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Interested in improving your attention, memory, thinking skills, ability to manage stressful situations? Good news: “Recent research in neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to change in response to information and new activities – shows that brain cells and new pathways continue to develop throughout life…”, say mainstream newspapers like the New York Times, who are increasing their coverage on the growing movement of “brain training” games and technologies.

An article titled “Mind Over Matter, With a Machine’s Help” provides a great overview on how to combine cognitive therapy with fMRI (an advanced neuroimaging technique that enables movie-like visual feedback on what areas of the brain are getting activated). Another article, titled “Calisthenics for the Older Mind, on the Home Computer”, reviews a number of commercial software packages.

I have interviewed 10 neuroscientists and experts in cognitive and emotional training to better understand the research behind this field and the implications for our lives. Let me share with you some of my favorite quotes:

1) “Learning is physical. Learning means the modification, growth, and pruning of our neurons, connections

This is a news coverage on Abacus & Brain Gym programme of SIP ABACUS & BRAIN GYM for school children by the no.1 Bengali News Channel & ie STAR ANANDA

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It turns out that brain fitness exercises work in at least three ways, depending on the kind of exercise we are doing, a thinking exercise or a physical exercise, or a computerized training.

Exercize could mean running or lifting weights or practicing one of the new brain exercise programs or monitoring and changing cognitions, which is what Dr. Judith Beck has shown to be effective in her diet solution plan.

The physical exercise of running or lifting weights encourages neurogenesis, or the growth of new brain cells.

The cognitive behavioral exerises that Dr. Beck used have been shown to reduce activation in the fear center of the brain, called the amydala.

Her work was done using fMRI or functional magetic resonance imaging to observe differing levels of activation in folks suffering from a spider phobia.

The activation in the amygdala after a regimen of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT was much reduced.

In other words, folks did not experience as intense a fear response to spiders as they had prior to the CBT training

The computerized brain fitness programs have been shown, depending on which research you are looking at,to improve memory and processing speed in Senior Citizens (IMPACT study) and IQ in folks using a different program.

Another program has been endorsed by educators, and another adopted by a major university basketball team, with their team in the NCAA final four last year.

The work of Buschkall and Jaegge using the dual n back task has indicated that IQ can be improved, and that there may be no upper limit to what can be done in that regard. More training increases your scores.

Of course, high IQ does not translate into fame and fortune, or even successful relationships. Just a cautionary note for the needy.

Physical exercise has an excellent positive impact on the brain.

Since the brain is the organ which needs the most food and blood, any exercise which increases blood flow will have a positive impact on the brain.

Recently I read that exercise is the best antidote that exists to the issue of insulin resistance, a precursor of diabetes.

That is just one of a plethora of benefits that lifting weights or running or walking will have on your brain.

Just to remind everyone that the current recommendations state that you either engage in: a) 30 minutes/day of moderate intensity 5 or more days of the week; or b) 30 minutes per day of high intensity interval training for at least three days of the week.

A general guideling that people can adhere to is that moderate exercise can get you breathing heavy enough that you can still talk but not sing. High intensity would make a conversation a little difficult.

I have been trying out some HIIT workouts at home, using home made tools, except for an exercise ball, and they do make you breathless, but are not complicated. If you can walk up and down stairs, do push-ups, and or crunches, or walk in your neighborhood, you will be able to take advantage of the benefits of physical exercise, including increased neurogenesis, or the growth of new brain cells.

Hopefully you are encouraged to work at whatever level you are comfortable with in order to benefit your brain with physical exercise or cognitive exercise or computerized brain fitness exercises.

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My parents were in their early fifties when I turned 22 and the chasm that separated us seemed unbridgeable. My father had his hat and tie on everywhere he went—even when he mowed the lawn. My mother kept indoors most of the time and warned us girls that no man would marry a woman made brown by the sun. I used to wonder if their brains had turned to mush.

Now I look at my 22 year old son and chuckle at the chasm that yawns between us. With his mp3 looped permanently over his neck, pants baggy and cuffed, he looks like an alien from a distant star. I have no doubt the as far as he is concerned, my brain has gone to mush.

Yet great as these differences seem, research suggests that there is very little difference in capacity between a 50 year old and a 25 year old brain. The myth of the post 40 brain decline is just that -a myth. According to Dan Gray in “The Surprising Power of the Aging Brain,”( Time Jan 16/2006) neurologists and psychologists are coming to the conclusion that “the brain at midlife -a period increasingly defined as the years 35-65 and even beyond—is much more elastic, much more supple than anyone ever realized.” Far from declining, the 50 year old brain can reorganize and reinforce its neural networks in response to new stimuli and experiences. The basic network for neural growth that was set in place in our infancy continues to develop and expand even when we age and the structural capacity for this growth is unlimited. In essence, the brain is like the web—there is no end to its memory capacity or functional ability.

Gray reports specifically on 2 aspects of brain activity that are alive and well in the 50+ group.

One is the increase of white matter in the prefrontal region of the brain, which is composed of nerve cells sheathed with myelin—the neural glue that makes connections possible. Myelin is the Grand Central Station of emotional and intellectual connections—the seat of our intelligence and humanity. As long as we maintain a high level of brain activity in our middle age, we can increase the “myelination” of the brain.

A second aspect is the tendency of both hemispheres of the brain to work together. This is another reason why the 50+ brain can often outperform its younger counterparts. A study at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care found that as people age, their ability to focus on one activity in one part of the brain decreases, which explains why older people are easily “distracted.” Yet this distraction suggests that different areas of the brain are working simultaneously which explains why older people can often access higher reasoning processes (such as intuition) by using both hemispheres at the same time.

Like any other muscle, the brain can only function at its peak capacity when it is used consistently. What are the steps we can take to ensure a strong and healthy brain in our later years?

1.Pursue leisure activities. Read books and magazines. Knit with friends, go for a walk, play bridge. Leisure activities can reduce the risk or delay the onset of dementia. A study involving close to 1800 people up to age 65 showed that those who were involved with leisure activities had 38% less risk of developing dementia.

2.Read and write Poetry. In the famous Nuns’ Study, researchers concluded that the sisters who had more resilient brains later in life were the ones who tended to use multi-syllabic words and richer vocabulary in their diary entries. Those who developed dementia tended to use simple, monosyllabic words. The sisters with the more resilient brains also demonstrated stronger “density of ideas” in their writing—which researchers defined as the average number of ideas expressed in each grouping of 10 words. Idea density reflects the brain’s capacity to integrate memory, language, thought and emotion within a complex of words. Writing prose or poetry that creates layers of meaning within one metaphor is the best example of idea density. It makes sense that writing in general, specifically writing poetry, can supercharge your brain.

3.Again and again, studies confirm the relationship between exercise and a healthy brain. A recent study shows that exercise creates significant anatomical differences in the grey and white matter areas of the brain. Aging brings about a shrinking of these areas that closely matches declines in cognitive performance. However, cardiovascular fitness through exercise actually slows down this decline.

4.Eat a healthy diet. Avoid foods that are rich in fatty red meats and whole fat dairy products that contribute to high cholesterol levels in the brain; cholesterol promotes production of a toxic protein that attacks myelin and breaks down neural connections in the brain, leaving a trail of plaques that hamper brain function. Eat whole grains and legumes as these are rich in lecithin . Eat fish, high in omega 3 fatty acids( good fats) which have anti-inflammatory properties that can prevent the formation of plaques in the brain. Have 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables for their powerful anti-oxidant benefits . Finally increase consumption of Soy Protein, rich in phytonutrients and gives you all the benefits of protein without the fat.

5.Learn new things and take risks. Evidence shows that learning new activities( starting a new project, hobby , business or venture) is exactly what is needed to prevent the loss of myelin in the brain. The brain is plastic which means it is capable of regeneration when stimulated by new activities. Every new sensation or experience carves a new neural pathway in the brain. The diaries of Darwin are filled with dead ends; these were risks he took and never stopped taking until the time became ripe for his emergence. The best way to nurture your brain is to cultivate a vision, then approach your vision from different angles without abandoning the path, taking new turns when the last one does not work for you, always being willing to take further risks , in fact expecting to make mistakes not only because mistakes serve as the most meaningful guides but because the success that comes eventually is a numbers game.

6. Last but not least—love and enjoy what you have. Be thankful for the abundance you have been blessed with and give generously to those you can serve. A positive sense of purpose and

Everyone knows that the key to a healthy body is diet and exercise. Many people obsessively work out every day to keep in tip top shape. So, if we’re so concerned with exercising our bodies, why do we often neglect to exercise our minds? Our brains are just like our muscles: use it or lose it. If we don’t do daily activities to help keep our brain in top order, we lose important skills; particularly the skill of remembering. So if you want to remember your mother’s phone number, your grocery list, or where you left your keys; start exercising your brain.

So, how exactly do you exercise your brain? There’s no brain gym you can get a membership to with “memory classes”, but there are things you can do on your own. Here are some things you can try to keep your neurons limber.

* Open a newspaper.

Sure, reading the paper might expand your knowledge, but if you really want to get your brain in shape, turn to the crossword puzzle. You can also try solving other puzzles that require using your language skills. These help you remember things by making you regularly access simple memories (i.e. certain words)

* Try the latest puzzle craze.

Go to a book store, go online, or look in the paper; you’re likely to find Sudoku puzzles. These are number puzzles that are becoming increasingly popular. They help exercise your brain’s deductive reasoning skills. Plus, they’re fun and incredibly addictive.

* Learn something new.

You’ve probably heard people say that learning something new pushes old information out of your brain. This is not only wrong, it’s just plain silly. The capacity of your brain is only determined by how much you want to put in it. Try learning a new skill or how to play a musical instrument. Learning a skill and continue to use it will keep your memory accessing skills limber.

* Books, games and services.

While there aren’t actually gyms you can go to, there are ways to get exercises specifically designed to improve memory. You can find these in book stores, online, and even in video game stores.

While it’s great to exercise your brain cells, don’t skip out on your trips to the gym. Keeping your body in good physical shape will help keep your brain healthy too. While cardio is the best work out to keep you healthy, you can still keep your memory if you can’t perform a strenuous workout. Even a simple walk for an hour a day can help prevent or slow memory loss. So get up and go as much as you can to keep your brain going.

Most people don’t worry about memory loss until they start to notice it slipping away, but the best time to start is while your mind is still sharp. You may not be able to bring your memory back, but you can keep it from fading. Regularly working your mind has even been shown to ward off Alzheimer’s. So if you want to keep your mind sharp, be sure to eat right, get enough rest, and exercise regularly.

The general awareness about brain/mental health has triggered people to dig into more information on how to improve the brain functions with brain training, brain games and exercises. There are many websites that give plenty of information on mental health and all the required tools to keep in good form. Online brain games are effective measures to revitalise your inactive brain and get back into a luminosity brain. Some people might just ignore the importance of brain games by giving more consideration to dietary supplements to boost their mental health rather than feeding it with loads of activity.

Train your brain with those brain training games

To lead a healthy lifestyle it is not only important to eat, sleep and exercise well, it is most important to have healthy brain just like you prefer to have a fit body. It is understandable that people are crazily busy and stressed out with their respective work at home/work or both. It is difficult to strike a balance between work and dedicating some time for your mental and physical health. But now with some amazing online brain games and brain exercises it is so easy to nourish your brain with efficient tasks and make it one luminosity brain; one that emits intelligence.

Brain games can prove to be gymnastics to the brain

For people suffering from poor memory, lack of concentration or learning disability the brain gym can do wonders. There are plenty of brain games available that caters to all age groups and they can be a whole lot of fun once you get a hang of playing these brain games. You can color match, face matching, puzzles, sudoku, video games, quizzes, math puzzles, word/language games and much more can be easily accessed and most games can be played for free. These brain games give a lot of work to your brain to think, perceive, concentrate, learn so that all brain departments gets an overhauling and function efficiently like a luminosity brain in any given situation.

Incorporate brain games into your daily routine to lead a healthy lifestyle

Make the online brain games a habit and see the difference in your daily activities and how smartly you will handle all the situation, be it learning new task, concentration or remembering things all functions of your brain will be rejuvenated that will pump confidence in you and will keep you ahead at work and at home. All you need to do is dedicate 15-30 minutes daily playing the brain games and keep your brain healthy and string like a luminosity brain for many years to come.

The first period of my baby is one of extremely important, her rapid growth and great development in her early year. For a young born baby, she cannot speak, she cannot hold herself erect and she constantly needs attention from me. However during 3-6 months, she learns to roll over and her hand is free to move around. By 6-9 months than she learn how to sit up and crawl. When she is about 12-15 months she will practice stand up without holding and practice walking. At the end of the first year my baby’s weight is three times its birth weight. This weight was increased again by third during the second year and subsequently the rate increase becomes proportionately slower each year. This is the most important stage that greatest care should be provided emotionally. I have provided her plenty of sleep and food that contained all the proteins, minerals and vitamins that are necessary for such her rapid normal growth. I am very careful and protected as far as possible from infection, as fever are more likely to be serious in very young children.

Giving a quality early learning program such as the right brain education is very important. I have given her many right brain stimulation program from black, white and red flashcards, image flashcards, word flashcards, Tweedle Wink math flashcard, phonics flashcards, perfect pitch recognition, brain gym, kinder gym exercise, brain wave music, touch cards, match card, observation training, memory linking, photographic memory, mental imaging , Wink photo eyeplay, Wink eye exercise, Tweedle Wink Multi Languages, Tweedle Wink DVD 1 to Tweedle Wink DVD 4, Wink speed reading, word and image.

In this first period, it is a form of mind which is quite different because at this stage the baby mind and the only right brain is wide open. I would recommend you to provide many variety of quality stimulation if you would like to right brain kids. The right brain education such as Tweedle Wink DVD program had help me a lot and I found out that it is very suitable for me. I have took up the Tweedle Wink and Wink course for parents and it had help me a lot from that sense.

The baby development brain can be divided into two stages which is the unconscious mind from 0-3 years and the conscious mind from 3-6 years old. The baby brain development is from right to left. The brain development is slowly progressing to more left brain dominate from 3-6 years old. During the unconscious mind from 0-3 years of age the right brain mind is wide open. The child is constantly absorbing any information from the environment that you feed her and yet does this without knowing that it is doing so, she can learn anything because No filter in happening. This is the kind of mind the adult cannot understand and approach.

In the second phase from 3-6 years of age the child begin to become susceptible to adult influence. The left mind is coming in play with great influence from their parents. During this stages the learning ability and personality undergoes great changes. Than school life start to set in with more reinforcement on rules, regulation, expectation, pressure and discipline. The child is yet a social being in the full sense of the world, the individual’s energies being still largely directed to the acquisition of perfection of new functions. In this stage, the prepared environment is every important for her to act freely on her own initiative without intervention of the adult in which he can choose her own actions and make social contacts. Set free to live her own independent life in this prepared environment she not only learns to do things by herself and acquire new moral and social aptitudes but also makes swift and surprises progress main because of the early education I have introduced in her is from right to left. Given her many moral value and Tweedle Wink and Wink Right Brain education program. She is a right brain kids because she has very strong learning ability and intuition.

As such, we can see the emergence of a higher type of normality, a process which has been often described as “the revelation of a new type of child right brain kids”