Notes on Brain Fitness
stolen from MCS newsletter
LONG! My notes from Neuroscience lecture on Brain Fitness
Posted by: "mcsbarrie" mcs-barrie@hotmail.com mcsbarrie
Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:57 pm (PST)
Notes on Brain Fitness
Part 2
What do the discoveries in neuroscience mean to you?
-cognitive decline is not inevitable
-you can strengthen your brain
-you can add to your brain
-efforts today will pay off tomorrow
It's never too late, or too soon, to start constant life long learning.
The goal in Brain Fitness is "cognitive reserve".
-By age 85, 50% of the population will have some Altzeimers!
Think of your neural circuits as like Information Super highways; the more you have, the more alternatives you can use if there is a traffic blockage. (Detours are a good thing!)
Fit Brain
-take care of your present neurons
-enhance dendrite performance (speed of information and reactions)
-growth of neuron
-increase number of neural connections
-encourage neurogenesis
TIPS FOR A BETTER BRAIN
1. learn something new.
This creates new neural wiring, improved and increased dendrites, and thence bushier brains.
You do this with every thought, every emotion, every bit of problem-solving.
BUT
Continuous learning is not New Learning. (don't be a creature of habit.)
We tend to be Creatures of Habit because:
a. We are stuck in a rut. It's easier. Like sledding down a hill, the repeated use of the same wiring makes for a quicker easier smoother run. New stuff makes us uncomfortable. (Just try crossing your arms the Other way!)
b. We like being experts. Competence is empowering.
c. Predictability feels safer
d. We like Control.
e. We're afraid of failure.
2. Pay attention
New learning must be compelling for you.
You must pay close attention to make it stick. Think of your neurotransmitters as being the Miracle Gro of your brain.
The Nucleus Basalis produces acetylcholine full time for full attention while we are kids to make us open to learning new things all the time. Until puberty (when our attention turns to sex)
Now we can only turn on our Attentional System by… Paying Attention.
The Brain is highly cooperative; The more you pay attention, the easier it will become to pay attention
You must pay WILLFUL, INTENTIONAL ATTENTION to your new learning.
3. Take on a Challenge
The best learning happens just outside our comfort zone.
The brain will build new connections with new challenges, but if it is too easy, you won't grow new neural pathways, and if it is too hard, you will find it frustrating and give up.
You know it is Challenge when
-you feel like a child again
-there is a chance of failure.
4. Make a friend of failure
You won't get it right every time. If you never fail, you aren't trying hard enough.
"If you hear a voice within you say, "You can't paint" then paint to prove you can."
Think of the process, not the product.
5. Reward Yourself
The element of pleasure…
produce dopamine and seratonin in your brain, which in turn embed the brain pathways!
So all learning should have reward embedded in it. Have FUN!
(see You tube "piano stairs")
6. Stay Active
Every day that has activity in it delays the onset of rapid memory loss for about 2 months. (Bronx Aging Study)
7. Vary Your Activities
Cross-train your brain to build cognitive reserve.
- if you like ideas: read or listen to a podcast
- if you like crosswords, switch occasionally to sudoku
- banter or boogie
- quilt or kayak
- music or art
Your brain will grow in size with daily use.This growth will occur regardless of aptitude!
8. Socialize
Socialize in a variety of ways. (see #7), phone, get together, book clubs, (skype) etc
Identify with friends
Personal interaction uses a lot of the brain.
This is shown to lower cognitive impairment, increase working memory and result in more participation in life decisions (making purchases, paying bills, getting dressed..)
The following exercises are more about harnessing Neurogenesis.
Neurogenesis (the birth of new neurons) occurs at the hippocampus. Stem cells grow and morph into neurons. These neurons migrate to where they are needed and integrate into the brain architecture.
9. Aerobic Exercise (even walking)
Aerobic exercise accelerates the rate of neurogenesis.
(see Dr. Fred Gage with mice experiments at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies)
-exercise increases the size of the hippocampus
-exercise increases ability at mental tasks, especially spatial memory and reasoning.
(John Medina, "Brain Rules")
(John Ratey, "Sparks")
10. Manage Stress
-hippocampus- -- high reception of cortisol
-stress slows the rate of neurogenesis
-stress shrinks dendrites, so the brain is less bushy, and there is poor synaptic transmission.
-stress in frontal lobe, difficulty with executive decisions
Stress tips balances away from neuron life in favor of neuron death.
So…. mindfulness, exercise, meditation
11. Get your sleep
"Sleep that knits up the sleeve of care" MacBeth soliloquy
Lack of sleep increases cortisol which increases stress which decreases neurogenesis.
HOWEVER with a return of normal sleep this reverses and compensates! !
-focus - attention - learning - reaction time
Humans were born to NAP. A nap improves productivity.
Some Fortune 500 companies (like Apple) have NAP ROOMS!
1. Learn something new
2. Pay attention
3. Take on a challenge
4. Make a friend of failure
5. Reward yourself (have fun)
6. Stay active
7. Vary your Activities
8. Socialize
9. Aerobic exercise
10. manage stress
11. get your sleep
LONG! My notes from Neuroscience lecture on Brain Fitness
Posted by: "mcsbarrie" mcs-barrie@hotmail.com mcsbarrie
Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:57 pm (PST)
Notes on Brain Fitness
Part 2
What do the discoveries in neuroscience mean to you?
-cognitive decline is not inevitable
-you can strengthen your brain
-you can add to your brain
-efforts today will pay off tomorrow
It's never too late, or too soon, to start constant life long learning.
The goal in Brain Fitness is "cognitive reserve".
-By age 85, 50% of the population will have some Altzeimers!
Think of your neural circuits as like Information Super highways; the more you have, the more alternatives you can use if there is a traffic blockage. (Detours are a good thing!)
Fit Brain
-take care of your present neurons
-enhance dendrite performance (speed of information and reactions)
-growth of neuron
-increase number of neural connections
-encourage neurogenesis
TIPS FOR A BETTER BRAIN
1. learn something new.
This creates new neural wiring, improved and increased dendrites, and thence bushier brains.
You do this with every thought, every emotion, every bit of problem-solving.
BUT
Continuous learning is not New Learning. (don't be a creature of habit.)
We tend to be Creatures of Habit because:
a. We are stuck in a rut. It's easier. Like sledding down a hill, the repeated use of the same wiring makes for a quicker easier smoother run. New stuff makes us uncomfortable. (Just try crossing your arms the Other way!)
b. We like being experts. Competence is empowering.
c. Predictability feels safer
d. We like Control.
e. We're afraid of failure.
2. Pay attention
New learning must be compelling for you.
You must pay close attention to make it stick. Think of your neurotransmitters as being the Miracle Gro of your brain.
The Nucleus Basalis produces acetylcholine full time for full attention while we are kids to make us open to learning new things all the time. Until puberty (when our attention turns to sex)
Now we can only turn on our Attentional System by… Paying Attention.
The Brain is highly cooperative; The more you pay attention, the easier it will become to pay attention
You must pay WILLFUL, INTENTIONAL ATTENTION to your new learning.
3. Take on a Challenge
The best learning happens just outside our comfort zone.
The brain will build new connections with new challenges, but if it is too easy, you won't grow new neural pathways, and if it is too hard, you will find it frustrating and give up.
You know it is Challenge when
-you feel like a child again
-there is a chance of failure.
4. Make a friend of failure
You won't get it right every time. If you never fail, you aren't trying hard enough.
"If you hear a voice within you say, "You can't paint" then paint to prove you can."
Think of the process, not the product.
5. Reward Yourself
The element of pleasure…
produce dopamine and seratonin in your brain, which in turn embed the brain pathways!
So all learning should have reward embedded in it. Have FUN!
(see You tube "piano stairs")
6. Stay Active
Every day that has activity in it delays the onset of rapid memory loss for about 2 months. (Bronx Aging Study)
7. Vary Your Activities
Cross-train your brain to build cognitive reserve.
- if you like ideas: read or listen to a podcast
- if you like crosswords, switch occasionally to sudoku
- banter or boogie
- quilt or kayak
- music or art
Your brain will grow in size with daily use.This growth will occur regardless of aptitude!
8. Socialize
Socialize in a variety of ways. (see #7), phone, get together, book clubs, (skype) etc
Identify with friends
Personal interaction uses a lot of the brain.
This is shown to lower cognitive impairment, increase working memory and result in more participation in life decisions (making purchases, paying bills, getting dressed..)
The following exercises are more about harnessing Neurogenesis.
Neurogenesis (the birth of new neurons) occurs at the hippocampus. Stem cells grow and morph into neurons. These neurons migrate to where they are needed and integrate into the brain architecture.
9. Aerobic Exercise (even walking)
Aerobic exercise accelerates the rate of neurogenesis.
(see Dr. Fred Gage with mice experiments at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies)
-exercise increases the size of the hippocampus
-exercise increases ability at mental tasks, especially spatial memory and reasoning.
(John Medina, "Brain Rules")
(John Ratey, "Sparks")
10. Manage Stress
-hippocampus- -- high reception of cortisol
-stress slows the rate of neurogenesis
-stress shrinks dendrites, so the brain is less bushy, and there is poor synaptic transmission.
-stress in frontal lobe, difficulty with executive decisions
Stress tips balances away from neuron life in favor of neuron death.
So…. mindfulness, exercise, meditation
11. Get your sleep
"Sleep that knits up the sleeve of care" MacBeth soliloquy
Lack of sleep increases cortisol which increases stress which decreases neurogenesis.
HOWEVER with a return of normal sleep this reverses and compensates! !
-focus - attention - learning - reaction time
Humans were born to NAP. A nap improves productivity.
Some Fortune 500 companies (like Apple) have NAP ROOMS!
1. Learn something new
2. Pay attention
3. Take on a challenge
4. Make a friend of failure
5. Reward yourself (have fun)
6. Stay active
7. Vary your Activities
8. Socialize
9. Aerobic exercise
10. manage stress
11. get your sleep