Brain boosters

There are many activities which will keep our brain in top condition.

Playing games that stimulate brain Reading Exercise Meditation Listening to music Writing, painting Food & supplements Rest and sleep

* Picture Puzzles * Strategy Games * Crossword Puzzles * Card Games * Deduction Games (such as Clue) * Visualization Puzzles Optical Illusions

Playing SUDOKU found to improve brain power, particularly in old people.

Play games that challenge & stimulate your mind, such as:

Reading stimulates the brain as it activates your imagination Helps with memory retention and problem solving, reading a mystery self-help books stimulate your brain by helping you to think for yourself, as well as find solutions in your mind.

Exercising helps circulate blood that carries oxygen to your brain Exercise over a long period is proven to increase brainpower and even create new neurons . Deep breathing for as little as 10 minutes daily delivers more oxygen to the brain and improves its functionality Walking allows you to clear your mind and thoughts. Not only is it good exercise for your body, walking gives your brain a chance to wander freely, clearing it of any troublesome thoughts.

Stimulate your brain with meditation. During meditation, people typically rest in a quiet location and focus their mind on a particular thought or activity Meditation increases IQ, relieves stress Promotes a higher level of brain functioning Stimulates the pre-frontal cortex, the area of the brain, which is responsible for advanced thinking ability & performance Alleviates physical problems, like controlling pain and symptoms of chronic diseases

It is proven that listening to music strengthens the right hemisphere of the brain and changes its structure. People who listen to music are shown to be more emotionally intelligent than those who don’t.

• The Mind Institute• http://www.mindinst.org/MIND3/indexresearchers.html• 1993 - College students who listened to the Mozart Sonata for Two

Pianos in D Major (K.448) • Short-term subsequent enhancement of their spatial-temporal (ST)

reasoning (making a mental image and thinking ahead in space and time, as in chess, music or math).

• 1997 - 3 year-olds given piano keyboard training for six months showed long-term ST reasoning enhancement.

• The Mozart Effect Resourcehttp://www.mozarteffect.com/learn/read.htmlResults of Research◦ Evidence has been reported in 26 of 27 studies that were done to

duplicate the effect. ◦ Effect is cross-species (occurs in rats brains as well),◦ Music impacts neural firing patterns in epileptics as demonstrated in

PET scans (improved spatial reasoning) ◦ Effect present in preschoolers and not dependant on musical talent ◦ EEG Studies demonstrated enhanced synchronization of neuronal

firing activity of the right frontal and left temporal-parietal areas compared to students listening to a story.

Writing articles, blogs, or journal entries improves memory and thought expression. It stimulates thought processes, which also enhances brain function. Painting is shown to be an effective brain booster. It sparks the creativity within you. Even if you’ve never tried painting before, give it a shot. You’ll find that you feel more creative and may actually enjoy it. Draw a picture. Like painting, drawing stimulates the creative side of your brain. So get out some colored pencils and start boosting your brainpower.

Starting the day out with a good breakfast has been proven to supply energy to the brain and body for the whole day. When you skip breakfast, you’re missing out on a powerful edge, both physically and mentally. Drink a serving of pure fruit juice. Fruit juice contains nutrients that revitalize and refresh the brain. Juices to drink are pomegranate, blueberry, and cranberry as they deliver more focus and energy. Caffeine stimulates activity in the brain, which produces better focus and thinking ability. Taking fish oil supplements is literally like membrane material for the brain. The two primary components in fish oil, DHA and EPA, strengthen the emotional center of the brain and boost focus.

Sleep clears out brain clutter and reduces brain fog. When you don’t get enough sleep at night, your memory and normal brain function suffers. Staying up all night reduced students’ ability to cram new facts by nearly 40 %-Brain regions effectively shut down by sleep deprivation. After-lunch nap for an hour boosts learning ability.

Exercise 1 : Read the words Exercise 2 : Read the colors of the words as fast as you can