Tag Archives: Brain

Improv and Brain Training

In today’s fast paced world there is nothing like improv comedy training to sharpen your mental skills. Who is the person whose ideas most often get heard, the man who sits in a meeting and thinks and ponders or the woman who jumps on the questions posed and comes up with an idea?

I am not saying either way produces a better idea, because in reality either method could be used to come up with the ultimate solution, or more likely the two will be combined to offer the best plan.

So how does one start to develop these skills? To start with, searching the internet one can find loads of information on improv comedy whether you are looking for books, articles, groups or anything else.

The beginnings of improv are a matter of debate, but most would point to Keith Johnstone, the creator of Theatre Sports, Viola Spolin, the “Grandmother of American Improv.” For two great reads on this subject, Johnstone’s “Impro: Improvisation and the Theater” and Spolin’s “Improvisation for the Theater” are chock full of exercises and information.

But for real experience, reading about improv is like watching a movie about taking a bath. You can’t get clean with the latter and you can’t get your hands dirty with actually getting into a workshop and putting yourself out there on the chopping block.

Some would say being on stage is the ultimate test of an improvisational actor, but most people aren’t looking for that level of exposure. And it is exposure. You have to be totally open to complete disaster, and be willing to embrace it and learn from it, if you are going to climb onto a stage. Therefore group work in workshops is probably the safest format for the average citizen looking to sharpen his or her mental skills.

Most improv is based on some sort of ‘game’ where the players are going to assume some sort of role and have random characteristics thrown at them and then they have to create something interesting out of it.

Being put on the spot gets your mental juices flowing, or you can just freeze. The difference is experience and the willingness to lay it on the line.

The first time you have a reaction from those around you, (which doesn’t necessarily have to be laughter, it could be groans or tears) you can become hooked and want to do it more and more. More traditional actors may welcome the scripted role, but I have found the freedom of improv to be exhilarating.

If this interests you at all, I would strongly urge you to go online and search for an improv workshop. You may be surprised to find one within short driving distance of your home, as many community colleges are embracing this new form of brain training.

Robert Britt is married and a father of four. He is a published author and has a degree in Psychology from Albright College. Robert is a recognized expert in the field of personal finance, self-esteem and confidence building. He is the President of Prosperity Ventures, LLC, a company dedicated to the success of others. Robert spent 13 years in the military and 14 years in manufacturing prior to self-employment. Please contact Rob at rob@robertbritt.com and visit http://www.DutchBlitzkrieg.com for more on his improv troupe

Brain Training

Your wonderful brain, brain relaxation and brain training : Brain Training

Article by Lamar Puckett

Anything that can be familiar is left human brain dominant.Along with nearly everywhere brain there are some other part of the brain. The front lobe controls your persona, the temporal lobe works with short and long term ram, the parietal lobe is the lobe in the hand, and the occipital lobe, abdominal muscles back part of the mind, controls vision.Your brain requires two things to survive: gas and activation. Auditory activation (listening to nature appears to be, clicks of a metronome, or even Mozart in a major crucial) in the left head comes up through the human brain stem over to the appropriate brain and the other way round for the right ear.Aesthetic stimulation from the kept side in a checkerboard structure using different colorings comes up through the optic walkway to the brain control and up to the right mental. The T.Elizabeth.N.S. In a very perpetual state to move, the world is constantly result in increasing challenges this serve to test your capability to overcome obstacles whilst your personal will for you to thrive, whether inside your personal life, company or sports. At this point more than ever before, levels of competition are fierce. The are usually greater levels of competition and more hurdles lie inside your path. There’s a simple handful of individuals that have got a significant advantage over the bigger population even before competition has begun. Your job should be to do something about this. You ought to be the first one to score, due to the fact once you do so you will possess gained the advantage.All these have the ability to mold brainwaves in a manner that it is possible to be able to induce states involving productivity, creativity as well as relaxation merely via brainwave stimulation. A person might become more intelligent, acquire more energy and become far more creative through brain wave training.Alternatively, brain wave training allows the person to gain mastery across the brain in as little as six months.Brain enjoymentHave you noticed that you usually are forgetful and spread out out whenever you are exhausted, depressed, anxious or stressed out? You have a tendency to forget where you positioned your keys and also where you parked your car or truck when your mind is passionate with a lot of issues as well as problems. Thus, those who live in perpetual talk about of stress are affected from faster wear and tear of brain capabilities.On average, people who are inside their 40s may experience a few foggy moments. Thus, in order to enhance your brain performs, you just need to find out what form of music relaxes your brain.Meditate RegularlyYoga exercises and tai chi instruction can really help you be taught a lot of meditation strategies that can help you de-stress. Shutting down your eyes and using your mind off difficulties and just concentrating on your own breathing for a few a matter of minutes a day can help a good deal in boosting a person’s mental abilities.De-stress Simply by Breathing DeeplyBesides, inhaling far can also help relax you and ease your anxiety.Check Out Hypnosis Mp3 fiesIf you want your brain to work at its optimum, you need to feed them with positive enjoyment and motivation.

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Brain Training: It Works (to Improve Mental Skills) and It Doesn’t (to reduce Brain Age) : Brain Training

Article by Alvaro Fernandez

Copyright (c) 2009 SharpBrains

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic and USC Davis have just announced publication of their IMPACT study at the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The press release announces:

– “Of the 487 healthy adults over the age of 65 who participated in a randomized controlled trial, half used the Brain Fitness Program for 40 hours over the course of eight weeks. The Brain Fitness Program consists of six audio exercises done on a computer, and is intended to “retrain the brain to discriminate fine distinctions in sound, and do it in a way that keeps the user engaged,” Zelinski explained.” The other half of participants spent an equal amount of time learning from educational DVDs followed by quizzes.

This is a very interesting study, in that it shows both that brain/ cognitive training works, and that it doesn’t work.

What do I mean?

Well, it is time we move beyond this superficial discussion on it works/ it doesn’t work, and we started discussing Work for Whom? Work for What?

1) It works: the intervention (computerized cognitive training) showed cognitive benefits beyond the control (educational DVDs followed by quizzes). This is significant both in that it shows that people over 65 can improve their mental abilities, and that can be done in scalable ways, thanks to emerging technology tools. Obviously more research needs to be done, but results like these would have been considered impossible not so long ago.

2) It doesn’t work: those cognitive benefits were closely related to the trained auditory areas. The results don’t support grandiose claims that the program “helps rejuvenate one’s brain 10 years” or similar, which we hear all too often.

This is but one study in a rapidly growing area (this one is pretty large, and multi-site, and conducted by independent researchers). The key questions are becoming:

– 1) who may benefit most from improving on specific cognitive domains- auditory processing in this case?,

– 2) how can healthcare professionals support patients from a preventive and brain maintenance point of view (please note the study above had nothing to do with Alzheimer’s Disease, but with the enhancement of cognitive functions)

– 3) how can consumers navigate the growing number of products and claims?

I interviewed USC Davis’ Elizabeth Zelinski, one of the scientists involved in the study, and this is what she said:

– “The program we used, Brain Fitness 2.0, trains auditory processing. The people in the experimental group improved very significantly, which was not that surprising. What was very surprising was that there was also a clear benefit in auditory memory, which wasn’t directly trained. In other words, people who were 75-years-old performed auditory memory tasks as well as average 65-year-olds, so we can say they reversed 10 years of aging for that cognitive ability.”

In short, if you are considering buying some of these new programs, for yourself, your patients, a loved one…you do need to do a bit of homework. Yes, it would be easier if there were more specific and categorical answers…but for the time being there aren’t, apart from the general guidelines to stay active physically and mentally, manage stress levels, have a balanced nutrition.

So, ask yourself, what specific cognitive abilities would you like to work on and improve? what program offers credible evidence that it may help exercise and improve them? for what group of people (age, healthy or clinical problems,…) does the program seem like a better fit?

Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of SharpBrains.com, a website that reviews resources for brain fitness and offers brain teasers. SharpBrains has been recognized by Scientific American Mind, Newsweek, The New York Times, and more. Alvaro holds MA in Education and MBA from Stanford University, and teaches The Science of Brain Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute. You can learn more at http://www.sharpbrains.com/










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John Assaraf Winning the Inner Game of Money Brain Training Review : Brain Training

Article by Robert Clark

Winning the Inner Game of Wealth is the new Brain Training system by John Assaraf and how it works is incredible! The thing that holds 99% of people back from earning the income they want isn’t the physical but is their mind.

Since they day we are born, we are absorbing data about the univerise which includes how to think about success and money. As we grow older, these thoughts are so deeply ingrained that they become automatic and often times we don’t even realize how many negative feelings we have towards what it is we think we want.

Have you ever wondered why you try so hard but fail time and time again to generate the income you want and deserve into your life? It is not because you aren’t trying or don’t deserve it but because of those ingrained subconscious thoughts that are just contradicting what you are trying to do.

If you plant a grapefruit tree will pears grow on it? Of course not! In order to change the kind of fruit that is growing you have to change the roots of the tree! Your success works exactly the same.

In order for you to become truly successful, you are going to first have to reprogram your subconscious mind to think only in ways that support what you want to have in your life.

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John’s system is scientifically based on the latest cutting edge neurophysiology and actually pinpoints the parts of your brain that are used to store subconscious information regarding success.

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The Best Ways To Boost Your Brain Power : Brain Power

Article by Greg Frost

Toboost your brain power there are various methods like meditation, which is a stress buster and hence leads to better brain functioning. Deep breathing is another way as it leads to more inflow of oxygen in the body. More oxygen makes the brain work and think well. You can also make drawings using colored pencils, which would give you a powerful brain that can reason or think better. Drawings are known to encourage and develop the right hemisphere of a human brain leading to more creativity.

Next, reduce the amount the junk food you consume as junk food reduces the body energy and a diet minus a lot of junk food would give you a brain chemistry that will be more focused and calm. Apart from this, fish oil, red wine, and multi vitamins are very beneficial for the brain. One can also listen to music (especially classical which makes the left hemisphere active and help people write better). Watch less television as excess changes the functioning of brain. Entering a debate/discussion or asking questions gives raise more thinking, new ideas and thoughts and in turn it has been found to be very helpful. Brain power is exploited in the future in place of the drugs to achieve these desired results like increasing attention, and inducing people in sleeping, and helping to become alert. The brain entrainment is used to exploit brainpower as well as increase level of the creativity, eliminating stress as well as insomnia, increasing awareness & creating lucid dreams and inducing deep relaxation. The addictions are all across the place & there has been talk that to be lazy is as well addiction. Anything, which represents the weakness in mind, is named addiction, as we are not able to ourselves beyond the point to be slaves to needs as well as cravings. We know that there is problem there however we also continue to replicate actions, which in end of a day, can just lead to downfall of success as well as even likely lead us to a lot of problems (such as health).

One of technologies applied in brain entrainment that includes use of the binaural beats where the brainwave frequency patterns are used to control mind. Mind follows frequency of induced tone after a few periods to achieve end result that is favored by brainwave frequency like achieved. Knowledge on brainwave frequency will help the people to understand the brainwave entrainment better. Additionally, this is applied at your home & includes free prescription that is achieved personally instead of going for drug & other things of the high expense & disruptive in the nature. The music is applied as the means of relaxation as well as it is used to allow the people for forgetting the worries as well as stress. Fact is that a lot of people don’t understand impact of music & how it influences brain, as well as make use of technology to attain desired results.

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Do Some Mental Exercises to Boost Your Brain Power and Keep the Mind Sharp : Brain Power

Article by Stacy

Your brain is a lot more complex when compared with virtually any computer we are able to think about. Are you aware that you’ve hundred billion dollars lack of feeling tissues within your brain, every lack of feeling mobile offers many internet connections to other nerve tissues? The truth is, your brain features more cable connections in it as compared to you will find celebrities inside galaxy! Perfecting the brain’s operate is essential for you to getting the most effective you will be, regardless of whether at work, in discretion, or perhaps your current relationships.

It is very simple, your mind are at the center of all you carry out, all you feel along with think, each nuance regarding how we connect with individuals. It really is the two supercomputer in which runs the complex living and also the sensitive wood which homes your current spirit. Although you could run, lift weights, or perhaps perform yoga exercise to help keep the body inside good condition, then you disregard your head and believe in the idea to accomplish it is job.

1.Do some physical exercise.Research suggests that men and women that obtain a good amount of physical exercise could wind up together with greater brains. Researchers with the Salk Institute regarding Natural Scientific studies in Chicago Jolla, Calif., discovered that adult these animals who ran with an workout controls whenever they felt want it obtained double as many brand-new cells inside the hippocampus, a region with the mental faculties associated with learning and also memory space, as compared to these animals whom sat about for hours on end speaking about Lord of the Jewelry within Internet forums. They just weren’t certain precisely why the greater active rodents’ heads responded the direction they do, but it’s entirely possible that the particular voluntary mother nature with the workout managed to get more enjoyable and for that reason much more valuable. Which may imply that discovering solutions to enjoy physical exercise, rather than simply forcing you to ultimately take action, could make you smarter-and more content, as well.

So, perform a sport, prepare with an function such as a race, triathlon or perhaps “fun manage,Inch as well as exercise using a buddy to hold items interesting.

2.Ask why instead of taking everything for granted.Our brains are ” cable ” to become wondering. As we become adults and also “mature” a lot of us contrain or perhaps deny the natural attention. Permit yourself become inquisitive! Ponder in order to your self concerning exactly why things are taking place. Inquire a person ready. The best way to exercising each of our awareness is as simple as wondering “Why?Inch Transform it into a new habit must “why?In . at least Ten times a day. Your head will likely be more content and will also be pleasantly surprised about what number of opportunities and solutions may show up in your lifetime and also operate.

3.Laugh.Scientists inform us that frivolity will work for our health and wellness; who’s produces hormones and other positively powerful substances in to our system. And we don’t really need experts to inform people that it comfortable to wear to have a good laugh. Laughing helps us minimize anxiety as well as split old styles way too. Consequently laughing out loud can be as being a “quick-charge” for the brain’s power packs. Chuckle more, as well as have a good laugh more difficult.

4.Cut off the fat from your daily intake. Could “bad” fats cause you to be dumb? Whenever researchers with the University of Toronto place rodents on the 40-percent-fat eating habits, the actual test subjects lost ground in many parts of psychological function, including storage, spatial recognition and principle learning. The problems started to be a whole lot worse which has a eating habits elevated in saturated fats, what type that is certainly rich in meat and dairy products. While you may do not be contacted to be able to find their way slightly labyrinth in search of the cheddar cube, these kind of outcomes might keep correct to suit your needs as well, for 2 reasons: Fat can help to eliminate your flow associated with oxygen-rich bloodstream in your mental faculties, also it could also reduce the fat burning capacity regarding glucose, are glucose as their pharmicudical counterpart makes use of because foodstuff.

You are able to nonetheless stand up for you to 30 % of one’s every day energy available as body fat, but many of computer must come from the aforesaid sea food, essential olive oil, nuts. Anything you perform, keep away from trans fatty acids, the solidified natural skin oils which are rich in cookies along with fast foods.

5.Music and the Mozart Effect.A decade ago Frances Rauscher, a new psychiatrist currently in the University or college of Wisconsin from Oshkosh, along with her colleagues built waves while using finding which hearing Mozart improved peoples’ numerical and spatial reasoning. Even test subjects happened to run mazes more quickly and more properly following listening to Mozart than right after white noise or perhaps songs by the minimalist composer Philip Goblet. This past year, Rauscher described which, for subjects at least, a new Mozart cello sonata seems to activate exercise in about three genes involved in nerve-cell signalling within the human brain.

This appears like one of the most enlightening solution to optimize your mental ability. To start with a person pick up the actual Dvds, notice this notice regarding extreme care. Not everyone who has appeared to the Mozart effect has found that. In addition, also its advocates usually believe tunes boosts brain power due to the fact celebrate audience members sense better-relaxed and stimulated with the same time-and that a similar government may well accomplish at the same time. The truth is, one examine found that listening to a tale presented much the same overall performance improve.

6.Learn something new.That one may seem evident. Yes, we monetize in the brain’s fantastic potential once we place it to work studying new things. You may have a specific matter regarding function as well as leisure time that you might want to explore. That’s excellent.

Proceed understand that. Without having an interest in mind right this moment, attempt mastering a brand new word each day. There is a solid link in between operating vocab and thinking ability. Whenever we get new phrases inside our vocabulary, each of our thoughts may consider throughout fresh approaches using higher technicalities among ideas. Set proper effort into function studying. It can be one of the better ways to re-energize your brain.

Put around you impressive individuals from the wide array of areas who motivate anyone as well as stimulate your creativeness. Examine publications from the wide selection of fields. Create cable connections among people, locations as well as issues, to learn brand new chances, and discover ways of your current difficulties.

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Memory Exercises – 5 Ways to Keep Your Brain Young

Not remembering where you put on your sunglasses or forgetting the name of high school friend? Things like that are common in daily life. To help you memorize, it’s good brain exercise below.

The key is to keep the brain remain sharp. We often train with the sports bodies, but what’s the point if all that is not supported with a sharp brain. If you want to strengthen the ability of your brain, trying to do some learn by following a strategy to remember the things that you often forget.

1. Strategy to remember people names
– Give a description to his name, is the name has a particular meaning or description of the face type.
– Create a connected memory, as in what event you do meet with him or anyone who was with him.

2. Strategy to remember put small items
– Remember what you did before to the last.
– Remember the brain when you put something in a place, such as’ I put the key in the motorcycle jacket’.

3. Strategy considering the activities that must be done
– Start with a ritual, make a little note, and place something odd to draw attention to the notes.
– Use your body to remember what you should do, such as when the hand will write a report.

4. Strategy to remember your password email or ATM PIN
– Sharpen your memory with the numbers reflect the numbers as an object, such as 0 to the ring, 2 for the goose, 5 for pregnant women, 7 to boomerang, and so forth. Use your imagination and create your own creations.

5. Strategy to remember everything that can’t be memorized
– Read, write, speak and do repeatedly.
– Use color in notes with the thick title or certain symbols.

– Make a map or mind map to think, and create branches from the center to write anything that is on your brain.

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Memory Exercises

Keeping Your Brain Fit with Auditory Memory Exercises

Surely you’ve experienced occasions when you absolutely can’t remember a name, address, or phone number. If it happens to you more frequently than you want, there are lots of strategies to reinforce memory that everyone can always do. One such method is going to be auditory memory exercises. It’s not saying that it won’t take some effort to increase your overall memory however; the harder you exercise these exercise routines, the far better at trying to remember you will get. Soon you will end up looking for notepads and pencils less, and will also be able to recollect a lot more than you are accustomed to. It is possible to really have fun using these exercises and methods. Some of the ways you can practice are described below.

Listening to the Radio Can Help Your Memory

Each day, there is a top ten countdown over a number of radio stations. Your preferred station could even have top tens twice a day. Do not write these down as you take note of them, wait a little for all of the songs to be played out before trying to jot them down in order from the first to the final song. In the beginning, even memorizing every one of the titles can be hard, especially if they are songs that you are not familiar with. However with time, you can actually call to mind every one of the titles, the name of the artist, and also the album the song is from. There are a number of radio stations that have tournaments involving trying to remember these types of top ten countdowns. So while gaining better short term memory, perhaps you should have a great time and win some cash all at once?

Get a Partner To Help You With Practice

If you think you can’t complete an auditory memory exercise by yourself, try getting a friend to do it with you.

Typically, these partner exercise routines involve your companion detailing a collection of words, or phrases – possibly names, addresses, contact numbers or any kind of list – then you have to recall this list and repeat all of the items in order. Practice regularly and you’ll soon notice that recalling the items on the lists will be easier for you and you wouldn’t forget about things as fast as before.

In the event you prefer to accomplish your auditory memory exercises on your own, you’ll be able to practice with recordings of anything at all from music to speeches and toasts to plays. Listen to a song that you are not familiar with or one where you don’t know the words, then make an effort to note down the song lyrics immediately after. At the beginning, replaying the song to confirm if you’ve remembered the words correctly will be typical, but before long you will be doing the same much less. Try and get to the level where you could tune in to a new song and write down the words correctly without replaying the actual tune.

Auditory memory exercises are usually hassle-free approaches to boost your short term memory plus your general memory skills because they can be practiced from anyplace and also at any time.

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Memory Exercises

Use Meditation To Improve Your Brain Power : Brain Power

Article by Zarelsie Van Der Merwe

Feeling better will definitely improve your brain power and it is a known fact that meditation will calm both body and mind. So why not use it to feel better?For those who have not tried meditation before, it is really easy to do and it has great benefits. Meditation is just a form of relaxation and you will get better at it the more you practise it. It is guaranteed to calm you, make you feel better, rejuvenated, in control and improves brain power.

It is also a fantastic way to reduce stress; it can be done virtually anywhere. It will boost your concentration power, clear your mind and make way for clear and productive thinking. It is then a very good way to start and end your day as this will result in increased brain power for the day ahead and relax your brain and body for a good night’s sleep. Through meditation you can learn to control your mind and focus more effectively on your goals.

How to start meditating

For effective meditation, it is important that you find a spot where you feel comfortable and safe and where you are not interrupted by noise and distractions. Clear your mind consciously and do not be rushed. Here are a few tips to help you start effective meditation to improve brain functionality and make you feel better.

1) Find your spot

If you are starting out at meditation or any relaxation technique for that matter, it will be hard initially to concentrate and therefore it is imperative that you find a quiet spot. As you get better at it you may find that you are able to do it almost anywhere.

2) Get comfortable

Find any position that you will be comfortable in. We always view people meditating while sitting crossed legged, but this is not a given. Any comfortable position that you will not fall asleep in is good.

3) Relax Consciously

You have to actually tell your brain to tell your body to relax. Consciously try to feel which parts of your body are tense. Keep telling your brain to relax those muscles and repeat until you can feel the release physically happening.

4) Concentrate on your breathing

The proper way of breathing is inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Do not heave your shoulders up and down, but feel the air flowing to a place just above your diaphragm, above your abdomen. Your shoulders should not move at all. This is deep breathing.

5) Concentrate

You should concentrate to not get disturbed by distractions or other thoughts. It is very easy for your mind to drift as you relax, so you should concentrate on your breathing. The disturbances will soon face away.

6. TimingTo make sure that you are not disturbed by looking at the time constantly, set an alarm clock for 5-10 minutes. Do not stop until the alarm goes off.

Initially it will be hard to learn to meditate or relax with meditation, but practising it a few times will ensure that you are physically and mentally relaxed. This will calm your body, rejuvenate your muscles and increase brain power.

Zarelsie Van der Merwe is a Personal Change & Development consultant and author.www.live2excel.net30 Days to a More Powerful Brain










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Can Brain Training Games Make You a Better Driver? Allstate Insurance To Test Them : Brain Training

Article by Alvaro Fernandez

Copyright (c) 2008 SharpBrains

Insurance company Allstate just announced a very intelligent initiative. According to the Chicago Tribune:

-“Allstate, which called the Posit program (brain training games) “potentially the next big breakthrough in automobile safety,” said it expects its software exercises to reduce risky driving maneuvers by up to 40 percent and improve stopping distance by an average of 22 feet when traveling at 55 miles per hour.”

-“We’ll look to see whether over the next six to nine months there will be a reduction in” the number of accidents between the group participating in the video exercises and those sitting out, said Tom Warden, assistant vice president of Allstate’s research and planning center.

Alvaro Fernandez: I am fortunate to interview Tom Warden, Assistant Vice President and Leader of Allstate’s Research and Planning Center, based in Menlo Park, California. Tom, thank you for your time. Can you please explain the context behind this new initiative that you just announced?

Tom Warden: Our research center is constantly looking for new ideas to improve the driving behavior of drivers of all ages. Recently we have paid extra emphasis on ways to improve the safety of older drivers.

Let me provide some background here. Allstate, as a company, has always been one of the pioneers in helping to introduce new safety measures. For example, we were among the pioneers in the 60s to advocate for mandatory use of seating belts, given research studies on the benefits for drivers and passengers alike. More recently, we helped lobby for wider adoption of airbags, an effective but expensive way of protection that only became mainstream when manufacturers were required to include them.

AF: Let’s talk now about your agreement with Posit Science. What will happen over the next months?

TW: The first thing we are doing is to conduct a research study to analyze the real-life impact of Posit Science InSight, a computer-based cognitive training program, on accident rates. We know that as drivers get older, especially in their 70s and beyond, a number of cognitive problems can get in the way of safe driving. We want to see if there is a way to reduce this effect.

We are offering the InSight program for free to over 100,000 auto policy-holders in Pennsylvania aged 50-75, and to some potential clients. We recommend participants to devote at least 10 hours to the training exercises, but of course the more they can devote the better. We will compare the results with a control group.

AF: How will you measure success, and by when will you know if your expectations are met?

TW: Given that we have already started recruiting participants and training may start as soon as next week, we may have some interesting results by the end of March 2009 or perhaps during the summer. In order to have statistically meaningful numbers, we will have to see how many people enroll in the study and the size of the observed impact. We will analyze the program compliance rates since this type of intervention needs to be engaging enough for people to devote a number of hours to at home. But, at the end of the day, what we want to see is whether using the program will translate into lower accident rates and better safety.

AF: Assuming those goals are met, what would be the next steps?

TW: In that case we will have to figure out ways to roll out the program nationwide, perhaps even offering discounts to policy-holders who commit to using the program. We would also engage in public advocacy, share the results, partner with the DMV and other agencies.

But, we have not really contemplated this yet, we need to see the results first.

AF: The InSight program is a pretty specialized program. It does not train all main cognitive skills involved in driving, such as say working memory or divided attention, but focuses mostly on visual processing. Are you conducting some type of independent cognitive assessment to identify who may benefit from that program vs. other options?

TW: No, we are not. We became interested in talking to Posit Science after they acquired Visual Awareness, the company that had developed the Useful Field of View (UFOV) technology. We felt Karlene Ball and her team brought the kind of research that stood up to our standards and held the most promise to meet our needs.

AF: What was the main business case to embark on a pioneering initiative like this?

TW: As I said earlier, Allstate has a long tradition of introducing safety-related measures, and this initiative reflects that commitment. In this case, our objective goes even beyond driver safety: we want to help our clients. We want to contribute to their overall quality of life and protection. We believe that programs like InSight can contribute to better daily functioning and quality of life. We want our clients to have positive feelings towards Allstate and to know we care about them.

AF: A potential concern we have heard in similar cases, where an insurance company offered a computer-based assessment or training program, is Privacy. How can users of InSight who are also Allstate policy holders know that whatever information the program gathers cannot be used against them, for example to deny coverage or increase premiums?

TW: That’s a great question. We are aware of that potential concern, and we are putting processes in place so that Allstate doesn’t get access to any cognitive information on a particular individual. The Posit Science program is gathering the information, and Posit Science will only share data with us at an aggregated level, for overall research purposes. Allstate will be completely blind as to who uses the program.

AF: Any final remarks for our readers to understand the significance of your agreement?

TW: We believe this program has the potential to lower accident rates and improve the quality of life of millions of adults. We are excited to be able to offer it to our policy-holders, to show our commitment to innovation and to their overall protection and well-being. We are hopeful that, if the results are as positive as we believe they can be, interventions like this can become a major new safety benefit, and that it may positively reflect on AllState’s brand and public perception.

AF: Tom, thank you very much for your time. We will be very interested in learning more about the ongoing progress of this initiative.

TW: Thank you.

Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of SharpBrains, which reviews resources for brain training such as the Posit Science program. SharpBrains has been recognized by Scientific American Mind, Newsweek, The New York Times, and more. Alvaro holds MA in Education and MBA from Stanford University, and teaches The Science of Brain Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute. You can learn more at http://www.sharpbrains.com/










Brain Training with Music

Music’s an important part of life, essential, even, for many. While styles and genres are often downplayed by detractors, all music has common and unique traits alike and its uses and applications are nearly limitless. Nothing quite lifts a bad mood like hearing a favorite song on the radio, for example; or hearing a certain tune may call back memories long forgotten of an important event or just the last time you heard the song played, summoning waves of nostalgia. Music’s not all about entertainment though, and the areas it has been put to use in are as varied as the countless types of music themselves, ranging from the obvious to the shocking.

War often inspires music, Jimi Hendrix’s catalog serving as a prime example, but few give pause to consider the role music has played in the eternal struggle of man against man. Ancient armies used to use horns and drums to signal each other across the field of battle long before walkie talkies or telegrams provided simple and easy communication and coordination of troops. Even today you can see the remnants of the war drums of eras past in the cadence calls and drumming that guides marching rhythms in today’s military displays and parade marches.

A lesser known unconventional use of music, though, lies in Music Ear Training, a method to improve linguistics skills and the ability to comprehend and learn language simply through music. Scientists are discovering that listening to a large variety of different lyrical music styles stimulates the centers of the brain responsible for language comprehension and acquisition. From infancy, childhood nursery rhymes and lullabies have an impact on forming the proper neural pathways in the brain that lead to the ability to pick up language later in life; the more exposure to music, the easier it generally becomes for the child to begin learning, and thus speaking, their native language. This phenomenon is not limited only to young children, but is active throughout life and music ear training retains its effectiveness well into adulthood. As a relatively new discovery, this training lacks dedicated resources, many of which are small or incomplete. EasyEarTraining.com is one of the few sites out there offering solid and plentiful information on the matter and they even provide apps on the iPhone to help maximize the effect you can get out of the training for a reasonable price, provided you have the hardware for it; if not, the site still provides all information and updates about music ear training free of charge to site visitors.

EasyEarTraining.com is a site founded to provide information and tutorials on how to properly train your ears to not only pick up sounds more accurately but also provide your brain with the facilities to more easily learn a new language or simply understand those you already know more clearly, entirely through conventional and Music Ear Training. All info and tutorials are free and they provide an iPhone app for training on the go to boot!

 

EasyEarTraining.com is a site founded to provide information and tutorials on how to properly train your ears to not only pick up sounds more accurately but also provide your brain with the facilities to more easily learn a new language or simply understand those you already know more clearly, entirely through conventional and Music Ear Training. All info and tutorials are free and they provide an iPhone app for training on the go to boot!

Brain Training

Simple Exercises To Boost Brain Power & Keep Memory Sharp : Brain Power

Article by Medical Zones

As we get older, our cognitive ability and memory will naturally decrease. Of course, we all do not want it. However, you can do daily brain exercises to improve your memory. By engaging in a variety of exercises for your brain, it can help keep your memory stay sharp and enhances brain function. This is a very valuable skill that will be used in all aspects of your life.

Here are some exercise that you can develop a training regimen for your brain!

1. Read a good book. By reading a book you can stimulate the imagination and creativity. It also helps you to improves concentration and memory retention; improves analytical and problem solving skills.

2. Play the game. This is a great way to stimulate your brains ability to critically think and process information. The games work wonderful for improving thinking speed and natural problem solving skills. These include Picture Puzzles, Strategy Games, Crossword Puzzles, Card Games, Deduction Games (such as Clue), Visualization Puzzles, Optical Illusions.

3. Visualize. Visualization has been associated with focus at a deeper level. Many successful athletes that are able to play