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March 29, 2012 Leave a Comment

Stimulate Your Mind and Keep Alzheimer’s Off Your Doorstep

Willis Tower 3D Puzzle

First things first. What are information-processing activities?  Basically, this is a fancy way of referring to anything that makes you think.  Reading an Agatha Christie novel, an article online, a newspaper, or a romance novel are all information-processing activities.

Listening to the radio, watching an educational program on the Discovery Channel, and visiting historical sites and museums are also information-processing activities.

You get the picture. Anything that makes your brain cells sit up, take notice, and feel alive.

A National Institute on Aging study has found that people who most often participate in information-processing activities are 47% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who participated least often in these same activities.

“If you sit around and don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies — and the same goes for the brain,” says Dr. Kimford Meador, MD, fellow with the American Academy of Neurology and professor of neurology at the University of Florida. The phrase use it or lose it comes to mind.

Below are more ways to stimulate your mind.

  • Read older novels. Your mind has to really stay on its toes to “translate” the language into today’s verbiage.
  • Paint by Numbers. A lot of people are more creative than they realize
  • Play cards. Learn as many card games as possible, then become the best player you know!
  • Visit museums.  Make it a point to visit all the museums in your state. Then branch out further.
  • Take up bird watching. Learn to identify birds in your region by sight and sound.
  • Pick up a new craft. Learn to knit, crochet, make soap, make candles, etc. Master one, then move on to the next.
  • Work several puzzles each day. Whether it’s Sudoku, crossword puzzles, or word scrambles – make them a part of your daily routine.
  • Work jigsaw puzzles regularly. Start simple, then move on to the challenging ones.
  • Buy a telescope and learn about the stars. New hobbies are rewarding in so many ways!
  • Choose an author you like and read every book he or she has written.  
  • Write your own novel!

A reminder: Don’t do the same activities over and over again – thinking that you’re hitting the ball out of the park.  There are different parts of your brain (some people think of them in terms of regions), and each part is stimulated differently.  The area of your brain that’s stimulated by a game of cards might not respond at all to painting by numbers.  Use a wide range of activities that encourage a wide range of benefits. Use art-based activities to encourage creativity, take up hobbies that encourage concentration and focus, frequently play games that require memorization, etc.

  The greater the variety of activities, the greater the benefits.

Photo Credit: The Willis Tower 3D Puzzle, shown at the top of the article is from Marbles: The Brain Store.

Product Description:
This museum quality 3D puzzle stands over 24 inches tall and boasts authentic details and sturdy construction. Whether you opt to call it Willis or Sears Tower, assembling this 51-piece puzzle will help you fine-tune your motor and visual perception skills.

Filed Under: Improve Your Memory, Motivational, Prevent Alzheimer's Disease, Prevent Memory Loss Tagged: , , , ,
August 12, 2011 1 Comment

How to Strengthen Your Mind and Avoid Brain Atrophy

Stretch and strengthen your mind with reading!

Stretch and strengthen your mind with reading – just be sure to read different books in different genres!

This morning I read a great article on Everyday Health (one of my favorite websites, and one that I visit daily, sometimes several times a day!).  The article was called “Longevity: 10 Ways to Add Years to Your Life.” After finishing here, I hope you’ll go read the entire article – there’s a wealth of information.

One of the 10 ways involved mental fitness, and as a mental fitness evangelista (I totally just made that word up… evangelist just sounded so “male”) I perked right up.  I actually haven’t even finished all 10 yet, I was THAT anxious to share this great advice and information with you.

A study funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) found that people who most often participated in information-processing activities, such as listening to the radio, reading newspapers, playing puzzle games, and visiting museums were 47% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who participated least often in these same activities. The reason? “If you sit around and don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies — and the same goes for the brain,” says Dr. Kimford Meador, MD, fellow with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and professor of neurology at the University of Florida. So get your brain working by engaging in mental stimuli that you enjoy. Mind exercises can be anything from reading a good novel to playing cards to working through crossword or Sudoku puzzles.  – From Everyday Health

If I were to condense all of this wonderful advice into a sentence, I’d go with, “Be an active participant in the world around you, always in tune with and in touch with what’s going on.”  When people cut themselves off from other’s and shut out the outside world, they put themselves in grave mental danger. If you don’t use a muscle, you lose a muscle.  Use your brain in many and varied ways each and every day.

  • If you think you’re social enough, become MORE social.
  • If you think you read enough, read MORE.
  • If you think you seek out fresh, new information often enough, learn MORE.
  • If you think you challenge your brain enough, challenge it MORE.

If you want to keep your mind strong and your brain fit, you have to be a proactive participant. PLEASE don’t just read mental fitness advice, heed mental fitness advice.

A final reminder: Don’t keep reading the same types of things over and over. Don’t keep seeing the same genres of movies over and over.  Growth never occurs in ruts and ruts never occur in growth. They’re enemies!  Branch out, spread your mental wings, and challenge yourself in new ways. Pick a subject this week that you know ZERO about and read everything you can get your hands on about it.  Google the subject and/or go to the library.  Make your goal to know as much as you  possibly can about this subject within 7 days.

Here are a few ideas:

If you’re feeling particularly feisty (I like that), choose more than one area of interest. Twice the fun, twice the benefit.  Stretch your mind and challenge it on a daily basis.

Make each moment count double,

~ Joi

Dig in the past! Challenge your mind by reading older books. Reading Shakespeare, the Bible, and books written prior to 1960 will strengthen your mind in ways you never dreamed possible. Your mind will work double-time as it’s challenged to bring the words and meanings of the past into the present. The Bible and Shakespeare are positively beautiful and I’d recommend them even if I didn’t know they were great for you mentally.

Filed Under: Improve Your Memory, Mental Fitness, Prevent Alzheimer's Disease Tagged: , ,
April 7, 2011 1 Comment

Learn a New Language Online with Livemocha

Livemocha: Learn a new language online

I’ve written a great deal about the benefits of learning a new language. Your brain loves to be challenged in new, fun, exciting ways and learning new languages MORE than fits the bill!  An online resource was recently brought to my attention and I thought it was pretty outstanding, so I knew I’d have to share it with you.

Livemocha launched in 2007 and currently has over 9 million members. Livemocha is the world’s largest online language learning community, offering free and paid online courses in 38 languages. Members can take introductory courses on the site for free. Or, if members want to advance their skills they can purchase premium courses in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish–for $30 to $40 a month.

Courses include speaking and writing exercises that are reviewed by native speakers who provide helpful tips for improvement. Livemocha has found that reciprocal interaction with native speakers around the world is more engaging and motivating than a CD-ROM or book, and creates opportunities to put the language into practice. All of Livemocha’s premium courses include help from native speakers, world class learning content from leading educational publishers, and individual feedback from Livemocha Experts.

Livemocha committed to helping people everywhere in the world achieve fluency in a new language. Their goal is to make learning a language fun and affordable, by fusing traditional learning methods with online practice, and interaction with native language speakers from around the world. Livemocha delivers an unparalleled, learning experience that promises conversational fluency. It also is the perfect
tool to help individuals keep their minds sharp!

To learn more about Livemocha visit www.livemocha.com.

Filed Under: Mental Fitness Tagged: ,
August 10, 2010 4 Comments

The Heart Bone’s Connected to the Head Bone

When choosing foods, activities, and healthy habits for your brain’s health, look no further than the information you know about heart health. If you know the foods and activities that promote good heart health, then you know the food and activities that promote good brain health. Research shows that the two are even more connected than we thought. Apparently, what’s good for the heart is also good for the brain.

New research showed that people with the highest cardiac output for their body size (known as their cardiac index), meaning those with the greatest blood flow from their heart, tended to have more brain volume, which generally indicates a healthier brain.

Furthermore, researchers found that people with the lowest cardiac output showed nearly two more years of brain aging than did those with the highest cardiac output.

“Those with the lowest cardiac index and the middle group both had smaller brain volumes than those with the highest cardiac index,” said the study’s lead author, Angela Jefferson, an associate professor of neurology at the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Boston University School of Medicine.

“Our results definitely suggest that cardiac health is related to brain health,” she noted.

Results of the study are published in the Aug. 2 online edition of Circulation.

The health of the heart and circulatory system are increasingly being linked to the health of the brain. Poor heart health has been linked to neuropsychological impairments and dementia, according to background information in the study.

Clearly, there is a strong connection between heart health and brain health. The things that affect the heart can affect brain health. The most important thing we should take away from this is the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle. When we do the following, we not only protect our heart’s health, we protect our brain’s health as well:

  • Exercise regularly.  Having a sedate lifestyle isn’t good for any part of our body or any corner of our life.
  • Maintain a healthy weight.  Being overweight puts a strain on your heart and your respiratory system.  Both are needed for optimum brain functioning.
  • Don’t smoke.  Again, the heart and respiratory system are greatly affected by smoking and each play incredibly key roles in our brain’s health.
  • Manage high blood pressure and cholesterol.  You should know your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers and, if they are high, you should be under a doctor’s care.
  • Practice proper relaxation techniques. Know, firsthand, what things relax you and restore calm to your body, spirit, and mind.  Practice your relaxation techniques regularly – never let a day go by without surrendering to complete and total relaxation for at least 20 minutes, more during particularly stressful times.
  • Get enough sleep.  You know how much sleep you require to feel your best.  Do your best to make sure you get enough sleep.
  • Eat a healthy diet. Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts. Cut WAY back on greasy foods, fried foods, sweets, and salt.

A lot of the things we should do and shouldn’t do for healthy hearts and healthy brains fall under the category “Good old fashioned common sense.” Basically, we know what habits are healthy habits and we know the ones that are unhealthy. It’s just a matter of committing ourselves to sticking with the good and throwing out the bad.

Maybe the fact that our hearts AND brains depend upon it will help us make healthy choices. If not, what in the world would it take?

Make each moment count double,
~ Joi


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