The following is a guest post by Rachel King and it honestly gives the reader a great deal to think about.  Enjoy!
Is Constant Improvement Really Necessary? A Guest Post by Rachel King

We live in a world where there is intense competition to get ahead and stay there. We’re constantly being asked to improve and innovate if we are to achieve success. And we continue to strive for that exclusive prize (be it money or fame or both) throughout our lives because no amount is enough. But, no matter what self-help gurus advocate, is constant improvement really necessary? Must we really push ourselves further and further even if it means we are not really happy with what we are doing?

A very good friend came to me depressed because she could not find the motivation to complete certain projects she had taken up. She felt guilty because she procrastinated and kept them till the last minute. And she felt upset because she did not want to complete them because she had lost all interest in them. The funny part of this was that she had been so enthusiastic about this project just a few months ago. She is an alpha achiever in anything she does and is a very shrewd and clever person. So why, she asks me, am I not able to sustain my interest in this?

She had actually taken on the project as a way to improve and better herself. But once she got into it, she began to question the constant and continuous process of self improvement. She made a very valid point; in the quest for improvement, we usually leave behind and forget all the simple things in life that are pleasurable – watching television on a cold evening by yourself with a tub of ice cream, spending time with your children without yelling at them or ordering them around, cuddling with your spouse in front of a fire on a random night, taking time out to go visit a neighbor who is sick, visiting the shops even when you’re broke just for the pleasure of it, and so on and so forth.

Because we strive to do something “purposeful” with our lives, we end up stressed and depressed because we are unable to reach the standards we set for ourselves. We feel guilty at not being able to achieve our goal and this has a detrimental effect on our psyche. We take out our frustration on those close to us and ruin relationships in the process.

Improving yourself does not have to mean you must achieve some milestone that others will appreciate; rather, it means you must be satisfied with and happy about the quality of your life; you must be able to live it on your terms rather than by the standards set by others; and you must be content and at peace when you go to bed each night and wake up each morning.

By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Rachel King, who writes on the topic of  Online Christian Universities.

Is Constant Improvement Really Necessary? is a post from: Mental Fitness Blog

Related posts:

1. Truly Amazing Tools to Life The following is a sponsored post.  It’s been a...
2. 21 Suggestions for Success by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. These get more amazing each time I read them. Be...

I’m pretty sure I’m beginning to sound like a broken record when it comes to brain games, but it can’t be helped! I know the importance of brain games for brain fitness and intend to nag everyone until they’re up to their gray matter in brain games!

Just why is it that brain games are so incredible for the fitness and health of your brain? These helpful, healthy, and fun exercises for the mind activate several different neurological functions and stimulate them, which in turn helps with thought processes across the board, including memory.

Remember in my last post (Brain Puzzles and Mental Fitness, Fun Birds of a Feather), I said that I planned on ordering the 365 Brain Puzzles? Well, I headed to Amazon and did just that as soon as I published the post.

Get this: It came the very next day!

It’s everything I’d hoped it’d be and more. In fact, there was information on the first page of this interactive desk calendar that told me how to get another desk calendar free. I like freebies. I love freebies.

I’ve been sharing these brain games with the rest of my family and we all are getting a huge kick out of the challenging puzzles.

Below are other ways to play Brain Games and stimulate your mind throughout the day:

• In your newspaper, work the Crossword Puzzle, Sudoku, and Jumble puzzles.  Don’t give up halfway through the crossword puzzles ever again.  Research and find the answers!  You’ll feel so great after you’ve filled in every box and you’ll literally feel the stimulation in your brain.
• Look in the book’s section of your favorite store – there are lots of outstanding Brain Games on the market.  Some of these are large books, while others are small workb00ks for just a few dollars.  I recently bought a very small “Brain Teasers for Dummies” in the bargain section at Target.  I liked what they wrote on the back of the booklet, “Flex your memory muscle with a variety of puzzles in varying degrees of difficulty.  Studies have shown that puzzles like Sudoku, crosswords, cryptograms, and other “mental aerobics” can help reduce memory loss due to normal aging and minimize the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases.”  This Pocket Edition Brain Teasers for Dummies is available in many stores as well as on Amazon (Brain Games on Amazon).
• Learn 3 new things each day and recite them to your cat each night.  At the end of the week, try to tell her all 21 things you learned that week!  When searching out the 3 new things, one place you might want to check is Dummies.com.  Not only do they make amazing books, they have videos and phone apps.  You could learn something new each day on their site alone.
• Pay more attention to words around you and play brain games with them.  You can even do this while riding down the road.  Below are a few word games:

1. Take the letters of the word and rearrange them to make new words.  For example, if you see the word McDonald’s, think:  mad, sand, scald…
2. When the word is out of site, try spelling it backwards – trickier than it seems!
3. When you spot a word, think of a different word you could create by changing just one letter. For example, if you see the word SPEED, you could create a new word by changing the second E to an N – SPEND.
4. “Collect” 6 different words and make a coherent sentence with the words.
5. “Collect” 10 words and, in order, try to remember them at the end of your trip.

Surround yourself with brain games and brain puzzles – keep one in each of the rooms of your house that you spend the most time in…. along with a pen or pencil, of course.  Your brain will be very grateful… and will reward you handsomely.

Why Your Brain Loves and Responds to Brain Games is a post from: Mental Fitness Blog

Related posts:

1. Brain Games to Improve Your Mental Fitness You HAVE to check out the brain games below.  They...
2. Brain Games to Give Your Mind the Workout it Craves! With each new year, millions of people make fitness resolutions....
3. Online Brain Games and Crossword Puzzles Crossword Puzzle Art PrintBuy at AllPosters.com Experts agree that one...

Here is the next thing you need to buy – and, at less than $10.00, there’s no time like the present! I actually have Amazon open in another window and am making the transition even as we speak!

I’ve been hooked on Brain Games for a while now. I always have a little booklet of some form to stimulate and tickle my brain cells. This Mensa 365 Brain Puzzlers Page-A-Day Calendar 2010 (Page-A-Day Calendars) ( only $6.49 at Amazon) is right up my mental fitness alley.

Product Description:
Puzzle solving as extreme sport. Packed with a year of word and number conundrums tough enough to be sanctioned by Mensa, the internationally famous high-IQ society, 365 Brain Puzzlers is the perennially bestselling calendar that promises to push your neurons to the limit, every day. Gigantiwords. Sequences. Automation. Animal Crackers. And: I’m creating floral arrangements using the flowers and vases that I have. If I put one flower per vase, there are three flowers left over. If instead I put four flowers per vase (and all of the flowers get used), there are three vases left over. How many flowers and vases do I have? In case your gray matter lets you down, answers are on the reverse side of each page.

I’ll race you to the checkout! – Mensa 365 Brain Puzzlers Page-A-Day Calendar 2010 (Page-A-Day Calendars)

Brain Puzzles and Mental Fitness: Fun Birds of a Feather is a post from: Mental Fitness Blog

Related posts:

1. Why Your Brain Loves and Responds to Brain Games I’m pretty sure I’m beginning to sound like a...
2. Brain Games to Improve Your Mental Fitness You HAVE to check out the brain games below.  They...
3. Mental Fitness and Longevity We all want physical fitness, and will pay just amount...

It’s a good thing grapes, blueberries, and blackberries are so delicious – our brains absolutely crave these foods. Not only are they great for your heart, they’re outstanding for your brain. As we often read, what’s great for one is generally great for the other – and, let’s face it, a healthy mind and heart are what we’re all after!

Concord grapes, blueberries, and blackberries each get their gorgeous, rich color from polyphenols. Polyphenols are compounds that reduce heart disease risk and protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Polyphenols help keep blood vessels and arteries flexible and healthy. “What’s good for your coronary arteries is also good for your brain’s blood vessels,” says Robert Krikorian, PhD, director of the Cognitive Disorders Center at the University of Cincinnati.

For those of us interested in the field of mental fitness and brain health, we have all the more reason to sound the purple food trumpet: Adding dark grapes to your diet can actually help to improve brain function. Also, researchers have found that eating 1 or more cups of blueberries every day can improve communication between brain cells, enhancing your memory.

So if you’re looking for foods that support brain health and function, be sure to put plenty of purple on your plate and in your glass.

Why Your Brain Needs a Steady Diet of Purple! is a post from: Mental Fitness Blog

Related posts:

1. Fight Against Alzheimer’s and Protect Your Heart at the Same Time There’s a reason we’re seeing Alzheimer’s in the news...
2. Keeping Your Brain in Tip Top Shape! My youngest daughter and I played tennis for 60 minutes...
3. Your Brain on Blueberries Like blueberries? Here's a reason to LOVE blueberries: Blueberries outsmart...

Image of Thinking Man’s Brain Through Bowler Hat Photographic Print
Buy at AllPosters.com

3 Ways to Boost Your Brainpower

The following guest article is by Carol Smith.

It’s the most complicated machine in the world, one that can never be duplicated no matter how much man may try. It’s God’s creation at its best, and even though we don’t use it as often as we should, the human brain is capable of feats that may seem inhuman at times. It’s the most important organ in our body and when it stops functioning or even begins to slow down, our lives are affected like never before. We are dead even when we are alive, a fact that is confirmed when we see people affected by dementia, Alzheimer’s and other diseases that affect the brain.

It’s a natural part of aging that our brains begin to deteriorate and lose their effectiveness. But there are other factors besides age that hasten the onset of dementia and mental illnesses, and if we’re able to control and manage these, we could stave off the deterioration process of our neurons and their connections. If you want to boost your brainpower and ensure that this important organ works efficiently throughout your life, read on:
Reduce your reliance on technology: While it’s wonderful that we have so many gadgets and appliances at our disposal today, they have all served to make us lazy and inefficient. We no longer feel the need to remember simple details like addresses and phone numbers because our phone memories do that for us. We have complicated software that makes life so much more convenient, but at the same time, it wreaks havoc on our brains because it relegates our neurons to a backseat where they are not used anymore. And with less and less usage, they become rusty (for want of a better word) and slowly lose their effectiveness with the passage of time. So if you want your brain cells to remain active and not atrophy, you must use them. Try to dial numbers from memory; use your sense of direction without relying on your GPS; and remember your ATM pin number instead of storing it on your phone or PDA.

Find ways to tax your brain cells: The brain is just like any other muscle in your body – the more you exercise it, the more developed it becomes. So tax it a little by involving yourself in new tasks – solve crossword puzzles, do the Sudoku, learn a new language, try to play a musical instrument, or play games that stimulate you mentally. When you continuously push your brain to try new things, you keep all your neurons active and form new connections, all of which keep your brain from becoming useless as you age.

Shake up your routine: When you are used to a routine that you follow every day, your brain becomes accustomed to it. You don’t tax it too much because it functions on its version of autopilot. To ensure that you use all your brain cells, change your routine in some way or the other – take a new route to work so that you have to concentrate on getting to work in time without losing your way; try reading a different newspaper whose layout you are unfamiliar with; or cook without using your favorite recipe book. Even the smallest form of change can jog your brain cells and keep them active.

By-line:
This article is contributed by Carol Smith, who regularly writes on the topic of  ultrasound tech schools.  She invites your questions, comments at her email address: smithcarol.311@rediffmail.com

3 Ways to Boost Your Brainpower is a post from: Mental Fitness Blog

Related posts:

1. Surprising and Fun Ways to Stay Mentally Sharp There are things you can do to improve your mental...
2. Stay Sharp ! Longevity is top on all of our to do...
3. Mental Fitness and Longevity We all want physical fitness, and will pay just amount...

We all know the physical reasons to watch our weight:  Diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol, respiratory problems, and even cancer have all been linked to weight related problems.

Experts now tell us that there’s yet another reason to keep our weight where it needs to be.

If you are a healthy weight, your mind is more youthful than if you are carrying extra weight.  In a recent UCLA study, overweight people were found to have 4 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight adults.  If this were broken down into brain age, their minds are about 8 years older than the minds of people who are in their normal weight range.

One possible cause is the fact that high calorie, high fat diets clog arteries in the brain, restrict blood flow, and cause cells to shrink.

Makes you want to have a salad for lunch, doesn’t it? Someone call Panera Bread and tell them to have my salad and green tea waiting for me!

Reasons to Watch Your Weight – From Your Brain’s Perspective is a post from: Mental Fitness Blog

Related posts:

1. Exercise Your Mind and Take Your Brain for a Walk Did you know that when you exercise, your brain gets...
2. Why Your Brain Loves and Responds to Brain Games I’m pretty sure I’m beginning to sound like a...
3. Weight No More! Very few people....make that very, very, very few people...couldn't benefit...

Stress is a common problem encountered daily, but it is not always bad. Stress often occurs when you take on too many tasks at once or you are preparing for something you are not used to doing. Your body responds as if it senses danger and produces cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones are good in small amounts because they allow you to overcome certain obstacles in life. During a stressful situation, your body may produce excessive amounts of these hormones and it can have a negative effect on your body. Small amounts of cortisol and adrenaline are helpful for helping you through certain situations. For example, these hormones can help you react quickly if you are in a dangerous situation.

Some of the negative effects of stress include an upset stomach, back pain, insomnia, or headaches. Too much stress can also affect your immune system resulting in difficulty fighting disease. It may cause you to become moody, tense, or depressed, and this can have a negative effect on your relationships.

Because of these problems, it is important to learn proper stress management techniques. There are several changes you can make that can help you feel much better.

Don’t take on more than you can handle. By accepting a reasonable workload, you place less pressure on yourself and should be able to meet your deadline without any added frustrations.

Meditation is an excellent method of relaxation and this can help calm your body and mind. Meditation has many positive effects on the body such as helping clear the mind of any negative thoughts.

Another method of stress relief is to see things from a different perspective. With a different viewpoint, you may see the positive in an otherwise bad situation. This also allows you to have a more positive outlook on life, which can lead to many health benefits.

If you are suffering from stress, it is important to relax and find out what is causing this problem. After figuring out the cause, you can begin making changes to reduce the negative effects of your stress.

Self Help Tips for Stress Relief is a post from: Mental Fitness Blog

Related posts:

1. Top Tips for Kicking Stress Out of Your Life That's sounds good doesn't, it - Kicking stress clean out...
2. Dangers of Stress Stress has its gnarly-fingered hand in every disease known...
3. Coping With Stress Before it Gets Out of Hand Stress doesn’t just affect your mood or temperment, it effects...

I don’t have to remind you of the benefits of relaxation or the dangers of stress.  You know how essential relaxation is to your physical and emotional health.  Stress wreaks havoc on every part of our bodies.  It’s imperative, then, that we find ways to totally and completely relax – as often as possible.

Experts recommend that we spend at least 15 minutes each day completely still and relaxed.  Sometimes it’s difficult to shut off the day and shut out the world.  That’s when I especially love my wonderful little sound machine.  The HoMedics SS-2000 Sound Spa Relaxation Sound Machine with 6 Nature Sounds, Silver is one of my favorite relaxation tools of all time. It’s right up there with hot green tea and bath time!

Product Features

• 6 Nature sounds, ocean, summer night, rain, rain forest, waterfall and heart beat.
• 15, 30 and 60 second auto off timer
• Battery or adaptor operated (adaptor included)
• Natural sleep aid
• Great for the baby’s room

My favorite settings are Summer night, rain and rain Forest (the sound of rain and the sound birds alway takes me to another level of calmness). The waterfall and ocean are also nothing short of amazing. I believe the ocean is my husband’s favorite. I’ve found him sprawled across the bed after a long day of work listening to the waves crashing on the shore quite a few times.

I often use my sound machine when  I’m taking a bath – well out of reach of wet hands, of course.  The illusion of taking a bath in the rain, in the middle of a rain forest, or even in the yard on a summer evening is all that’s needed to melt away the day’s demands.  By the time the bath is over, I’m so relaxed I almost have noodle legs.

The heartbeat setting is pretty much one I leave untouched. However, it’s a setting that new parents – whether they’re the parents of a human, a kitten, or a puppy – swear by this setting for restless babies. They feel stress, too, after all!

As of today (December 20, 2009), if you jump over to HoMedics SS-2000 Sound Spa Relaxation Sound Machine with 6 Nature Sounds, Silver and place your order, you can have one of these sound machines delivered by Tuesday, December 22, just in time for Christmas. Simply choose One-Day Shipping at checkout.

Whether you have one in mind for a gift for someone else – or a treat for yourself, this could be the smartest $20 you’ve spent in ages.

Make each relaxing moment count!
~ Joi

Relaxation 101: Why You Need this Sound Spa Machine! is a post from: Mental Fitness Blog

Related posts:

1. Relaxation Duration Whatever it is that you're doing to relax at any...
2. A Very Unique Approach to Relaxation I was on the Discovery Channel website doing research...
3. Self Help Tips for Stress Relief Stress is a common problem encountered daily, but it is...

If you love berries, grape juice, and walnuts, you already have an upper hand when it comes to protecting the health of your brain.  If you aren’t already wild about them, it’s time to fall in love!

The polyphenols in walnuts and berries help quiet the inflammation and oxidative stressin the brain.  These are the vile evils that can injure the brain and lead to memory problems.

Potent Brain Protection and Prevent Memory Loss

Just how powerful are the polyphenols in berries, grape juice, and walnuts?  Get this:  They are so potent that research suggests they might even help reverse cognitive decline once it occurs. According to Real Age.com (with Drs. Oz and Roizen), in a study of older adults with mild dementia, the individuals performed better on memory tests after Concord grape juice was added to their diets.

Take Steps to Prevent Mental Decline

Below are some tasty ways to make sure you get enough of these polyphenols.

• Pick a time of the day to automatically have a glass of grape juice – use a particular time or event to signal the ritual.  For example, have a glass as you wash dishes, check your e-mail, take a bath, or read the paper.
• Add berries and nuts to your breakfast cereal.
• Add nuts and berries to your tossed salad.
• Put some walnuts in the bottom of a clear bowl.  Pour vanilla yogurt over the walnuts, then pile on different colors of berries.  Gorgeous and delicious.
• Keep a candy dish filled with walnuts near your computer. Nosh on them throughout the day.
• Add berries and walnuts to your oatmeal.  I’ve gotten to the point where if my oatmeal doesn’t have blueberries on top of it, I walk the other way!

Make each moment count double!
~ Joi

Protect your Brain’s Health in a Berry Nutty Tasty Way is a post from: Mental Fitness Blog

Related posts:

1. Go Nuts! Your Brain Will Thank You For your brain’s sake, you should begin loading up...
2. Your Brain on Blueberries Like blueberries? Here's a reason to LOVE blueberries: Blueberries outsmart...
3. Why Your Brain Needs a Steady Diet of Purple! It’s a good thing grapes, blueberries, and blackberries are...

NEEDED by B. Lynn Goodwin

“When are you planning on going to the grocery store?” my mother asked after our trip to the hairdresser followed by a late lunch at Emil Villa’s. I’d taken her back to her condo, helped her open her mail, and I thought my day was over.

“I’ll go right now.”

“Don’t go now. You don’t have time.” I did though, and we both knew it. I hated being reminded that I had no life.

“When would you like me to go, Missus?” I asked with all the patience I could muster. She was Missus and I was Person, names that kept us unique and reminded us that we loved each other, even in trying times.

“I don’t care. Go tomorrow or the next day or whenever you want to.”

We did this dance every day. She needed help; I needed space. She feared I would abandon her, while I feared that her blood pressure would soar, causing another stroke.

It would be four years before I knew that Alzheimer’s was eating her brain, robbing her of logical thought, and returning her to the emotional dependence of a child. I had no idea I was engaged in a psychological battle with a woman who was losing her ability to think logically. I put on my patient face and said, “I’ve got time and I want to go now. What would you like me to bring?”

She looked up with vacant, pleading eyes. Four years later I would call them Alzheimer eyes. “Can we look at the list?”

She’d spent all one afternoon sitting at a wobbly card table typing the list, letter by letter, then going back and XXXing out her mistakes. I offered to type on either her typewriter or my computer while she dictated, but she said, “I have to do something for myself.” Watching her struggle with the scraps of memory lurking in her brain made me want to scream. I dug my fingernails into my crossed arms until little red half-moons dotted my elbows.

I found the typed grocery list in a stack of old Saks catalogues, but nothing appealed so I breathed deeply and said, “Why don’t I see what’s in the freezer?”

In my best Vanna White imitation, I pulled out each item, turned, showed it, and called out its name. If I read the names while I looked in the freezer, she couldn’t hear me. Besides my Vanna poses were entertaining, and I loved her approval, though at 48 I should have been far too old to care.

Crisp fall air filled my lungs as I scurried to my car. I never realized how stale the air in her kitchen was until I escaped to the real world. I looked up at the bare spots already showing on the trees. I didn’t know yet that Alzheimer’s speckled her brain with holes in exactly the same way as fallen leaves made holes in the trees. I only wondered if this was the last year she would see the leaves turn.

If I had known about her disease, maybe I could have stopped trying to be the perfect daughter. Maybe I could have loved her for needing me instead of craving her approval. Maybe I could have recognized that I was an adult daughter, doing what needed to be done.

When I came back from the store, she thanked me profusely. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Person.”
+++

B. Lynn Goodwin is a freelance writer, editor, teacher, former caregiver, and the author of You Want Me To Do What? – Journaling for Caregivers. She is published in numerous anthologies, e-zines, magazines, and blogs. She facilitates journaling workshops for caregivers and publishes Writer Advice, www.writeradvice.com. A longer version of this piece was originally published in Voices of Caregivers.

Needed: A Guest Post by B. Lynn Goodwin is a post from: Mental Fitness Blog

Related posts:

1. It Ain’t Bubba Bubba died in a fire and his body was...
2. Picture Post I got up this morning, baked some Sweet Potato Pies,...
3. Ugly Day Yesterday was what could only be called an ugly day....

© TMFC for Mental Fitness Blog, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: