Tag Archives: Exercise

Memory Exercises : Memory Exercise

I can remember memory exercises and assignments all the way back to second grade, and they always involved drudgery and tedium, like memorizing and reciting the Gettysburg address, and making faces at the kid reciting to try and make them lose their place.

I actually did that and feel some embarrassment at this moment as I remember that.

And now I am noticing that I am having issues with word recall, which tells me that my brain is now 62 years old, and my brain is earning its living recalling words and using them in counseling sessions, and I am worried that I am going to have to return to those tedious memory exercises from my childhood to keep my professional vocabulary.

However, I do hear the cavalry trumpet sounding not too far away, and I do believe that I can do memory exercises which reflect recent discoveries about the human brain and recent technological developments.

So here is what I have learned. We grow new brain cells every day, which is called neurogenesis, and those brain cells migrate to the hippocampus, which is a very important part of the memory process in the human brain, and we are making lots of discoveries about neuroplasticity, which is the capacity of neurons to form new connections when they are presented with novel learning experiences, sometimes within minutes of the learning experience.

Neurogenesis is a new discovery, perhaps a decade old.

The good news is that both neurogenesis and neuroplasticity can be encouraged, which impacts memory, and influences memory exercises, by taking care of the pillars of brain fitness.

The Pillars of Brain Fitness?

It turns out that the best memory exercise that we can do is what Simon Evans,Ph.D. and Paul Burghardt,Ph.D. tell us to do in their wonderful e-book Brainfit for Life.

We need to commit regular time to our brain fitness, which means that we take care of what the experts in the brain and memory exercise fields are calling the pillars of brain fitness.

When we do that, we are whipping the brain into its best shape for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, which are the keys to a longer memory, or a quicker memory, certainly a brain that is ready to use any of the traditional memory exercise tools like associative images.

So what are the pillars of brain fitness? Physical activity/exercise, nutrition including lots of antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids, stress management, good sleep, which is the time of day when memory consolidation happens, and novel learning experiences, which might include the use of the new computerized brain fitness programs.

The novel learning experience that the brain requires for enhanced neurogenesis and neuroplasticity is the novel learning experience that we usually get when learning a new language or new musical instrument, because that kind of learning exposes the brain to increased complexity and provides an opportunity for the appropriate amount of positive feedback (correct answers) for strong circuits to form.

Evans and Burghardt go into some detail about research on the dual n back task and how practice on the dual n back increases neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, so I found a program to use based on the dual n back task, and discovered in about three minutes that my attentional style when it comes to memory and brain fitness exercise is of the wandering kind, which makes it hard for my brain to form short term and then move short term memory to long term.

I highly recommend the dual n back task to anyone seeking increased brain fitness, or a highly effective memory exercise.

It is fun, frustrating, and addictive. Once you get a handle for how the program works, and get some improvement, you will be amazed at how this attention and memory exercise impacts your ability to remember stuff.

The dual n back task has in interesting side effect too, which is an increased I.Q.

Since I had success with the dual n back, I decided to look at and try a couple of the other brain fitness and memory exercise programs out there, and both proved to be beneficial also.

The benefit of the online program is that it can be booted up anytime, and used on demand, anytime I want to refresh my smokin’ neurons.

Wonderful break which actually helps the neurogenesis and neuroplasticity.

The other program I tried is the brain child of Michael Merzenich, Ph.D., one of the world’s leading experts in neuroplasticity, and it has been put to the test in the recently published IMPACT study. Both the researchers and the participants were quite amazed at the results.

So, you memory exercise folks, who grew up reading Harry Lorayne’s material on memory, try his tools out after increasing your brain fitness with the computerized brain fitness tools.

You may still forget where your keys are once in awhile, but your word recall will be excellent, the envy of all.

Michael S. Logan is a brain fitness expert, a counselor, a student of Chi Gong, and licensed one on one HeartMath provider. I enjoy the spiritual, the mythological, and psychological, and I am a late life father to Shane, 10, and Hannah Marie, 4, whose brains are so amazing. http://www.askmikethecounselor2.com

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Logan

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The Relation Between Brain And Mental Exercise : Brain Training

Article by Pedro Teixeira

It is easy to underestimate and forget about the true powers of the brain and its ability to heal the body. There have been many studies done over the years that prove that consistent mental exercise and brain training has actually improved the lifestyles of those that have been impaired by some kind of trauma or disease. One of these mental training programs that people use today is called brain training or brain fitness.Just like you train your muscles to get stronger through exercise, the brain can be trained to improve as well. Only instead of getting bigger, bulkier and able to push through physical limitations like certain muscle functions, the brain can expand its capacity to learn, maintain knowledge and memory, and even improve attention spans and help you focus more on the task at hand.By using an online brain training program, you can use as mental exercise for your brain on the internet. You should use scientifically proven program that available for anyone that has a computer and an internet connection. You want to make sure your program is effective.Since the brain has an outstanding ability to reprogram itself just like a computer, you can train your brain to function more efficiently for your life and improve your cognitive skills in areas that will benefit yourself. Imagine being able to learn new tasks and complete projects much faster than you ever thought possible. Or picture yourself reading through a book twice as fast as you normally would yet still being able to soak in more information and retain that information for practical use years into the future. These are just a few of the capabilities that you can train your brain to do through the use of brain training and persistent mental exercise.One of the best things about personalized brain training is that it will give you training based on your current mental and cognitive state. It may be too tough to really know when your brain is ready to move on to the next and more demanding mental exercise, so the computer will assess your level for you based on previous exercises. When you are prepared to move on to more challenging brain training, it will present you more challenging tasks.In order to get real results from mental exercise, you will need to make sure that you are consistent with the training and that you have good help and support along the way. Just like a physical exercise, the people that get the best results usually have the best staff and physical trainers to show them the way.

The brain is one of the most important organs in our body. Brain training control a whole vast range of activities and is key to our emotions and thought processes. It basically makes up who and what we are. Even mental exercise is very essential for the proper development of brain.










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Binaural Beats Mp3 – Motivation – Energy – Relaxation – Less Stress
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The Best Exercise for Your Body And Brain : Brain Training

Article by John Perry

Copyright 2006 John Perry

Stephen Covey (http://www.stephencovey.com/) told us to “begin with the end in mind.”

Have you ever heard “train with the brain in mind?”

Growing up, I would get the latest issue of Muscle and Fitness and plug away at biceps, triceps and chest routines. What resulted was frustration due to lack of performance enhancement and usually an overuse injury or two.

After becoming a Physical Therapist and gaining the knowledge of how the body operates, it became apparent why I had so much trouble meeting my fitness goals growing up and why I had injuries.

I was confusing my brain.

The brain is our guardian; like a protective mother with lots of kids. The kids in this case are all the bones, joints, muscles, etc.

The mother wants her kids to be successful. It really bothers her to see her kids suffer or doing anything that makes them struggle. In other words, the brain is interested in the body’s success.

Now most mothers (brains) have spies to help them. These are neighbors, kids in the neighborhood, teachers at school, etc., that let mothers know if there are problems with the kids. You see, the brain does not like the body or its parts (the kids) to get into any difficulty.

These spies are called proprioceptors. They send information to the brain to let it know such things as how fast a limb is moving, how much tension a muscle is under, if a joint is under too much strain and where a body part is located in space. The brain reacts by making adjustments so the body is successful.

You see, by training the body in the correct way, the right information gets to the brain. When you train the body the wrong way, the spies send bad information to the brain; this results in poor performance and fitness outcomes.

The brain will take in whatever information you feed it, good or bad. It loves you like only a good mother could. It will react based on the information it gets. The brain wants you to be efficient and have glorious results…but can only respond to the information it receives.

The last tidbit of information about the brain and its importance to training is this; the brain recognizes muscle synergies (groups of muscles working together).

This brings me to my point about confusing the brain. If you send it information about muscles working in isolation (biceps curls, triceps press downs, sitting knee extensions), then the brain responds with mixed signals. It wants to make the body efficient by having the muscles work in groups. Based on the feedback it is getting though, it tries to make the body as successful as possible by helping the muscles work individually. This results in poor movement patterns and injury.

Based on this information, I realized my brain needed some help. I needed to stop feeding my brain artificial movement information. I needed to train my muscles and joints as a group and do programs that allowed my body to move as it was designed to move.

Now I realize I just gave you a lot of neuroanatomy and physiology in a few short paragraphs. However, with that knowledge in tow, let me tell you the type of routine that will stimulate your brain!

There are four things you must do:

First, get on your feet. We constantly ask our bodies to perform while squatting, walking and climbing stairs. Our muscles need to be ready to respond when executing these types of activities. If you train the body (and brain) while on your feet, it will respond by making the body more efficient during those occasions.

Second, train movements, not muscles. As mentioned before, the brain recognizes groups (synergies) of muscles, not individual muscles. To make greater fitness gains, don’t confuse your brain…train it correctly.

Third, work in multiple planes of motion. There are three planes of motion: sagittal (front and back like a forward lunge or walking straight ahead), frontal (side-to-side like a lateral/side lunge or arm motion during jumping jacks), and transverse (rotation like a drop-step lunge or swinging a bat). All human movements have all three planes involved; however, there is usually one dominant plane. Training in three planes will assist in training muscle synergies and will make your brain happy.

Fourth, get your hips into it! The hip musculature originates and dissipates (controls) body forces; forces like gravity, ground reaction (forces coming up from the ground when taking a step), and external forces (weights, exercise bands, etc.) acting on the system. The hips are the crossroads for many forces working on the body. Proper motion and strength in your hips can help make other parts of your body perform better.

A few sample exercises that incorporate the above principles are:

* Three position lunges. Lunges to the front, side and drop step (stepping back at a 45 degree angle).

* Squat to overhead shoulder press with dumbbells.

* Squat to row – similar to the seated row, only in a standing position. When arms are out, you are in a squat position, when you pull back to row, bring your hips forward and stand up.

I could talk for hours about the benefits of full-body multi-plane exercise routines. Hopefully you understand why it is so important to your movement success and ultimately your fitness success.

Take home points from this article:

* Train on your feet, in three planes of motion. * Work through your hips to train your brain * Full body, synergistic routines send the proper information to the brain about successful movement patterns.

Ultimately, this will improve:

* Movement * Weight loss * Energy * Balance * Flexibility * Strength * And help eliminate joint pain and injury possibility.

Good luck, train your brain…your body will thank you.

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Want To Boost Memory In Old Age? Exercise, Says Study

The study published in the journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,’ states that one year of moderate aerobic exercise can increase the size of the hippocampus and reverse age-related memory loss in elderly people.

Hippocampus is a major component of the brain that plays an important role in memory. It is the first region of the brain to suffer damage or shrink in old age, leading to memory problems like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

120 older adults studied
In a first-of-its-kind study, the researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Illinois, Rice University and Ohio State tested 120 older adults.

The study participants were divided in two groups.

Sixty of them followed aerobic exercise regimen that involved walking around a track for 40 minutes a day for three days in a weeks.

The scans showed that those who followed the aerobics program, their right side and left sides of the hippocampus increased by 2.12 percent and 1.97 percent respectively.

The other 60 indulged in stretching and toning exercises for the same time period.

Brisk walking increases volume of hippocampus
Brain scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were taken taken at the start of the study, 6 months after the exercise program, and 1 year later.

The scans showed that those who followed the aerobics program, their right side and left sides of the hippocampus increased by 2.12 percent and 1.97 percent respectively.

On the other side, the same regions decreased by 1.40 percent and 1.43 percent in the group that just did stretching exercise.

The researchers also noticed that those who had an increase in hippocampus volume also showed improvement in the tests of spatial memory function.

Moderate exercise in old age beneficial
The findings suggest that exercise in old age is not futile. In fact, it is possible to ward off age-related memory decline with only moderate exercise.

Kirk Erickson, professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, and lead author of the study stated, We think that the atrophy of the hippocampus in later life is almost inevitable.

“But we’ve shown that even moderate exercise for one year can increase the size of that structure. The brain at that stage remains modifiable.

The researchers also analyzed the effect of aerobics exercise on other parts of the brain like the caudate nucleus, which also shrinks with age. But, no change was seen.

“This suggests the effect is not just a widespread increase in brain mass, but it’s relatively specific to the hippocampus, added Erickson.

For more information check out
aerobic exercise regimen

Memory Exercises

Tips on How to Exercise Your Memory

If you feel you will get wiser if you are using your minds more regularly, you’re partly accurate. During exercising your memory or “using your brain” more customarily doesn’t improve your Reasoning powers; it can benefit to enhance your memory. Along with a great strong memory may be the foundation of mental thinking ability and creativeness.

Inside a statement through the Daily Telegraph, conducting a psychological exercise twice every day may help postpone the fast loss of memory related to dementia for greater than 12 months, it said that research of almost 500 people older 75 to 85 years looked at how frequently they did crosswords or puzzles, or simply read, wrote or performed games. Of those that created dementia, people who did 11 mental exercises per week created memory issues in regard to a year and four months later average compared to those who did four workouts per week

This research shows that seniors who’ll continue to build up dementia might delay their start of fast intellectual decline by getting involved in psychologically revitalizing activities. Nevertheless, the age where everyone was identified as having dementia was not affected.

The research has some restrictions, such as the truth that it had been a comparatively little research and just calculated involvement within the activities at one time. Even though alone, this research doesn’t show that improved psychological exercise decreases risk of dementia, maintaining physically and mentally active is most likely good for people of all ages.

Exactly, where did the story originate from? The study was completed by Dr Charles B Hall and colleagues from Albert Einstein College of Medicine along with other study facilities in New York.

The study was funded through the National Institute on Aging and also the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. It was released within the peer-reviewed medical journal Neurology.

Many people think that to exercise the mind or memory indicates you need to be strapped inside a chair, connect with electrodes and look at a flashing screen. Most mental workouts are leisure-time pursuits like performing word puzzles, actively playing poker or bridge with family and good friends, actively playing scrabble or mahjong, reading a novel or thinking of creative methods to resolve problems. You may have also physical exercise your memory by recalling your grocery lists or errands rather than utilizing a document and pen. You may also make use of a memory device to obtain much more from your human brain.

 

Keeping mentally active is really an option along with a way of thinking. Turn it into a routine to become mindfully conscious of daily such as things as, for example, in which you place your keys or pocket book. Furthermore, have a psychological conversation in your mind to help remind you to ultimately remain concentrating and notify in whatever duties you need to do, whether it is cooking food meals or managing the checkbook. I’ve got a good friend in the 90s who’s, nevertheless, mentally-sharp. He still does volunteer work in old folk’s home. Concentrating on other people rather than yourself will even strengthen your psychological perspective in everyday life.

And don’t forget to get a good amount of physical exercise. Wake up early to go for walks around the block, or goes for a run or perhaps a go swimming. Whatever works to you personally. It’s not necessary to become listed on a costly fitness center to keep that ticker healthy. Demanding bodily motion provides oxygen towards the human brain. Working out your mind, memory, body and soul can help you remain mentally and physically sharp for some time, very long time.

 

He is a freelance writer.  He has written inspirational articles principally on Spirituality and other related topics. He is an artist and a graphic designer.

Memory Exercises

How to Improve Memory Enhancement with Exercise

Throughout life there are occasions when memory fails us, but undaunted we continue on. Anyone for example who has, or knows children is well aware that they forget things on a regular basis. Parents often ask, “Where did you leave your mittens?” “Why didn’t you bring home the books you need to do your homework?” “When were you told to be home?” The universal reply from children, punctuated in their unique ways is, “I forgot.”

Forgetting doesn’t seem to phase children, adolescents or young adults in the least. The same is true for adults until some point in time when they cannot recall on demand the name of someone, some place, or something so familiar to them that they begin to worry about the state of their memory. “Senior-moment” is a popular socially acceptable phrase, used particularly among aging baby boomers, when one experiences public memory failure. While some make the appearance of taking memory failure lightly, covering it up with this catchy phrase, others publicly show their frustrations and concerns. Regardless of how one responds in public there is a great deal of anxiety about forgetfullness. With forgetfullness is the fear that it is an early sign of Alzheimer’s Disease or another form of dementia. This anxiety and fear may be particularly acute for caregivers whose parent or parents have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.

How can memory be enhanced with aging?

Memory enhancement is comprised of many things and must be personalized.

It requires keeping the mind active and providing the brain and the body with the exercise and supports needed for optimal functioning. It must being with acknowledging to yourself why you want to enhance your memory. To being any activities to promote healthy aging you need to be sufficiently motivated to be able to begin and sustain the changes you are making. No matter how simple the activities may seem, change does not occur without conscious intent. Conscious intent requires continuous reinforcement, as it takes at least three weeks to change or add a new behavior.

It is generally better to focus on one change at a time. Not only does this allow you to incorporate it into your activity pattern, it also allows you to see how you are responding to it. Trying to implement too many changes at the same time is not realistic and most often is doomed for failure. When we are not successful with implementing a change it can impact how we feel about our selves. When embarking on behavioral changes it’s important to remember to be realistic and to be kind to yourself. Think about which one of the several changes you would like to make will have the greatest positive impact for you. Start there and work toward your goal of changing or adding the new behavior. Success breeds success.

Food rich in Vitamin B6, B12 and Folic acid, such as spinach, broccoli, strawberries, black beans, soybeans and melons support the formation of oxygen carrying red blood cells as well as breaks down amino acids which are harmful for the nerve cells. Antioxidants such as Vitamin C and Vitamin E contained in foods like sweet potatoes, tomatoes, green tea, berries, citrus fruits among others also help in memory enhancement as they interact with the free radicals and neutralize them before they damage our body cells.

Understanding the working of the brain, training it appropriately and supplementing it with proper nutrition can work wonders for the brain and thus, for our memory enhancement. So, consume a wide spectrum of nutrient rich foods and healthy fats which do not clog, but assist the clearing of arteries. No doubt, your memory will thank you for this.

Brain Exercises

Memory enhancement can also be done by doing some brain exercises. There are several ways of exercising your brain and just like your muscles, the more you exercise your brain, the stronger it gets. In order to exercise your brain, you need to make it work in different ways than it normally does. There are several ways to do this and all are beneficial.

Find powerful herbal remedies

Memory Loss and Improving Intelligence


Change your routine – Try writing with your other hand or if jog around a track, change direction and jog the other way. Doing these kind of things may feel awkward at first, but it will cause your brain to build new connections that were not there before.

Brain Aerobics – This type of exercise forces you to use your senses in a different way. For instance if you brush your teeth with your eyes closed or plug your ears before you shower, it will be a different experience for your brain which again causes additional pathways.

Learn New Things – This is one of the best brain exercises there is. You can really improve your memory by learning a new language, learning a new game, or anything else new to you. The key here is to pick something that really interests you. The more you are motivated to learn the more you will involve your brain and which will help improve your memory.

Headache and Memory Enhancement

Brain Enhancer and also more read on herbalcureindia.com

Memory Exercises

Exercise and Physical Activities – Health Benefits : Memory Exercises

Article by Peter hutch

Regular physical activity provides enormous health benefits. It helps reduce heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and many other diseases and metabolic conditions. Regular fitness exercise is also highly beneficial for weight reduction and weight maintenance, and may improve brain chemistry to reduce depression. By contrast, health studies that have monitored the wellbeing of large groups of people over many years clearly show that inactivity significantly increases the risk of overweight, obesity and chronic diseases.

New brain cell development, improved cognition and memory. Exercise stimulates the formation of new brain cells. Researchers found that the areas of the brain that are stimulated through exercise are responsible for memory and learning. For instance, older adults who engage in regular physical activity have better performances in tests implying decision-making process, memory and problem solving.

Heart Disease and Stroke. Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your blood pressure, raising your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (good cholesterol) and lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (bad cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart’s working capacity. Optimizing each of these factors can provide additional benefits of decreasing the risk for Peripheral Vascular Disease.

Cholesterol lowering effect. Exercise itself does not burn off cholesterol like it does with fat, however, exercise favorably influences blood cholesterol levels by decreasing LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol and increasing HDL (good) cholesterol.

Physical activity helps to reduce body fat by building or preserving muscle mass and improving the body’s ability to use calories. When physical activity is combined with proper nutrition, it can help control weight and prevent obesity, a major risk factor for many diseases.

Exercise has also been found to increase levels of “brain-derived neurotrophic factor” (BDNF). This substance is thought to improve mood, and it may play a role in the beneficial effects of exercise. BDNF’s primary role seems to be to help brain cells survive longer; so this may also explain some of the beneficial effects of exercise on dementia

Among the symptoms of depression are feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness. Physical exercise often leads to a sense of accomplishment that can increase good feelings about yourself when you need it most. Exercise can also help you feel better about your appearance and your self-worth. Meeting small goals is an excellent way to start boosting self-confidence with the feeling of accomplishment you take in completing challenges.

The health benefits of exercise are explicable in terms of favourable physiological, psychological, and biochemical changes and improvements in function. Their scope is greater than has been supposed. Motivating sedentary people to pursue these benefits is not straightforward. They are reluctant to undertake even moderate exercise, and they become immediately aware of their limited tolerance for physical work and the discomfort that it provokes. It takes several weeks of regular exercise to see an improvement in their capacity for effort and for there to be a training effect.

It was found that exercise had the strongest effect on boosting patients’ physical function, such as improving their ability to climb stairs or walk a certain distance. It improved patients’ body composition, increasing the percentage of lean muscle mass to total weight. Exercise reduced some symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting and pain, and modest improvements were seen in fatigue, mood and quality of life. Given the relatively small benefits for exercise identified by their analysis, the researchers suggest combining exercise with other inventions designed to improve cancer patients’ physical and mental health.

Read about Breast Enlargement and Enhancement. Also read about Natural Remedies, Herbal Supplements and Home Remedies

Peter hutch










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The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of
Mad Scientist Special! Learn Unique, Powerful Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of, Covering Every Bodypart…abs, Chest, Arms, And Everything Else! Get Better Results For The Hard Work You’re Already Putting Into Your Training Right Now.
The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of

Better Vision for Greater Memory : Memory Exercises

Article by Victor Alemán

To keep the memory sharp, it is important to maintain vision. Relaxation is the key to maintain vision for many years. Vision and mental focus go hand in hand and both don’t do well with strain and stress. Relaxation and inner peace is important in remembering things. All these things rely on each other to work properly.A great way to test the condition of the eyes is a mental memory exercise. In this exercise, the goal is to maintain a visual image for as long as possible. To start, cover one eye and glance quickly at a letter on the page with the other eye. Close your eyes and hold the image of the letter in your mind as long as possible. Count how many seconds the image stays in your mind before fading away to darkness. Take note of this number. Do the same thing for the other eye and compare the results.Now relax the eyes and try again. One way to relax the eyes is to close them and concentrate only on pleasant thoughts and good memories. Allow your eyes to focus on the darkness and forget everything around you. Open your eyes and try the exercise again. Hopefully the results are different and the image stayed longer the second time around. If not, you may need to find some eye relaxing exercises and work on removing the strain.Vision affects memory. We need the vision to see the image. The more clearly we see the image the more detail we can recall on later. Focusing on the positive events will help keep the mind relaxed and the eyes free of strain.The following exercise will help you relax and improve your memory. Try it tonight. While lying in bed tonight focus on all the positive things that happened throughout the day. Picture the events of the in as much detail and color as possible. Try picturing your lunch or the clothes the person who complimented you was wearing. Focusing on the positive will clear your mind, relax the body, and give you a better night’s sleep.Removing the strain from the eyes will not only improve your vision it will also improve your memory.

Dr William H. Bates was born in 1860 in New Jersey, USA and he died in 1931. He graduated from Cornell University in 1881 and received his medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1885. He established a practice in New York and worked for a time as clinical assistant at the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital. He was also a physician at Bellevue Hospital in 1886-88, and at the New York Eye Infirmary, the Northern Dispensary and the North-eastern Dispensary in 1886-96. From 1886-1891 he was an instructor in Ophthalmology at the New York Postgraduate Medical School and Hospital.In 1896 Dr Bates gave up his hospital work for several years of research work, coming back to New York as attending physician in the Harlem Hospital from 1907-22.In 1919 he published the only book he ever wrote, “Perfect eyesight without glasses”, where he described all his work on the eye’s functioning.From 1921 – 1931 he published the Journal ‘Better Eyesight’ which comprises a mixture of excerpts from his book and later case notes and other writings.

Bates wondered why people who wore glasses for a while didn’t develop better vision, but tended to need stronger and stronger glasses. After years of experiments Dr Bates proved that the eye is easily trained and that unstrained eyes are unaffected by stress, old age or doing close work.Bates proved that nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and crossed eye are caused by chronically tense external eye muscles, and that this tension, created by strained mental and physical vision habits acquired during a period of stress, is reversible.The Bates Method has been generally misunderstood and thought of as some sort of ‘eye gymnastics’ designed to supposedly ‘strengthen the eye muscles’. This is completely wrong. Dr Bates based his work on the principle of relaxation to bring about coordination of eye and brain allowing vision to ‘happen’. And also by increasing awareness and perception, whether one is reading a book, using a computer, playing sports or looking at a friend.

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You Need to know How to Improve Memory and Contentration : Brain Vitamin

Article by Robert Mathew

It is a fact that memory power reduces with aging. The fact remains that memory power which is in receding trend as we grow old, can be restricted by applying proper nutrition and memory exercise. Vegetable juices and fruit juices particularly loaded in vitamins and minerals, if taken regularly, can positively facilitate the brain and memory power improvement. We should remember and be cautious against insufficient/poor nutrition because this would create a lot many unstable unbalanced oxygen molecule (free radicals) which may damage our brain cells seriously affecting the thought process.

For protection of brain cells and boosting of brain functioning including memory power, one of the easiest ways is to take sufficient quantity of juices specifically made from raw and organic fruits / vegetables. Intake of a good amount of Vitamin-E & antioxidants contained fruits and a vegetable reduces the damage caused to the brain cells. Fresh juices act as a healthy brain tonic due to presence of zinc if taken regularly. Following tips for healthy juices should essentially be made part of your life for improving your brain functioning and resultant improvement in memory power.

Blueberries Juice: If you drink Blueberry juices sufficiently you would automatically eradicate free-radicals which are liable for cell deterioration in your body including brain as such juices have sufficient antioxidants which can fight and remove free radicals.

Juices from spinach, apples, cherries, grapes and other berries: Do you wish to improve and restore motor coordination and balance of your body, get set to take fresh juices made from apple, cherries, spinach, grapes and other berries as these juices contain sufficient antioxidants. We may use them to turn around the memory loss notably. Lemon Juice : In order to avoid mal-functioning of your brain and other parts of your body you should to control your blood sugar level. Don

Boost Your Brain Power And Memory Over 40! : Brain Power

Article by Mark Rosenberg

Frequently my over-40 patients start getting a little anxious when they begin experiencing “brain fog” and forgetting some things like a name, where they put their keys, appointments, if they took their medications, etc. They fear these lapses may be symptoms of Alzheimer or some other brain-disease.

I assure them that, about 95% of the time, most of these memory episodes are not due to some serious brain process. Rather, they are likely due to just the usual memory and cognition (ability to perceive and interpret) changes that start around age 40.

My patients are often surprised, and more hopeful, when I tell them that many of these changes are not permanent and may indicate just fatigue, stress, nutritional deficiencies, or even cognitive “boredom”, meaning your brain is not getting enough stimulation! In fact, you can do a lot to boost brain power and memory and in this newsletter, I’d like to recommend some easy things that will help you do that.

Your Brain: A Complex Data Base

Our brains store an incredible amount of data in them through three types of memory:

–Short term/temporary – stores things like a phone numbers, addresses or where you put your keys. As your brain gets older, you may have to write down or repeat numbers to recall them. Putting your keys in the same place will also help. –Long-term recent – type of memory most affected by aging, holds info like someone’s name you just met, what you did several days ago. Inability to recall names is common.

–Long-term remote – memory that stores much older data from your childhood, or what you did on a historical date, is not affected by aging as much. You’ll likely remember what color your childhood bike was than the color of the shirt you wore two days ago!

Boost It Don’t Lose It!

Now, what can you do to boost these three areas of your memory? Here’s what I recommend to my patients:

Diet/Nutrition: You’ve heard that fish is “brain food”, that’s because it contains Omega-3 oils that repair worn out brain cells and preserves all your memory areas. Your brain (and the rest of you) thrives on proteins. Limit simple sugars in your diet. Your brain (and the rest of you) functions better making its own glucose from complex carbohydrates and proteins.

Oxygen Power: Your brain needs oxygen to thrive. Working in a stuffy office or house all day can zap your brain power. I tell my patients to open their windows and take several deep breaths when they wake up in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the evening. If possible, go for a walk, exercise, work, or play outside in the fresh air for a few hours, weather permitting.

Exercise: Aerobic exercise 3-4 times a week (running, walking, bicycling, swimming, treadmill, elliptical, dance aerobics, etc) in tandem with muscle strengthening exercise like weight-lifting, kettle bell workouts, yoga, help deliver oxygen to all the tissues of your body including your brain. In addition, it creates feel-good hormones in your brain that helps clear brain fog and depression.

Recharge With Sleep: Getting enough sleep is like plugging your brain into a recharger. Nothing zaps your short term memory and creates brain fog more than not sleeping enough. Your brain and other parts of your body repair itself during sleep. Eat a high protein, 0 sugar, snack like turkey or tuna before going to sleep to help your body release growth hormone, the master repair hormone. Sugary snacks, especially 2 hours prior to sleep, turn off its release.

Stimulate Your Brain: Do crossword puzzles, play card games, chess, any type of game that requires memory recall and/or critical thinking will stimulate both your short term and long term recent memory to stay sharp. Break your patterns by changing things up. For example take a new way to work, use your opposite hand to do tasks, build a birdhouse, take up painting, or learn a language! Your brain thrives on learning and slows without stimulation.

Avoid Substance Abuse: Research has shown that smokers and alcohol drinkers develop dementia more than nonsmokers. Alcohol kills brain cells that do not recover. Avoid Neurotoxins: Exposure to toxic chemicals like spray paints, some glues, environmental chemicals, pesticides, can all cause neurologic damage especially without good ventilation.

Avoid Aspartame: Sold as Equal, Nutra-Sweet, Spoonful, now renamed as “Neotame”, aspartame is an “excitotoxin” that creates all kinds of neurologic havoc, including memory loss, irritability/rage, damage to developing fetus nervous systems, etc. New research shows that diet sodas are linked to strokes, but do not state why. It could be the aspartame in certain diet sodas (Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Pepsi) that is the cause and not that it is sugar-free.

Memory Robbing Drugs: Many prescription drugs can cause memory loss. If you feel your medications may be contributing to your memory problems, talk to your doctor, or your pharmacist, and ask him to look into whether memory loss could be a side effect.

Brain/Memory Boosting Supplements: B vitamins, especially folic acid, B6, B12, are crucial to good brain health. As we get older, we don’t absorb B12 from our intestine and most everyone gets deficiencies making it a crucial vitamin to supplement. Other brain cognition and memory boosters that you can supplement with are phosphatidylcholine, DMAE, phosphatidyl inositine, acetyl-L carnitine, phosphatidyle serine, vinpocetine, and huperzine.

Getting older doesn’t have to be fraught with anxiety of forgetting everything and everyone you know. Stay away from neurotoxins, eat a healthy diet full of brain-memory preserving nutrition, make use of the brain-boosting supplements available, exercise and keep challenging yourself to do and learn new things. You’ll be surprised at the difference it can make in keeping all your precious memories intact!Mark Rosenberg, M.D.Institute For Healthy Aging

www.healthyanswers.com

Mark Rosenberg M.D. is director of the “Institute of Anti-Aging” in South Florida. He is a highly sought-after speaker for lectures on topics such as integrative cancer therapy and anti-aging medicine. Dr. Rosenberg is avidly involved in supplement research and is nutritional consultant for Vitalmax Vitamins.










How to Challenge, Exercise and Feed Your Brain : Brain Foods

Article by Dr. Lorne S. Label, Brain Longevity Center

Just like the rest of your body, your brain needs to be well-cared for in order to function at its highest level. For example, your memory will be sharper if you practice a daily regimen that includes a challenging cognitive workout. Your body and your brain will both benefit from a varied exercise routine. And, if you incorporate good nutritional habits, this also helps the brain to flourish.

Here are some tips on how to challenge, exercise and feed your brain.

Exercises for Good Brain HealthWhen most people think of exercise, they envision working out to keep their bodies physically fit and healthy. But the brain – so important to living a full life — also needs an exercise regimen to stay agile and alert.

What can you do to challenge your brain? Activities like crossword puzzles, card games, reading, volunteering and Sudoku puzzles will stimulate thought and cause you to retain information and problem-solve. Even planning a vacation or attending a class will require the brain to process new information.

More challenging activities might include mastering a foreign language, learning a new computer program or taking music lessons.

Numerous computer programs and books feature “brain games” that will give you a systematic mental workout. Customizing these games optimizes the effectiveness. The key is to have differing levels of intensity and difficulty to keep the mind engaged and working.

There are also simple exercises that don’t require a book, computer or even pen and paper. Try this: While waiting in line at the bank, count to 100 by factors of three. If that’s too easy, then go backward. Run through the multiplication and division tables in your head. Another easy brain stretch is to use your non-dominant hand while doing daily tasks. You might find this frustrating at first, but you will be amazed at the results.

Whatever activities you choose, make sure that you have to work your brain, causing it to be used in non-routine ways. This stretching process will help create stronger memories that will provide for clearer overall thinking.

Physical Exercise Benefits the Body and the BrainScientists used to believe that people were stuck with the brain they were born with – and that individuals naturally began to lose cognitive function as they aged. This thinking allowed people to accept memory loss as inevitable and believe that nothing could be done about it.

However, new research shows that the brain constantly renews itself, giving hope to those with cognitive decline.

Recent research also reveals that frequent physical exercise has a direct correlation to brain function. Exercise stimulates stem cells to grow new brain cells in the memory part of the brain. Enhancing blood flow to the brain increases the density and size of the brain’s capillaries, which in turn increases the amount of oxygen to the brain.

The evidence is clear: Your body can get flabby from lack of movement and so can your brain.

Studies show that a vigorous exercise program — one that gets the heart pumping fast — causes more blood flow to the brain, thereby providing the most benefits. However, any exercise is good, so take a walk, work in your garden, lift weights and generally just get moving. The more you do the better.

Adding complexity to the exercise program, such as learning new dance steps, also helps the brain since it combines both physical and mental stimulation. So, you can help fine-tune your mental sharpness by varying your physical activities and by trying something new.

Finally, it’s never too late to begin exercising. If you have trouble committing to a consistent workout program, then partner up with a spouse, family member or friend. You will be more apt to stick with a program if there is another person counting on you. Brain Foods for Better HealthWeight management and good nutrition are both essential to good health. In fact, new medical evidence indicates that a poor diet contributes to brain cell damage – so what you feed your body directly affects your brain.

A “brain healthy” diet means low-fat, low cholesterol choices combined with an abundance of antioxidant foods. What’s good for you and what should you avoid?

Eat fresh foods, rather than highly processed foods. Drink plenty of fluids (six 8 oz. glasses a day) and make sure that a good portion is water. Limit any caffeine and alcohol.

Include colorful fruits and vegetables in your diet and strive for at least 4-5 servings daily. Choose foods such as kale, spinach, Brussels sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, beets, red bell pepper, onion, corn, eggplant and dark green lettuces. Fruits with high antioxidant levels include prunes, raisins, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, oranges, red grapes and cherries.

In moderation, nuts – like almonds, pecans and walnuts — can be a good source of vitamin E, an antioxidant.

Lycopene increases the blood antioxidant capacity, so foods like tomatoes, tomato products and V8 juice are all good choices.

Most people do not consume enough protein. Opt for proteins found in cold-water fish, like tuna, wild salmon, herring, trout, sardines and whitefish. Conversely reduce saturated fats – such as red meats and animal products, and replace these “bad fats” with the monounsaturated fats in olive, canola, sunflower, safflower and soybean oils.

Decrease the intake of trans-fats (also called Trans fatty acids or hydrogenated vegetable oils) which are found in many processed foods.

Avoid high glycemic or simple carbohydrate foods that are really just empty calories. Sodas, sweetened drinks, cakes, cookies and other sugary snacks will give you an initial energy boast, but they will cause your blood sugar to fall dramatically which places stress on the body.

The goal is to have a healthier body and mind. Your brain will benefit from a well-balanced diet and improved food choices. When in doubt, choose fresh options, read the labels and consult with your physician or a nutritionist.

Dr. Lorne S. Label is director of the Brain Longevity Center in Thousand Oaks. The Brain Longevity Center offers proactive programs for those with mild-to-moderate dementia and others seeking to maintain a healthy brain as they age. For information call 805-497-7274 or visit us online at http://www.brainlc.com.










More Brain Foods Articles

Memory Game – The Modern Exercise Phenomena : Memory Exercises

Article by David Akihito

The modern memory game is truly a phenomenon. Normally, we associate the word exercise to hours of sweat and hard work, jogging hard on that treadmill that we hate so much. However, never before in history has exercise become as enjoyable as it is today with the introduction of games. This is especially so for the memory exercises, many of which have been turned into memory games for helping us to develop our memory and mental ability. There are a variety of different memory games and exercises which can help you to improve your memory, productivity, performance, and overall mental health.

Different exercises may address different forms of memory as well as different part of the brain, so let us first examine a few of the various types of memory and how they play a role in the types of memory games that have been developed. The most commonly understood types of memory include short-term memory and long-term memory. These are forms of memory that we use in our daily lives. Most of the memory game assortments that exist out there are built on training the short-term memory facility of the brain. However, there is still the random memory game that goes into deeper sub-categories of the short-term memory. These include areas such as our spatial memory, meaning the memory of the position of various items that we have.

Some of the more common memory games that are available include the match memory game. In this form of memory game, we need to match one thing with another, and this is usually in the form of a one upturned card with another card that is lying down and whose face and position we need to remember. This is actually quite an easy game to play, but it does wonders for improving the memory ability of an individual. This type of match memory game is popular among both children and adults, and there are many computer versions of the game as well.

Other memory games basically focus on simple short-term memory task such as remembering symbols or pictures which are given to the players. These are often set in different environments and can have added sets of rules for small challenges that the players would enjoy. One variation on this type of memory game is the requirement to memorize audio. Thus, instead of memorizing pictures of symbols or shapes, participants are required to memorize audio playbacks. This is more challenging than the normal visual memorization as most games are focused on visual memory such that most people have never thought of training their audio memory.

If you have been concentrating on memorizing things through pictures so far, you might want to consider giving your brain a twist with a memory game that is focused on other parts of the senses, such as memorizing an audio playback, or memory related to other senses of the body. There are also certain memory games that you can play at home that require you to memorize things based on your sense of touch or even your sense of taste. Have a try at all the different varieties of memory game available, and exercise different parts of your brain for the most benefits.

Brain Training X provides you with great ways to improve your memory and mental abilities. Discover more great memory games and items to help you train your brain and improve your mental ability while having the most fun by going to their brain training web site at www.braintrainingx.com/.










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