TOP 50 BRAIN TEASERS & GAMES

Here's the link to the 'Top 50 Brain Teasers & Games'.

COMPARATIVELY AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE HUMAN BRAIN

1 MILLION: number of new neuronal connections formed every second;

25 BILLION: processing capacity of a typical desktop computer;

100 BILLION: estimated number of nerve cells in the brain;

100 TRILLION: processsing capacity of the human brain;

500 TRILLION: estimated number of synaptic connections in an adult brain;

[Source: 'A Thinking Pedagogy', drawing on published material from Huang Gregory, 'New Scientist', 3rd May 2008]

THE BRAIN POWER WORKOUT

According to top researchers, the road to a fit mind isn't paved in crossword puzzles alone.

In fact, they argue that a variety of physical exercises can also give our grey matter a boost.

They even offer a week's worth of workout variations, which we can incorporate into our own routines.

Here's the link to the article.

PLAY WITH YOUR MIND: 100+ MIND GAMES FOR BRAIN FITNESS

'Play With Your Mind' features over 100 original mind games, brain puzzles, brain teasers and IQ tests.

If you haven't yet heard, playing brain games exercises your cognitive abilities and improves your brain fitness.

So take some time to explore around, play some games, have some fun ... and become smarter in the process.

Here's the link.

100 WAYS YOU CAN TAP INTO MORE OF YOUR BRAIN

Here's a link - with the courtesy of Amber Johnson from OnlineUniversities.com - to a very interesting resource that offers '100 Ways You Can Tap Into More of Your Brain'.

Thanks, Amber, for sharing.

10 TIPS FOR MAINTAINING A HEALTHY BRAIN FROM 1 TO 100

Dr Paul Nussbaum, a clinical neuropsychologist who specializes in aging across the lifespan & brain health, & writing for the American Society on Aging, shares the following wonderful tips:

Tip 1: Don’t smoke:

Smoking represents a major risk factor for cancer, heart disease & stroke.

These leading causes of death represent an ongoing concern for all of us. Non-smokers might consider taking an empathetic approach to smokers who are trying to quit, & parents might use a “tough love” approach with their children to make sure they don’t even start.

Tip 2: Follow your physician’s advice:

Your relationship with your physician is critical to your health. Remember, though, that as a consumer of health services your doctor is your employee, so establish a good working relationship based on the understanding that you are the boss of your body.

We must develop a proactive attitude toward maintaining our health & take responsibility to change those aspects of our lifestyles that are minimizing our longevity potential. Our physicians can help guide this process.

Tip 3: Exercise regularly:

Exercise and physical activity continue to emerge as primary components of a healthy lifestyle at any age. Aerobic exercise,weight training & recreation are critical not just to our cardiovascular health but to our brain health, as well.

Every time our heart beats, 25% of its output goes to our brains—quite a large market share!

Clearly, maintaining efficient blood flow to our brains through regular exercise promotes health.

If you don’t exercise regularly, start by walking around the block tonight & build from there.

Tip 4: Reduce the overall calories you consume daily:

We tend not to underconsume anything—including food.

Yet the leading factor for longevity in animals is caloric restriction.

This finding has yet to be demonstrated in humans. However, provided you get your daily nutritional needs from the USDA’s food pyramid, you should pay close attention to how much you eat.

Follow the advice two physicians gave me:

Never go to bed stuffed, & eat only 80% of what you intend to consume at every meal.

Tip 5: Socialize and have fun:

We Americans specialize in stress, with little understanding of how to have fun.

We need more time to socialize, celebrate & laugh! Some of us have walls around us that keep other people away. As humans, though, we need to be engaged & to be social.

Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the United Nations, once stated that every time “we lose an elder from our village,we lose a library.”

If we begin to think of everyone as a library, it becomes clear that we can learn from others.

Tip 6: Develop your spirituality:

Evidence continues to emerge that prayer is a health-promoting behavior & that attendance at formalized places of worship may have more significance to our health than we understand.

Meditation, yoga, relaxation procedures & prayer have neurophysiological bases.

They help to alter our existing homeostasis for the better. Praying or meditating daily can help us combat the stresses of life & focus on the challenges ahead.

Tip 7: Engage in mentally stimulating activities:

“Mental stimulation” refers to the ways our brains respond to stimuli in the environment.

Novel and complex stimuli are health-promoting for the brain. New learning translates to neurophysiological growth & to mental stimulation in the same way that aerobics translates to cardiovascular health.

We can benefit from being challenged, from learning information & skills that we do not yet understand, & from engaging in pursuits that are initially hard for us!

Tip 8: Maintain your role and sense of purpose:

Retirement as it is presently envisioned in this country is not good for the human brain, which benefits from environments rich in novel & complex stimuli.

Retirement by definition reinforces disengagement and passivity. Our nation might consider prioritizing social engagement across the lifespan—from a brain-health perspective.

Although it is important to allow elders to choose more passive lifestyles, many may benefit from an understanding of the importance of actively participating in society & finding personally relevant roles & senses of purpose.

Tip 9: Seek financial stability:

Research clearly demonstrates that having some money late in life correlates with better health.

Therefore, a practical tip for maintaining lifelong health is to hire a financial planner & begin a savings plan that will provide some money late in life.

Financial planners do not consider themselves to be health promoters, but they are.

We are never too young or too old to begin saving, & the less money we make the faster we need to get started!

Tip 10: Engage family and friends:

Developing & maintaining a social network of relationships is important from a health perspective.

Our friends & family help us stay active and involved in the fabric of society.

They can provide us with emotional support and can nurture trust. Our roles in life, from child to parent to grandparent, exist within the family; they provide much health & human enrichment across the lifespan.

And intimacy, broadly defined, is itself a health-promoting behavior at any age.

[Dr. Nussbaum is the author of 'Brain Health Lifestyle', among many other great books on brain health.]

14 RESEARCH-PROVEN WAYS TO BOOST YOUR BRAINPOWER

Here's a link to an interesting article about boosting your brainpower.

Although it offers no ground-breaking ways for us to adopt, nonetheless I feel that the information serves as useful reminders.

In a nut shell, the 14 research-proven ways include:

1) Physical exercise;

2) Lifelong learning;

3) Mental stimulation;

4) Social interaction;

5) Sleep & Nap;

6) Stress management;

7) Laugh & Humor;

8) Healthy breakfast;

9) Omega-3 fatty acids;

10) Blueberries;

11) Vegetables;

12) Red wine;

13) Keep health problems under control;

14) Neurobics;