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November 7, 2008 9 Comments

Mental Challenge: Spelling Words Backwards – It’s Tougher Than it Sounds!

We talk at lengths about challenging our minds and pushing our limits with brain games.  Now it’s time to walk the talk!  I’m going to begin posting a lot of brain games and mental puzzles and challenges.  I’ll include a great variety of puzzles and different challanges, I want them to work all the different levels of our minds, even the ones especially the ones that have been dormant for years.

I’ll make an image to put in the sidebar that you can always click on to access this series of posts. 

It should be up later today, complete with a great start of posts to go along with it.  You’ll also be able to get to this category by clickig on the category titled “Mental Flexation.”

To get things started, I have what has always been a really tough challenge for me – spelling words backwards.  I don’t know why, but somehow my mind just doesn’t like going in that direction.  That’s why I’ve been treating (treating? more like tormenting) it lately with this particular challenge.  Throughout the day, I’ll take special note of certain words.   When I hear one on the radio or read it in the newspaper, I’ll immediately try to spell it backwards.

It’s harder than it sounds, for me anyway.  Try it yourself.  To give you a taste of the challenge, I’m providing you with some perfect words below.  Read the word, then close your eyes or look away and try to spell it backwards.  Don’t write the letters down, keep them in your head.  When you first start doing these backwards spelling challenges, go ahead and write in the air with your finger or on your thumb with your finger. 

Eventually, you’ll want to attempt the challenge and be able to say, “Look, Ma, no hands!”  But if you need the finger at first, be my guest.  I did!

  1. Instant
  2. Maximum
  3. Southern
  4. Category
  5. Waltz
  6. Perfume
  7. Monday
  8. Other
  9. Because
  10. Science

I’ll give tougher words in the future, but for now, master these.  Remember, any time you take your brain cells in a new, fresh, challenging direction – you are doing yourself an absolute world of good.

Make challenging your brain a habit.  Subscribe to this blog’s rss feed or e-mail updates, so you’ll always know when new challenges have been added for you.

Make each challenge count double,

~ Joi

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September 20, 2008 Leave a Comment

Ten Steps to A Better Memory Are Ten Steps to Decreasing Your Odds of Getting Dementia

Memory of the Time



Memory of the TimeArt Print
Buy at AllPosters.com

Lately, I’ve noticed that fewer and fewer people are making jokes about “senior moments” or harmless lapses in memory. I’m not so sure that political correctness or sudden cases of sensitivity are the reasons. In fact, I’m 100 percent certain that the increased attention we’re all giving to Alzheimer’s and Dementia is the reason.

I just want to say, “Thank goodness!” for all the atttention. Everytime I see a news story or article about Alzheimer’s or Dementia, I get excited. The more attention we bring to mental health, the better the odds become of defeating the beast once and for all.

Sadly, we haven’t defeated it yet. 5 percent of people aged 65 and older fall victim to Alzheimer’s while a much larger portion over 80 fall victim. So, no, the world doesn’t find “innocent” little lapses in memory to be as funny as we once did.

The good news is therre is a swelling amount of evidence that memory lapses DO NOT necessarily foreshadow dementia. Best of all, the tendency to have lapses in memory can be lessened while REDUCING YOUR RISK OF DEMENTIA.

The solution? Mind aerobics!

Below is a 10 Step Memory Workout courtesy of the AARP.

  1. Exercise regularly.  Study after study prove that aerobic activity reduces the loss of brain tissue common with aging.  The brain LOVES the increased oxygen.
  2. Stick to a healthy diet.  Avoid sugar and saturated fat.  Eat lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, spinach, and beets.  The magnesium found in dark green, leafy vegetables appears to help maintain memory.
  3. Learn new things.  Aim for learning something new everyday as well as learning as many new activities as you can.  Embrace stretching your mind and horizons.  Some examples are:  Learn a new language, learn to play the piano, learn to play the guitar, take up a new sport such as tennis, golf, or bowling, learn card games, throw yourself into animal activism, take up bird watching, etc.  Basically, just stimulate your neuron activity by exposing it to something brand new and exciting!
  4. Get enough sleep.  This is one a lot of people overlook, but it’s very important.  Too little sleep impairs concentration as well as hinders your body from repairing itself when needed.  Be certain you’re getting enough sleep!
  5. Get organized.  Searching for missing keys, cellphones, or other personal properties can be frustrating and time-consuming – to say nothing of the blow it deals to your ego.  Designate a particular place for everything.  If you carry your cellphone from room to room, make a certain spot in each room where you’ll ALWAYS place it.  When it turns up missing (and, come on, let’s be honest – it will!), it can only be in a certain number of spots.  When you travel, keep a checklist for medications, vitamins, eyeglasses, toiletries, and so on.
  6. Devise memory strategies.  Make notes or underline key passages to help you remember what you’ve read.  Invent mnemonics formulas to help you remember things.  These memory aids are usually verbal “tricks” to help the individual associate certain facts.  “i before e except after c” is one of the most popular ones, while “In 1942 Columbus sailed the ocean blue” is another one.  When I was homeschooling my daughters, I had a lot of fun coming up with little poems or sentences to help them remember facts that could otherwise be nightmarish.
  7. Socialize.  Carrying on positive conversations with others helps maintain brain function. 
  8. Turn off the tube.  Experts say too much TV can weaken the brain.  However, educational television shows can help you in your quest to learn something new each day.  Animal Planet, The Discovery Channel, and the History Channel all provide great “lessons” in the comfort of your own living room!
  9. Jot down new information.  Writing things down helps transfer the information from short to long-term memory.  That’s why you’ll never see me reading anything without pen and paper nearby.  I learned in elementary school that if you write something down, it’ll stay with you MUCH longer than it will if you don’t.
  10. Solve brainteasers.  Crossword puzzles, card games, and board games (Scrabble, Trivia Pursuit…) improve your memory.  Make it a point to work the puzzles in your newspaper each day.  It’ll become a daily routine that’ll serve you well.  I LOVE the mind games found HERE - I play them every single day and can practically feel the rush my brain gets!  Street of Dreams and Wild Word Garden are probably my two favorites, but if I ever branched out I’m sure I’d discover other great games, too.  Give them a try, I promise you’ll get hooked.  And your brain will thank you for it.

Make each moment count double!

~ Joi

Filed Under: Brain Games, Must Reads Tagged: , , , , , ,
August 30, 2008 1 Comment

Sketching Out a Little Insight!


If I told you to draw a picture of a boy giving a girl a present, how would you draw it? Think about it for a second – picture where you’d place each, the giver and the receiver. Heck, even sketch a little picture if you’re feeling particularly artsy.

Don’t scroll down for the why‘s, when‘s, who‘s, or what‘s until you have a clear picture of what your picture would look like.

I thought this was pretty cute. In the always entertaining INSIGHTS section of the June 2008 issue of Psychology Today, there was an article called “Reading, Writing, and Rembrandt.” The author, Matthew Hutson posed the same question you read above. I grabbed pen and paper and sketched out the little scene. I put the boy on the right and the girl on the left (just like I arranged the couple above on paintbrush – don’t laugh!).

The interesting thing is what the article goes on to say:

Ask an adult to draw a boy giving a girl a gift and he’ll probably draw the boy on the left. Try it in the Middle East, and the boy will be on the right…. How we perceive and imagine the world is influenced by the direction we learn to read and write. Typically sentences list subject before object, so most Westerners automatically envision actions happening left to right, and the more powerful party situated to the left.

See? There’s the rub, your’s truly was bassakwards. Apparently, in the scenario given, I see the girl as the main star of the show – even though it’s our hero who’s making the grand gesture.

Since everything that comes from a Psychological standpoint fascinates me, I thought this article was very interesting. Then again, I find everything about Psychology Today mesmerizing. When we were first married, my young husband collected Conan the Barbarian comic books (I’ll bet he’d love to have them as collector’s items today!). He was so cute when he’d buy a new one, grab a Ginger Ale and hit the sofa. He and the comic book entered a whole other world! It’s the same with me when I grab a fresh new issue of Psychology Today. I’ve been known to start reading articles while in line at the register!

If you’re on this blog, you obviously share an interst in mental fitness, self help, and self awareness. If you’ve never “met” Psychology Today, introduce yourself on your next trip to the store. You’ll probably get as hooked as I am.

Make each moment count double and quit laughing at my little people – your joke about Rogaine just wasn’t cool,
~Joi

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