Easy Ways to Boost Your Brain Power

exerpt from article by Lisa Mulcahy

Want a healthier, sharper, better-functioning brain? It’s easier than you think to achieve improved cognition and memory. “If you want to boost your brain, you have to focus your attention on good self-care. “says David Alter, PH.D. co-author of Staying Sharp. “People fear Alzheimer’s and dementia, yet there’s a lot we can do to improve our brain health and lower or risk of these diseases too.” Try these simple, science-based tips to power up your brain-they-re good for you and lots of fun as well.

 

1.       Take a French Class-learning a second language can help your brain process information better and help you focus more sharply so you avoid distraction.  It may even delay the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in some people according to new research from Singapore Management University.

2.       Write in Red ink-A fascinating new study from the University of Regensburg in Germany found that the color red “binds” into our memory better than other colors making it ideal for recalling what’s on your to-do list.

3.       Play Ping-Pong-Table tennis has long been lauded or its ability to improve attention and concentration.  Japanese researchers also found that in players older than 50, ping-pong improved brain function by activation specific neurons, and showed promise in preventing dementia as well.

4.       Close Your Eyes-Research from the University of Surrey in the U.K. found that closing your eyes while recalling an event could help you remember details in 23 percent more accurately. How does it work? It’s thought that once visual distractions are removed, your brain focuses more efficiently.

5.       Brush Your Teeth With Your Other Hand-Using your non-dominant side to tackle a daily task or two is a great way to challenge your brain to act in new ways. If you’re a righty, switching to your left hand can sharpen your cognitive function by spurring your brain cells to produce growth-stimulating molecules.

6.       Lower Blood Sugar-Diabetes is a known risk factor for dementia, so look for ways to minimize your risk factors. A healthy blood sugar is less than 100 after fasting. If you already have diabetes, controlling it will help prevent dementia.

7.       Do a Daily Meditation-In just eight weeks, a daily mindfulness break can improve connectivity throughout the brain network in 55-to 90-year-olds according to ongoing research from Wake Forest University. What’s more, meditation may slow Alzheimer’s progression and decrease production of the stress hormone cortisol within the brain.

8.        Eat an Avocado-It contains medium-chain fatty acids, which increase your brainpower by reducing inflammation.

9.       Increase Vitamin B-B vitamins lower homocysteine (an amino acid), which is linked to dementia. You can find them i8n enriched bread, pasta, rice and cereal, plus poultry, beans, dark leafy veggies, papayas, oranges and cantaloupe.

10.   Shake Your Booty-A new study from the University of British Columbia finds that regular aerobic exercise can actually increase the size of your hippocampus-the part of your brain that helps you learn and remember. So whether it’s dancing, jumping on a trampoline or jogging, it’s good for your brain.

11.   Eat Fish-Eat your omega-3s (fatty acids found in salmon and other cold-water fish) or take a supplement. A new study from the University of Pittsburgh found eating ant kind of baked or broiled fish once a week helped spur structural brain changes that boost memory.

12.   Enjoy a Glass of Red Wine-Fresh research from Texas A & M University found that resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine, improves memory, mood, and learning capacity. Peanuts are also packed with cognition-boosting resveratrol.

13.   Get Good Sleep-It improves your mood and clears out your mind. The Nati0nal Sleep Foundation recommends seven to nine hours per night for adults ages 18 to 64 and seven to eight hours for adults 65 and older.

14.   A Cup of Coffee-A Johns Hopkins study found that regular consumption of 200 milligrams of caffeine-the amount in one strong cup of coffee-has a positive impact on how much you remember for a full 24 hours after drinking.

15.   Look on the Bright Side-Positive thinking can actually activate your brain’s physical ability to adapt and change.

16.   Pursue Something New-Trying new things that interest you is a powerful way to exercise your brain. Curious folks have lower rates of dementia. Even searching for information on the web improves the neural circuitry of your brain according to research from UCLA.

Pose of the Month

Childs Pose – Balasana

From Table pose, exhale and lower the hips to the heels and forehead to the floor. Have the knees together or if more comfortable, spread the knees slightly apart.

The arms can be overhead with the palms on the floor, the palms or fists can be stacked under the forehead, or the arms can be alongside the body with the palms up.

Breathe slowly and deeply, actively pressing the belly against the thighs on the inhale.

Breathe and hold for 4-12 breaths.

To release: place the palms under the shoulders and slowly inhale up to a seated position.

Benefits: Child pose calms the body, mind and spirit and stimulates the third eye point. Child pose gently stretches the low back, massages and tones the abdominal organs, and stimulates digestion and elimination.

Contraindications: Recent or chronic injury to the knees.

Modifications: A) Place a blanket under the hips, knees and/or head. B) If pregnant, spread the knees wide apart to remove any pressure on the abdomen.

Variations: Open the knees wider to slide the arms between the legs reaching under the body and turn the head to the side.

Child is a resting pose that can be used at any time, and is especially enjoyable after a challenging pose.

 Taken from article in yogabaics.com

Photo to the left is from my recent Yoga teacher training practicing partner poses.

One of the topics we discussed in training is sound therapy. A description of some of the exciting research is explained below.

Sound Therapy is a new alternative therapy which is researching the effects of low frequency sound and vibration on human health and wellness.  Sound Therapy is a new exciting field with the potential to completely shift our health care paradigms.  It offers a simple technique to get very detailed holographic information about the body, and is boundless in its potential ramifications.

The Effects of Sound

The effects of sound are apparent in our everyday life… For example, we experience the energizing effect of sound and music every time we hear music with a heavy beat. Just think of the last time you heard a favorite dance hit and couldn’t help but to start dancing along. For example, the Bulgarian Psychiatrist, Gorgi Lazanoff was able to show an increased capacity for learning, super learning, if you will, by playing Baroque music (1700’s Bach, Vivaldi, Telemon, Handle) and having his students breathe in rhythm with the beat. It all goes to show that sound and music can have a profound effect on our health, and wellbeing, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally as well.

We know the power of sound and music and that the voice changes with emotional states or illness. Our health or mood can be strongly affected by music, toning, chanting, and singing. Just think back to the last time a sick or distraught friend called and remember how their voice was different than normal. Sound research supports this.

Patterns of Frequency

In the growing field of “energy medicine” it is well known that our universe is created through patterns of frequency. Science is now documenting what mystics of many traditions have known forever. Everything that exists in the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual realms does so on a vibratory basis. This is obvious if you consider that electrons are always moving and vibrating.

All healing interventions must influence the body by somehow altering its frequency resonance. Healing has often been affected by such modalities as sound, light, music therapy and various other energy medicine techniques that alter the frequency patterns of an individual.

All matter, including herbs, pharmaceuticals, and even food with its accompanying vitamins, minerals and other nutrients could be examined from a frequency perspective which may explain their biological effects. Bio-Resonance Therapy is researching these principles of energy medicine.

The Voice

In a similar way, the voice, which we analyze with a computer, is a great indicator of vitality. The voice is one of the most powerful avenues of human expression and as such, provides a very useful analog for the systems of the body. According to Dr. Alfred Tomatis, among others, the voice is not able to reproduce what the ear cannot hear. Perhaps the ear cannot hear what the brain cannot generate. There is evidence that the brain, in addition to being a master chemist, is a very complex tone generator and commands the systems of the body through frequency.

The brain produces waveform patterns that can be measured with a variety of instruments. The voice also produces a waveform pattern that contains a great deal of frequency information that seems to relate to the physical and emotional health and balance of the speaker. Since every person’s voice is unique, the resulting frequency voice analysis map when recorded and analyzed, may show indications of physical and/or emotional issues at the time of the recording.                                 Taken from article at biowaves.com

That’s Life

How people treat you is their karma, how you react is yours. Dr. Wayne Dyer