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Researchers across the globe agree that most people can learn throughout their lifetime, thanks to ‘Brain Plasticity’, which means we continue to grow new neural pathways as we learn new information, skills, etc.  However, if we are to experience the best outcomes from ‘life-long learning’ we should also be committed to the following:

Exercise, Healthy Diet, Brain Stimulating Activities, Social Connections,         Good Sleep Patterns, and a Positive Attitude

Although each of these important components are necessary to ‘age well’, for this blog, we’ll focus on just one, EXERCISE.

Exercise: Studies done on exercise and the brain include some powerful outcomes. This is an area of research where the positive impact on brain health is the most consistent and undeniable.

• Exercise improves our flow of oxygen throughout our body, which in turn, benefits both the brain and body.
• Exercise enhances retention of information. (memory)
• Exercise has been shown in repeated studies to provide our brains with ‘fight’.
  • Some researchers describe this fight as ‘reverse aging’.
• Exercise, especially when done with others, creates an overall feeling of well-being through the release of ‘feel good’ chemicals. (neurotransmitters)
• Exercise increases the number of dendrites in the brain.
  • Dendrites are extensions of our nerve cells. Their job is to receive electrical impulses from other cells and then communicate those to other parts of the brain.

So, if aging well is important to you, then be sure to include life-long learning as a part of your daily routine, and when you include exercise, it can act as a ‘save’ button, (like on a computer), which will only enhance your learning experience!

 

References

Smale, T. (2017, December 12). 8 Ways to Improve Your Brain Power. Retrieved from Entrepreneur: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250417

 

If ‘aging well’ was easy,  everyone would be doing it.

Something to Consider: You are one of a kind.  Does this impact the way in which you live?

Imagine that you were the owner of the priceless ‘MONA LISA’, painted by the one and only Leonardo da Vinci.

How would you care for it?  Would you treasure it? Would you watch over it closely? I’m sure your answer is yes…but why?  I would guess your reason is likely related to its value, since it’s priceless.

And why is the ‘MONA LISA’ priceless?  Because it’s one of a kind.  This is what makes it so valuable and the reason so much effort goes into its care and protection.

With that being said…you are also one of a kind.  No one else in the world has your DNA coding, which contains millions of digits and data.  No one shares your fingerprint, your personality, your looks, etc.  You are one of a kind and also priceless.  So, there’s the argument for taking the very best care of yourself.  You are irreplaceable.

Can we agree that you’re worth it?

They say that ‘TIME’ is one thing you can’t buy… HOWEVER, if you consistently make choices that are good for your brain & body, you will be doing your part to extend your life, which is the best way to buy yourself more time, and the best thing you can do for those you love.

Challenging your brain with math, logic, creative thinking, vocab exercises, and more is only a small part of ‘AGING WELL.  Eating brain healthy food, staying active (exercising), relaxing, (prayer/meditation), having great relationships (social connections), and maintaining healthy sleep patterns are also necessary.

Commit to making any changes you need to make today to take care of yourself…because you are the only one of YOU…and irreplaceable.

11-10-2020-Worksheets-Maturing Minds

->One thing we say repeatedly during our BrainFlex sessions is that age doesn’t matter when it comes to learning. Although it may take us a little longer to learn things, we are still able to learn throughout our lifetime. (Repetition is key!)

->Researchers across the globe agree that we are able to learn throughout our lifetime, which is what the term Brain Plasticity means. (We can grow new neural pathways as long as we are committed to doing so.)

->Most researchers also agree that we must make a concerted effort and remain committed to all of the components important to brain health if we are to experience the best outcomes from life-long learning.

These are: Exercise, Healthy Diet, Brain Stimulation, Social Connection, and in recent years, we’ve learned the importance of Good Sleep Patterns and having a Positive Attitude.

Although each of these important components are required to ‘age well’, for the purpose of bog chat, I’d like to focus on just one.

Exercise: This is one area of research where the positive impact on brain health is the most consistent and undeniable.

->Exercise improves our flow of oxygen throughout our body, which in turn, benefits both the body and the brain, including memory.

->Exercise has been shown in repeated studies to provide our brains with ‘fight’, some researchers describe this fight as ‘reverse aging’.

->Exercise creates an overall feeling of well-being through the release of ‘feel good’ chemicals. (neurotransmitters)

->Exercise increases the number of dendrites in the brain. Dendrites are extensions of our nerve cells.  Their job is to receive electrical impulses from other cells and then communicate those messages to other parts of the brain cell.E

Article By: Alvaro Fernandez

Let’s review some good lifestyle options we can follow to maintain, and improve, our vibrant brains.

• Learn what is the “It” in “Use It or Lose It”. A basic understanding will serve you well to appre­ci­ate your brain’s beauty as a liv­ing and constantly-developing dense for­est with bil­lions of neu­rons and synapses.
• 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? As a gen­eral rule, you don’t need expen­sive ultra-sophisticated nutri­tional sup­ple­ments; just make sure you don’t stuff your­self with the “bad stuff”.
• Remem­ber that the brain is part of the body. Things that exer­cise your body can also help sharpen your brain: phys­i­cal exer­cise enhances neurogenesis.
• Prac­tice pos­i­tive, future-oriented thoughts until they become your default mind­set and you look for­ward to every new day in a con­struc­tive way. Stress and anx­i­ety, no mat­ter whether induced by exter­nal events or by your own thoughts, actu­ally kills neu­rons and pre­vent the cre­ation of new ones. You can think of chronic stress as the oppo­site of exer­cise: it pre­vents the cre­ation of new neurons.
• Thrive on Learn­ing and Men­tal Chal­lenges. The point of hav­ing a brain is pre­cisely to learn and to adapt to chal­leng­ing new envi­ron­ments. Once new neu­rons appear in your brain, where they stay in your brain and how long they sur­vive depends on how you use them. “Use It or Lose It” does not mean “do cross­word puz­zle num­ber 1,234,567″. It means, “chal­lenge your brain often with fun­da­men­tally new activities”.
• We are (as far as we know) the only self-directed organ­isms in this planet. Aim high. Once you grad­u­ate from col­lege, keep learn­ing. Once you become too com­fort­able in one job, find a new one. The brain keeps devel­op­ing, reflect­ing what you do with it.
• Explore, travel. Adapt­ing to new loca­tions forces you to pay more atten­tion to your envi­ron­ment. Make new deci­sions, use your brain.
• Don’t Out­source Your Brain. Not to media per­son­al­i­ties, not to politi­cians, not to your smart neighbor… Make your own deci­sions, and mis­takes. And learn from them. That way, you are train­ing your brain, not your neighbors’.
• Develop and main­tain stim­u­lat­ing friend­ships. We are “social ani­mals”, and need social inter­ac­tion. This, by the way, is why ‘Baby Ein­stein’ has been shown not to be the panacea for chil­dren development.
• Laugh. Often. Especially to cog­ni­tively com­plex humor, full of twists and sur­prises. Bet­ter, try to become the next Jon Stewart

Now, remem­ber that what counts is not read­ing this article-or any other-, but prac­tic­ing a bit every day until small steps snow­ball into unstop­pable, inter­nal­ized habits…so, pick your next bat­tle and try to start improv­ing at least one of these 10 habits today. Revisit the habit above that really grabbed your atten­tion, and make a deci­sion to try some­thing dif­fer­ent today!  [end of article]

Call BrainFlex™ Wellness Club and get started today!  

The information provided is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be medical advice or a substitute for professional health care. You should consult an appropriate health care professional for your specific needs and to determine whether making a lifestyle change or decision based on this information is appropriate for you.

The information provided is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be medical advice or a substitute for professional health care. You should consult an appropriate health care professional for your specific needs and to determine whether making a lifestyle change or decision based on this information is appropriate for you.