Tag Archives: brain

You can boost your brainpower every time you eat out.

23 Wednesday Oct 2019

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Just calculate the tip in your head! According to the book “Boost Your Brainpower In 60 Seconds,” using your phone’s tip calculator robs you of a chance to exercise your brain – the same way driving to a restaurant a mile from home robs you of the opportunity to exercise your body. And unless we reinforce simple mathematical skills, our brain will eliminate those neural connections because they’re not being used. Meaning, it really IS a case of use it or lose it. So the next time you’re out to eat, figure out the tip in your head to keep your brain sharp!

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Want a mood boost?

23 Monday Sep 2019

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Plant some cinnamon or chocolate-scented geraniums! They bloom like crazy in the fall and winter, and just pinching a leaf releases the powerful feel-good aroma of cinnamon or chocolate. Research at Wheeling Jesuit University found the scent of cinnamon instantly boosts alertness. And other research shows the smell of chocolate stimulates the happiness center of our brain.

Geraniums grow the best on a super-sunny windowsill. But they’ll do just fine if you shine a desk lamp with a fluorescent bulb on them for at least 4 hours a day.

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Socializing is exhausting – for our brain!

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

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Even the most outgoing, extroverted person needs some alone time. Because socializing is exhausting – for our brain. That’s the conclusion of new research from the University of Helsinki. They found that the more social people were, the more they reported being in a positive mood and feeling lower levels of fatigue. But those effects wore off at the 3-hour mark. After that, people who were still interacting with a group saw their mood drop and their fatigue increase. And that was true for social butterflies AND introverts. That’s because socializing is really taxing on the brain. Conversations, processing language, activating your memory and reading body language use up a lot of mental energy. And for anyone, talking to a bunch of people for a long time – specifically 3-hours – is draining. So maybe we should all make sure our parties are only 3-hours long.

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Eat more fruit if you’re pregnant. Here’s why!

26 Monday Aug 2019

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Moms-to-be, you can boost your unborn baby’s brainpower by making fruit your go-to snack. Researchers at the University of Alberta analyzed what mothers-to-be ate, and compared that to each baby’s IQ in the first year of life. The result: Moms who ate more fruit while pregnant had babies who scored higher on developmental tests – and the more fruit they ate, the higher the baby’s IQ. The reason? Because fruit is packed with antioxidants and nutrients, which pass from moms to their unborn babies.

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If you’ve had 3 nights of bad sleep in a row…

20 Tuesday Aug 2019

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…coffee won’t help you. That’s according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

They say, after 3 nights of tossing and turning, the maximum amount of caffeine we should have daily – 500 milligrams or 3 cups – isn’t effective at that point. After 2 bad nights, it’ll still help. But get to 3 in a row and the levels of adenosine in our system will be too high. That’s a brain chemical that promotes sleep… and the more adenosine we have, the more tired we become. And after 3 nights, we’ll have so much adenosine built up that not even a triple espresso can fix it. The only thing that will is a good night’s sleep.

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Feeling cranky?

15 Thursday Aug 2019

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That could benefit your brain AND your wallet! Researchers found cranky-pants people tend to pay more attention to what’s going on around them, and ask more questions, which gives them better memories and sharper minds. It also reduces their risk of being scammed, like when a criminal calls or emails, pretending that your bank or credit card company requires verification of financial information. While happy people tend to float on a cloud of positive emotions and exert less brainpower… making them much more likely to take mental shortcuts, and get taken in by a con.

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Want to reduce your risk of age-related memory loss?

12 Monday Aug 2019

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Eat berries at least once a week!

Harvard Medical School researchers found that people who ate the most blueberries and strawberries had the slowest rate of memory loss… a difference equal to about two-and-a-half years of aging. But the biggest surprise was that all it took was a half-cup serving of blueberries or a 1-cup serving of strawberries per week. Better brainpower from berries.

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What’s the first thing you should unpack when you move into a new place?

07 Wednesday Aug 2019

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Your old pillow. According to Brown University researchers, using a familiar pillow helps the brain relax. And that’s important because when we’re in new surroundings, our brain automatically stays on high alert for danger. There’s even a name for it: The First Night Effect. And it was discovered 50 years ago by clinical psychologists at Ohio State University.

But the feel and even the smell of your old familiar pillow can cancel your brain’s hyper-vigilance, allowing you to calm down and get some sleep. So unpack your pillow first… and when your child goes on their first sleepover, have them take their own pillow.

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Tongue twisters help you to stay alert on long drives!

08 Monday Jul 2019

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If you’re driving a long distance and you need to stay alert, say this: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Or “How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?” A study in the journal Human Factors found that tongue twisters can keep us mentally alert. That’s because they take our brain off autopilot. They also improve driving ability, by making us more aware of what’s happening around us… even though our mind is on the tongue twister.

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We’re really anxious!

21 Friday Jun 2019

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How do I know? Because Google-searches for the word “anxiety” has more than doubled. You may need therapy to deal with your issues – but in the meantime, sniff fresh, crushed sage – or a cotton ball with a couple drops of sage essential oil. Researchers at Simmons College in Boston found the smell of sage cuts anxiety for up to 4 hours. That’s because its compounds boost production of brain chemicals that help regulate our mood.

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