brain

The Benefits Of Training Your Brain

Brain training which is also called cognitive training are performed to increase the function and processes of the brain. With brain training, different exercises are performed to increase listening, reading, writing, visual and auditory skills. Aside from improving brain processes, it could also considered by a growing number of health professionals as a great way for cognitive therapy.

There are studies showing the benefits of brain training for the older generation. It could delay the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which is one of the major causes of dementia cases. Health experts recommend that upon reaching the age of 60, it is best to take a few minutes each day for brain training to avoid memory loss.

There are “brain gymnasiums” which help baby boomers and elderly in training their minds especially since aging affects brain functions. In these gymnasiums, there are brain games that allow them to develop flexibility, their memory, spatial recall and their problem solving skills.

There are also studies showing how cognitive brain training could help children suffering from ADHD. When a child is diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), parents can have medications for their kids. However, there are studies showing that children who gets medication may also develop a calm behaviour, but showed no improvement in their relationships with peers or grades.

Cognitive brain training as a therapy for ADHD sufferers, could actually increase focus and short term memory, according to a research performed by Rosemary Tannock of University of Toronto and Susan Gathercole of the University of Durham in England.

Brain training as cognitive therapy, like in ADHD cases, could be done using computer programs. Actually, using computer software is more cost-efficient and easiest for one-on-one instruction. By using a software, the users would immediately receive positive reinforcement through rewards or praises which helps in improving their self-esteem and confidence.

Cognitive therapy through games can also help those who are recovering from stroke and brain-related diseases. In a research at the University of Queensland’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), they discovered that if a neuron or a nerve cell does not receive electrical and chemical stimuli, it would wither and die. This is why it is essential in recovering from diseases that affect the neuron’s activity to keep the brain cells working.

Brain training research also showed that it could contribute in increasing a person’s intellect, since it would help in creating new associations, finishing challenges, comprehension and ability to acquire new information and knowledge. In other studies, brain games even showed that it could help people become more safe drivers since it could increase focus, react quickly to situations, and accurate understanding of reality.

And the benefits of brain training are not just affecting short-term memory, etc., its effects are life-lasting. According to Elizabeth A.L. Stine-Morrow from the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois, their research actually showed that brain training effects were maintained over five years among the elderly who participated in their study.

This showed that the cognitive skills learned through brain training could actually deliver long-term effects which could significantly affect our mental health over the years to come.

The Brain Training Salad

The Brain Training Salad

You have to work with your brain to get the best results. Pay attention to the cues that it frequently sends. Don’t wait for it to go red alert on you. Engage in training sessions and enforce its abilities before you are faced with such horrifying scenario.

You can get your brain to run in full mode using the lazy eight routine. It is specifically designed to enhance the level of focus needed to maximize your reading time. Choose a spot preferably a wall and sit or stand in front of it. Begin staring at a particular point within eye level.

Draw an imaginary figure of eight on the wall. Complete one full round of tracing then go back to your predetermined point. Execute the step again but this time around do it in reverse. The number to aim for is 10 making sure that each direction is covered per lap. Keep your neck muscles relaxed throughout the procedure while minimizing head movements.

A patent blood flow to the brain is essential in keeping it healthy. You can utilize a power yawn in order to relax the muscles of your face and mouth. This will improve circulation in nearby areas of he brain.

Take a comfortable sitting position. Gently massage the muscles situated on your jaw and cheekbone area. Mild to moderate pressure should be applied. For two to three minutes ignore everything around you and focus on what you have to achieve. By doing so, you will come out of the exercise feeling revived and ready to take on the challenge at hand.

Chess is a classic board game that can test your critical thinking skills. It allows you to focus on the game and trace future moves that can result into a win. If you are tired of playing with predictable individuals in your house or neighborhood you can rely on the World Wide Web to bring forth a roster of international online players willing to take your king down.

Music does not only help the brain relax as it can also be a tool that can keep your control unit alert and active. How so? You can do it by creating your own music. Take on the complexities involved in learning how to master an instrument. According to research, children who engage in piano lessons at an early age perform well in school specifically in mathematics.

Your brain needs to freshen up once in a while. Move away from the monotonous sights, sounds, and smells in your life. A day of driving home using a different route can make a big difference. Open up new pathways so as to increase awareness and interest thereby stimulating brain activity.

Although technology is around to make your life easier, take some time off from your calculator and do your math mentally. Run the figures in your head to make sure that your brain is far from rusting. Memorize contacts and addresses which may come in handy when your phone’s dead.

Observe the relaxation that visualization has to offer. Along the way you have the chance to sharpen your mental capability. Choose a place or object. Get the details and write it down or better yet do some sketching.

There are tons of ways to win the brain training game. You don’t need a PhD to move up to greater heights. Bear in mind the power is in you.

Tangible Brain Training

Tangible Brain Training

Varying motions of the body are not only suitable for your bones and muscles. They can pave the way for a healthier brain. With the right training and attitude, you can live a life with a clear head.

Have you ever wondered why you preferred to walk off stressful events of the day? Generally speaking, you and other folks think well when you’re taking those quiet and peaceful strides. In the scientific arena the explanation lies in the increased oxygenation of your brain.

Walking can do wonders to both your legs and brain. It does not strain you leg muscles and glucose uptake is not as high compared to other forms of exercise. As for your brain, blood circulation is enhanced which means more nutrients and nourishment are delivered to your control center. Moreover, energy production is improved along with waste excreting processes.

Studies involving elderly women indicate that those who moved away from the sedentary lifestyle and slipped on their walking shoes manifested lesser chances of memory loss and reduced mental functioning. Walking and stair-climbing were combined in an experiment in the University of California. Results favored the group of women who were on the go as they scored better in tests. Moreover, researchers discovered that an extra mile per week can lead to a 13 percent reduction on the chances of having negative cognitive alterations.

There’s a nice way of making yourself alert amidst the stacks of papers you need to work on. This is also applicable for the mornings when you feel the urge to start your day on the right note. Choose a comfortable position then move your toes slowly. Make sure that the wiggling and stretching feels good.

When you feel like you’ve gained your momentum, move your toes up and down. As you reach fluidity in your motions focus on making your big toes dance to the beat. The objective of the steps mentioned is to stimulate your brain and internal organs. This will give you the much needed fuel and stability throughout your stint in the urban jungle.

On the road to a healthier mind, there’s no other way to go but the positive lane. Upon mastery of the walking techniques you can launch yourself to a faster pace by running. Scientific exploration of the hippocampus, a region of the brain overseeing memory and learning affairs, led to findings that running has benefits on the brain. Such activity can lead to brain-boosting scenarios even for those who have neurodegenerative disorders.

There’s an exercise that you might know as part of the warm-up team. It is called cross crawl which actually targets the left and right hemispheres of your brain. Moreover, it offers stimulation of the nervous system resulting into coordinated functioning.

You have the option of executing each motion in either a standing or sitting position. Initiate the procedure by lifting your left knee while commanding your right elbow to move across your body with the objective of making the two parts touch. Afterwards, proceed with separation and return to neutral position. Do this alternately for 2 to 3 minutes.

The brain will enjoy its training sessions if it is joined by its anatomical comrades. You are assured that results will come out well and you get to have that lean figure you’ve always been thinking of.

Successful Brain Training

Successful Brain Training

Today, brain training is known as the process of mental exercises to stimulate the brain’s functions and trigger its cognitive development further. Puzzles, video games, logic games, and other thinking exercises are now used to help in brain training.

Right now, they are used by rehabilitation clinics to help mostly elderly patients improve on their mental abilities. If practiced consistently, authorities contend that these aids can improve memory, concentration and can reduce the effects of Alzheimer’s-related symptoms.

They are also known to improve visual judgment, and generally improve mental capabilities slowed down by aging.

Learning and changing

Before, scientists thought that the brain’s network is rigid and fixed, all because of aging. What we know today is that the brain can be molded and changed, even those in the elderly.

Brain training follows the concept of plasticity that says the brain is always learning and changing. New information changes the brain. This, in turn, makes brain training possible.

Commercial games and others

There are several good products on the market to increase brain functioning. Leading game companies have interactive games that feature mathematics, logic, reading and other challenges designed as “mental treadmills”.

There are other alternative routines, of course. You can do crossword puzzles, soduku, logic board games or other mental sports. The primary rule is simple – practice makes for better memory, visualization and reasoning skills.

Neurobics and other tips

The secret is to make connections to the new knowledge. Recalling past events refreshes the old sights and sounds (and even smells) and makes them new again.

In neurobics, the trick is to simply change daily routines. Sit in another place from your usual position at the table. Brush your teeth or comb your hair with your other hand, even if it feels awkward and hard to do the first time.

Practice

Like in physical exercises, practice is the key to eventual improvements of your mental abilities. Do a few of these exercises every day. You will soon discover that you can do more of them later.

Through all these, do not forget good nutrition and your regular physical exercises. Good health and good nutrition is a pre-requisite to improving your mental abilities.

Memory

Medical authorities are targeting brain training on the rehabilitation of our three key mental skills – memory, visualization and reasoning.

Good memory is simply making mental connections. The more connections you have of something, the more likely you can remember it. How does the word sound? What thoughts does it bring to mind?

Visualization

Visualization gives a good mental workout. Pick a memory and recall everything you can about it – the smells, the colors, the time of day, the people around, etc.

Think what and how you felt then – happy, sad, elated? Try to recall everything. If it was a beach vacation, can you still remember the smell of the sea, the feel of the breeze, the sound of the waves?

Spend around 15 minutes visualizing. Repeat everyday with a different memory.

Reasoning

Reasoning is one of the most important functions of the brain. One very good way of practicing would be asking the question “Why?”

Simply thinking the possible answers to questions on things that interest you will force your brain to use logic and intuition. Brain training is actually not an ordeal at all like most people imagine.

Stress Management And Brain Training

Stress Management And Brain Training

Stress kills. Yes, we have heard health experts say that before. Dr Paul Rosch, a medical scientist and stress expert said that stress is one of the major reasons for heart disease, cancer, lupus and respiratory problems. Experiencing constant stress would wear out your mind and body. Brain training is one of the ways to rejuvenate or worn out disposition.

The American Medical Association, cited that there are 75% of illnesses attributed to stress. World Health Organization (WHO) identifies stress as the leading health problem among Americans. Physical health is not the only thing affected by stress. Stress lead do depression or anxiety attacks, which translates to trips to the doctor to get prescription.

There are studies showing that brain training could actually help people who are suffering from depression and anxiety. Neurofeedback or neurotherapy would determine brainwaves and areas of the brain triggering these problems. Eventually, patients are trained or coached on how to recreate a calm state to overcome symptoms.

However, not only depression and anxiety trigger mental health issues. Chronic stress could also cause neurons or brain cells to die. Chronic and long-term stress could hurt the brain function such as memory and motor skills. Stress could also affect ability to focus and concentrate.

Relaxation techniques, exercise and a healthier lifestyle could actually help in relieving stress. However, brain training could help in achieving longer results. Brain training to reduce stress could be in a form of meditation, visualization, or even self-hypnosis.

In a study led by Michael I. Posner, Psychology professor emeritus from University of Oregon and Yi-Yuan Tang, a professor in the Institute of Neuroinformatics and Laboratory for Body and Mind at Dalian University of Technology in Dalian, China, showed that meditation could reduce stress. In their study, a group of people who have performed meditation, a form of brain training, could reduce stress, lessen amount of cortisol released and improve attention within five days of training.

Meditation does not only mean holding a particular position for a long time and chanting. Meditation would also involve relaxing your body, breathing exercises and visual imagery. When meditation is combined with physical exercises, it produces more benefits whether physical or mental. Yoga is a form of combining breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, physical movements and even imagery.

Brain fitness gyms are also great places for brain training with physical exercises. These gyms also combine nutrition and stress management into their program. What’s interesting is that these centers allow children and adults to enjoy brain challenges.

Children, working adults and the elderly could enhance their brain exercises by engaging into memory games, visual and auditory challenges, and other mentally stimulating activities. Those who have been using brain training as a form to relieve stress have reported numerous benefits like an increase in creativity, energy, better sleep and being relaxed.

Stress should not be considered just as a normal condition or situation. There are different ways on how a person can face and reduce it, brain training could be one of the ways. But it is a matter of making choice and taking action of becoming stress-free.

Going Left And Right With Brain Training

Going Left And Right With Brain Training

The brain is so complex that it needed to be split into two equal parts called hemispheres. Each side has been tasked to function in varying life situations. Although there is a dominant part in an individual it will help a lot if you are acquainted with different training activities that can help balance brain processes.

Your left hemisphere is responsible for filing information in a systematic and orderly manner. It undergoes step by step analysis based on factual and logical details so as to arrive at a more rational and definitive solution for any given complexity and conflict. This portion of your brain helps you face life in a positive note rooted on the authentic realities of everyday living. Moreover, it is mathematically inclined and verbally oriented.

The left hemisphere can be honed by focusing on activities that can sharpen your problem-solving capacities. The simplest way to achieve this is by bombarding yourself with puzzles and crosswords. If you intend to reach a higher level of left brain enhancement there are various experiments on the table.

Choose a subjective topic that traces its roots on the creative side of arts and music. Rev the reasoning engines in your brain and control yourself to speak calmly without presenting too much emotion. Tap on your logical and rational side in order to produce a detailed dissection of your chosen topic. Do this religiously and you’ll be surprised at how much improvement you can attain.

If you’re not up for a verbal examination try painting but do not perform the whole canvass thing the way your right hemisphere will tell you. Call on the services of the left brain to hinder your emotions from intervening. Use math basics and plot your layout into quadrants. Plan the strokes and analyze color synthesis and relationships.

The right part of your brain houses the subjective artist and the intuitive entity in you. It triggers visual processes that allow you to see beyond the actual image at hand. With your innate ability to mix and match varying forms of ideas as a right-brained person you are able to establish a big picture which is commonly neglected by your lefty counterpart.

Mastery of the right hemisphere can be obtained by engaging in games that challenge your brain to go through loops of tasks at a single moment. You should be able to think out of the box in order to arrive at answers and succeed. By constantly exposing yourself with such activities you will have increased levels of intuition, memory, concentration, and creativity.

There are other means of exercising the right area of your brain. Play along and utilize your non dominant hand to write or draw. While you’re at it keep a constant flow of the creative juice. Although singing and painting are the usual things of your right brain you might want to spice things up by adding spontaneity in the fray. Do something without your reliable list like cooking a meal without the steps to dictate every move.

Frequency is a vital element in brain training. Each part must gain familiarity with the activities you have chosen. A good 10 to 15 minutes of your time is a fine to go. Do your left in the morning then let your right have the afternoon.

Delaying Dementia With Brain Training

Delaying Dementia With Brain Training

In the landmark publication of a study in the August 4, 2009 issue of Neurology, it was reported that people engaged in brain exercises (brain training) such as reading, writing and playing card games may delay the onset of rapid memory decline that occurs if they later develop dementia.

There was a cautionary adjunct to that happy news. It declared that while “there is evidence that brain exercises do work to slow down cognitive decline”, there was also evidence that the really elderly will not benefit from it.

To be effective, the study said, these brain training needs to be started while people are still in the 60s or 70s. These people need “early life education and participation in cognitively stimulating leisure activities later in life. These are the two factors…which may have delayed the onset of memory decline in the preclinical stages of dementia.”

Brain training facts

Nevertheless, the study results point to the old phrase (directed at first to the benefits of physical exercise) “use it or lose it” as equally valid for mental fitness, too. Previous studies had also shown that regular brain training sessions can help ward off dementia and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

The following list gives out reasons why the right kind of mental exercises can fortify your brain. It also reiterates what research says about using brain calisthenics to defend yourself against memory loss.

(1) Mental decline is not inevitable. Adults can actually grow new brain cells. This reverses the long-held belief that lost brainpower caused by aging cannot be recovered anymore.

(2) You can build a set of extra neurons (cognitive reserve) in your brain to help offset those you had gradually lost as you aged. A data analysis published in a journal says that a mere 5% increase in the cognitive reserve can prevent one-third of Alzheimer’s cases.

(3) Frequent cognitive activities can reduce dementia risk by up to 63%.

(4) Brain training may slow the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Upon the death of a patient (not from Alzheimer’s), his autopsy revealed advanced Alzheimer’s. doctors concluded his chess-playing may have helped kept the disease in check.

He had also kept his condition in check by bolstering his brains with chess and other intellectual “push-ups.”

(5) Cross-training counts. Focusing only on a single mental activity will not exercise all the cognitive domains needed to keep the brains agile. Furthermore, consistent and long-term mental stimulation appears to be the key to reducing risk of memory loss and dementia.

If you can, also include activities that address areas for short-term and long-term memories, critical thinking, visual and spatial orientation, calculation and language.

(6) Teaching the brain new tricks can also help. Learning a new language, music lessons, or teaching yourself how to use the iPod can contribute to building new brain circuits.

(7) Never neglect your physical exercises, too. Cardiovascular and strength training boost brainpower by generating more blood flow to the brain which supplies oxygen and nutrients promoting the growth of new brain cells.

All in all, keep yourself well-informed on how to give your brains a good workout and what kind of physical exercise are the best for you. More good news on brain training had been turning up everywhere (TV, print, internet) lately. Stay tuned.