Studies have shown that regular aerobic
exercise boosts daily intellectual performance and significantly
lowers risk for dementia. Other studies have suggested that
regular exercise can reduce that risk by up to 38 percent. More
studies have shown that maintaining a healthy weight with a low
ratio of belly fat can significantly lower our risk for a memory
disorder, even beginning in middle age.
Managing chronic conditions, such as hypertension or diabetes
can significantly reduce risk for stroke and dementia. Also,
taking care of medical issues such as hearing or vision loss can
make a tremendous difference in our ability to learn new
information.
Emotional distress and anxiety can also affect everyday
abilities and may even increase risk for memory impairment. Get
a good night’s sleep, avoid risky behaviors, and do not ignore
emotional upsets. A leading study on successful aging found that
folks who aged well were more emotionally resilient than others.
Playing games against the clock activities force us to pay
attention, work fast, and think nimbly. Research shows that
training in these skills can help us stay more effective at
them, regardless of age.
Research shows that staying intellectually engaged can
significantly lower risk for memory impairment by as much as 63
percent. Intellectual engagement supports emotional well-being
and better brain health. Look for ways to change your routine,
such as taking a craft class, brushing your teeth with your
non-dominant hand, or taking a new route to work or the store.
Staying social has been shown to potentially cut your risk for
memory impairment in half. Social situations offer a challenge
to keep up our end of the conversation and helps us stay
focused, and think fast. Find ways to get out with friends, and
ways to engage through community or other resources.
Working or volunteering can improve daily intellectual
performance. You get a good brain workout on the job, which
offers you the chance to engage both mentally and socially.
Continuing to work or volunteer provides a sense of purpose,
which researchers found may protect us from memory impairment.
If you want to remember better, believe that you can.
Self-perception can impact performance. If you are convinced
your memory is poor, it probably will be. Studies have shown
that memory self-belief impacts how well we do on memory tests.
Practice the power of positive thinking.
Showing posts with label Brain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brain. Show all posts
Oct 27, 2018
Jul 11, 2014
Sports Drinks
A study found that sports drinks work because
they activate the pleasure center of your brain. You don't even have
to drink them, just swishing some around in your mouth and spitting
it out has the same effect.
The carbohydrates in the drink stimulate receptors in your mouth that then send your brain messages that things are all great. Your brain then becomes more active in the pleasure center, allowing you to enjoy feeling the burn longer than someone without a sugary drink.
The carbohydrates in the drink stimulate receptors in your mouth that then send your brain messages that things are all great. Your brain then becomes more active in the pleasure center, allowing you to enjoy feeling the burn longer than someone without a sugary drink.
May 30, 2014
Eight Interesting Body Facts
More germs are transferred
shaking hands than kissing.
The aorta, the largest artery in the body, is almost the diameter of a garden hose.
Capillaries are so small that it takes ten of them to equal the thickness of a human hair.
Your body has about 6 quarts (5.6 Liters) of blood. It circulates through the body three times every minute.
The heart pumps about 1 million barrels of blood during an average lifetime.
The human body can function without a brain (although not long).
Humans are the only primates that do not have pigment in the palms of their hands
A mans testicles manufacture 10 million new sperm cells each day, enough to repopulate the entire planet in 6 months.
The aorta, the largest artery in the body, is almost the diameter of a garden hose.
Capillaries are so small that it takes ten of them to equal the thickness of a human hair.
Your body has about 6 quarts (5.6 Liters) of blood. It circulates through the body three times every minute.
The heart pumps about 1 million barrels of blood during an average lifetime.
The human body can function without a brain (although not long).
Humans are the only primates that do not have pigment in the palms of their hands
A mans testicles manufacture 10 million new sperm cells each day, enough to repopulate the entire planet in 6 months.
May 16, 2014
Brain Cell Myths Debunked
Brain cells can’t regenerate is
an old myth. Also drinking kills brain cells is an old myth.
The reason for the regeneration myth is that it was believed and taught by the science community for a long time. In 1998, scientists at the Sweden and the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California discovered that brain cells in mature humans can regenerate. It had previously been long believed that complex brains would be severely disrupted by new cell growth, but the study found that the memory and learning center of the brain can create new cells.
Even in alcoholics, alcohol use does not actually result in the death of brain cells. It may temporarily damage the ends of neurons, called dendrites. This results in problems conveying messages between the neurons. The cell is not damaged, but the way that it communicates with others is temporarily altered.
Scientific medical research has actually demonstrated that the moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with better thinking and reasoning skills and memory than is abstaining from alcohol. Moderate drinking helps the brain function better into old age.
The reason for the regeneration myth is that it was believed and taught by the science community for a long time. In 1998, scientists at the Sweden and the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California discovered that brain cells in mature humans can regenerate. It had previously been long believed that complex brains would be severely disrupted by new cell growth, but the study found that the memory and learning center of the brain can create new cells.
Even in alcoholics, alcohol use does not actually result in the death of brain cells. It may temporarily damage the ends of neurons, called dendrites. This results in problems conveying messages between the neurons. The cell is not damaged, but the way that it communicates with others is temporarily altered.
Scientific medical research has actually demonstrated that the moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with better thinking and reasoning skills and memory than is abstaining from alcohol. Moderate drinking helps the brain function better into old age.
May 14, 2013
More About Laughter
Every time someone laughs around us, our brains must
interpret what it means. As German scientists have discovered,
it is more complex than we thought.
A joyful belly laugh is interpreted by the brain in a completely different way from a scornful titter or the giggle from someone being tickled, a group of scientists from Tübingen in south west Germany have found.
In experiments designed to help patients with chronic anxiety disorders, they found that positive non-verbal communication, such as a joyful laugh was processed by a different part of the brain from a negative, scornful snicker.
Laughing is one of the oldest forms of non-verbal communication and is also seen in rats and apes. It could be key to helping patients with psychiatric disorders, who often are unable to correctly interpret non-verbal communication.
Humans have developed several different forms of laughter, each of which can have a complex series of meanings and intentions behind them. “Laughing is a very strong signal in social interaction. If you are laughed at with joy you feel accepted. If you are the victim of scornful laughter, you feel shut out of the group,“ said Dr. Dirk Wildgruber.
In their experiments, Wildgruber and his team played various types of recorded laughter and measured how the sounds were interpreted in the brain. They found that giggles generated when someone is being tickled stimulates areas of the brain responsible for interpreting complex acoustic signals. Happy or scornful laughter, on the other hand, stimulates completely separate brain regions usually tasked with guessing the intentions of others. From there, the laughter kick-starts connections with different parts of the brain depending on the tone - negative or positive.
The next step will be to look into how people with psychological disturbances react to different laughter signals to find out which areas of the brain could be artificially stimulated to help them, said Wildgruber.
A joyful belly laugh is interpreted by the brain in a completely different way from a scornful titter or the giggle from someone being tickled, a group of scientists from Tübingen in south west Germany have found.
In experiments designed to help patients with chronic anxiety disorders, they found that positive non-verbal communication, such as a joyful laugh was processed by a different part of the brain from a negative, scornful snicker.
Laughing is one of the oldest forms of non-verbal communication and is also seen in rats and apes. It could be key to helping patients with psychiatric disorders, who often are unable to correctly interpret non-verbal communication.
Humans have developed several different forms of laughter, each of which can have a complex series of meanings and intentions behind them. “Laughing is a very strong signal in social interaction. If you are laughed at with joy you feel accepted. If you are the victim of scornful laughter, you feel shut out of the group,“ said Dr. Dirk Wildgruber.
In their experiments, Wildgruber and his team played various types of recorded laughter and measured how the sounds were interpreted in the brain. They found that giggles generated when someone is being tickled stimulates areas of the brain responsible for interpreting complex acoustic signals. Happy or scornful laughter, on the other hand, stimulates completely separate brain regions usually tasked with guessing the intentions of others. From there, the laughter kick-starts connections with different parts of the brain depending on the tone - negative or positive.
The next step will be to look into how people with psychological disturbances react to different laughter signals to find out which areas of the brain could be artificially stimulated to help them, said Wildgruber.
Mar 29, 2013
Another Ten Interesting Facts About Humans
- Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the
immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a
day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day. Am glad I have
not grown up.
- Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
- The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30 feet.
- The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb. Your brain generates as much energy as a small light bulb even when you are sleeping.
- The brain is much more active at night than during the day.
- The brain itself cannot feel pain. The brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or burn yourself, but the brain itself does not have pain receptors.
- The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger and the nail on the middle finger of your dominant hand will grow the fastest of all. Nail growth is related to the length of the finger, with the longest fingers growing nails the fastest and shortest the slowest.
- The lifespan of a human hair is 3 to 7 years on average.
- Human hair is virtually indestructible. Aside from it’s flammability, human hair decays at such a slow rate that it is practically non-disintegrative. Hair cannot be destroyed by cold, change of climate, water, or other natural forces and it is resistant to many kinds of acids and corrosive chemicals.
- The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razorblades. Hydrochloric acid, the type found in your stomach, is not only good at dissolving pizza, but can also eat through many types of metal.
Feb 12, 2013
Describing Brains
This five minute video is a humorous
look at the differences between male and female brains. A fun
diversion. LINK
May 31, 2011
Alcohol Does Not Kill Brain Cells
Time to debunk another popular myth. Research has shown that the quantity of alcohol you could possibly take in, without killing yourself, does not introduce enough alcohol into your bloodstream to kill brain cells. This was proven by a study by Grethe Jensen and co. in 1993. They meticulously counted neurons in matched samples of non-alcoholics and alcoholics. They found no real difference in the density or overall number of neurons between the two groups. Other research has backed up those findings.
According to a study done at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, in Italy, 29% of people 65 years or older who almost never drank alcohol throughout their life had mental impairment issues. About 19% of people 65 years or older who drank moderate amounts of alcohol regularly had any mental impairment. It was further discovered that, among the various groups where other problems might impair them mentally, the same trend appeared. In every group, those who drank moderately on a regular basis throughout their lives always had a less chance of becoming mentally impaired in their old age compared to those who didn’t drink at all or almost never drank.
Scientists also once believed that the number of nerve cells you have in your brain, once you reach adulthood, was fixed. They have now discovered that new neurons are continuously created in the adult brain.
There are other side effects of alcohol on your brain, such as developing Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which is characterized by: confusion, coordination problems, hallucinations, memory problems, eye problems, and even inducing a coma or death, if left untreated. Excessive alcohol consumption over a long period of time causes a vitamin B1 deficiency, because alcohol inhibits the body’s ability to absorb thiamine.
According to a study done at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, in Italy, 29% of people 65 years or older who almost never drank alcohol throughout their life had mental impairment issues. About 19% of people 65 years or older who drank moderate amounts of alcohol regularly had any mental impairment. It was further discovered that, among the various groups where other problems might impair them mentally, the same trend appeared. In every group, those who drank moderately on a regular basis throughout their lives always had a less chance of becoming mentally impaired in their old age compared to those who didn’t drink at all or almost never drank.
Scientists also once believed that the number of nerve cells you have in your brain, once you reach adulthood, was fixed. They have now discovered that new neurons are continuously created in the adult brain.
There are other side effects of alcohol on your brain, such as developing Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which is characterized by: confusion, coordination problems, hallucinations, memory problems, eye problems, and even inducing a coma or death, if left untreated. Excessive alcohol consumption over a long period of time causes a vitamin B1 deficiency, because alcohol inhibits the body’s ability to absorb thiamine.
Jan 7, 2011
Brain Stuff
The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains
1. Learn the “It” in “Use It or Lose It”. A basic understanding will serve you well to appreciate your brain’s beauty.
2. Take care of your nutrition. Did you know that the brain only weighs 2% of body mass but consumes over 20% of the oxygen and nutrients we intake?
3. Remember that the brain is part of the body. Things that exercise your body can also help sharpen your brain: physical exercise enhances neurogenesis.
4. Practice positive, future-oriented thoughts until they become your default mindset and you look forward to every new day in a constructive way.
5. Thrive on Learning and Mental Challenges. Challenge your brain often with fundamentally new activities.
6. We are the only self-directed organisms in this planet. Aim high. The brain keeps developing, no matter your age, and it reflects what you do with it.
7. Explore, travel. Adapting to new locations forces you to pay more attention to your environment.
8. Don’t Outsource Your Brain. Make your own decisions, and mistakes. And learn from them. That way, you are training your brain.
9. Develop and maintain stimulating friendships. We are “social animals”, and need social interaction.
10. Laugh Often. Especially to cognitively complex humor, full of twists and surprises.
1. Learn the “It” in “Use It or Lose It”. A basic understanding will serve you well to appreciate your brain’s beauty.
2. Take care of your nutrition. Did you know that the brain only weighs 2% of body mass but consumes over 20% of the oxygen and nutrients we intake?
3. Remember that the brain is part of the body. Things that exercise your body can also help sharpen your brain: physical exercise enhances neurogenesis.
4. Practice positive, future-oriented thoughts until they become your default mindset and you look forward to every new day in a constructive way.
5. Thrive on Learning and Mental Challenges. Challenge your brain often with fundamentally new activities.
6. We are the only self-directed organisms in this planet. Aim high. The brain keeps developing, no matter your age, and it reflects what you do with it.
7. Explore, travel. Adapting to new locations forces you to pay more attention to your environment.
8. Don’t Outsource Your Brain. Make your own decisions, and mistakes. And learn from them. That way, you are training your brain.
9. Develop and maintain stimulating friendships. We are “social animals”, and need social interaction.
10. Laugh Often. Especially to cognitively complex humor, full of twists and surprises.
Aug 31, 2010
Brain Myth Debunked
Many still believe that we only use about 10 percent of our brains, even after science has proven otherwise.
Many sources of this misinformation appear to point to an American psychologist of the early 1900s named William James, who said, "the average person rarely achieves but a small portion of his or her potential." The media has long perpetuated that into "only using 10 percent of our brain".
In addition to those 100 billion neurons, the brain is also full of other types of cells that are continually in use. We can become disabled from damage to just small areas of the brain depending on where it's located, so there is no way that we could function with only 10 percent of our brain in use.
Brain scans have shown that no matter what we are doing, our brains are always active. Some areas are more active at any one time than others, but unless we have brain damage, there is no one part of the brain that is absolutely not functioning. Here is an example. If you are sitting at a table and eating a sandwich, you are not actively using your feet. You are concentrating on bringing the sandwich to your mouth, chewing and swallowing it. But that doesn't mean that your feet aren't working -- there is still activity in them, such as blood flow, even when you are not actually moving them. Also true - alcohol does not really kill brain cells.
Many sources of this misinformation appear to point to an American psychologist of the early 1900s named William James, who said, "the average person rarely achieves but a small portion of his or her potential." The media has long perpetuated that into "only using 10 percent of our brain".
In addition to those 100 billion neurons, the brain is also full of other types of cells that are continually in use. We can become disabled from damage to just small areas of the brain depending on where it's located, so there is no way that we could function with only 10 percent of our brain in use.
Brain scans have shown that no matter what we are doing, our brains are always active. Some areas are more active at any one time than others, but unless we have brain damage, there is no one part of the brain that is absolutely not functioning. Here is an example. If you are sitting at a table and eating a sandwich, you are not actively using your feet. You are concentrating on bringing the sandwich to your mouth, chewing and swallowing it. But that doesn't mean that your feet aren't working -- there is still activity in them, such as blood flow, even when you are not actually moving them. Also true - alcohol does not really kill brain cells.
Jan 29, 2010
Older Brains and Remembering
A new study has found promising evidence that the older brain's weakened ability to filter out irrelevant information may actually give aging adults a memory advantage over their younger counterparts.
Other research has already shown that aging is associated with a decreased ability to tune out irrelevant information. The current study showed that older brains are less likely to suppress irrelevant information than younger brains and can link the relevant and irrelevant pieces of information together to use this knowledge for subsequent memory tasks.
The older adults showed a 30% advantage over younger adults in their memory. Because this type of knowledge is thought to play a critical role in real world decision-making, older adults may be the wiser decision-makers compared to younger adults because they picked up so much more information. I knew that.
Other research has already shown that aging is associated with a decreased ability to tune out irrelevant information. The current study showed that older brains are less likely to suppress irrelevant information than younger brains and can link the relevant and irrelevant pieces of information together to use this knowledge for subsequent memory tasks.
The older adults showed a 30% advantage over younger adults in their memory. Because this type of knowledge is thought to play a critical role in real world decision-making, older adults may be the wiser decision-makers compared to younger adults because they picked up so much more information. I knew that.
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