How to Build Brain Power
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Imagine you had a friend who, one day, decides to beef up his bod and get a little fitter with some muscles. You accompany him to the fitness centre, and head towards the weights section. He doesn’t have a clue on which weight should fit him, and for the purposes of this story, there is no one to advise him (sheesh).
You’d probably ask him to try the first weight. He lifts it up pretty easily, and says that he could do a thousand lifts without breaking a sweat. The perfect weight he says. You feel like knocking that weight on his head, but instead you tell him to try the next heavier weight, and the next one, and the next. Until he gets to one which he feels difficulty in carrying. When he reaches that one, you ask him to try the next heavier one. He can’t even lift this one up. His enthusiasm about the whole fitness thingy looks lost. You recommend him to get the earlier weight, the one which caused him difficulty, but not too heavy till he couldn’t even try.
Our brain is a muscle in between our ears. We build brain muscle by lifting weights and having brain resistance. Ever had to study for an exam and felt a slight tension? Well done, you’re building brain muscle. However, you’ve also had instances where the subject gets too hard that you give up, right? That’s too heavy a weight and resistance. You should have carried a lighter weight, perhaps by studying a toned down version of the subjetct.
And just like building normal arm muscles, once the resistance disappears (you now have bigger arms), you need to change weights. Why? Cause you might just grow skinny again if the resistance stops. So too the brain. Too much relaxation and a lack of knowledge brain-downloading can inhibit growth. A common symptom? You feel too tired to think just alittle more. Really.
So head to the nearest brain fitness centre (bookstore, library, school, project work, community involvement, etc) choose the right weight for your level (subject level, complexity, difficulty, mode of teaching) and build your brain muscles today.
August 9th, 2008 - Posted in Fitness, Mindset, Resilience | | 0 Comments
Pills versus Talk Therapy
Do you prefer popping pills over consultation? A recent CNN article highlights the advantages of psychotherapy (talk therapy) over drugs:
- Talk therapy can be done by psychiatrists less expensively than split treatment, where a patient sees a doctor for pills and a counselor for talk therapy.
- Talk therapy works better than drugs for patients such as those with chronic major depression and a history of childhood trauma.
Psychotherapy - using verbal methods to get patients to explore their emotional life, thoughts or behavior, with the goal of easing symptoms. The body heals itself by changing thoughts and behaviorial patterns. Sounds like a better option to try first than immediately seeking for drug treatment.
August 5th, 2008 - Posted in Calmness, Fitness, Mindset, Recovery | | 0 Comments
Read and Surf to Combat Mr Sleepy
I’ve recently discovered a way to help combat the sleepiness when you’ve just woken up. Traditionally the advice is to go take a shower, but I’ll find it hard to even make it pass my room without retreating back to sleep.
The current answer to my woes? Reading and blogging. I’d wake up, turn on my computer and engage my brain muscles in alittle intellectual stimuli. This method was stumbled upon by accident really, but I’ve noticed that 10 minutes of brain gymnastics with words and news can really fire up your brain fresh from bed.
Do you use the same technique? Share with me your thoughts.
August 1st, 2008 - Posted in Calmness, Fitness, Management | | 2 Comments
The Glass of Milk
Having trouble sleeping? Drink warm milk.
Peter Lemon, protein expert and professor at the University of Western Ontario, Canada explains that milk has an amino acid which boosts production of a neurotransmitter that helps you sleep. The warmth of the milk too helps comfort the body.
August 1st, 2008 - Posted in Calmness, Fitness | | 0 Comments
Punch Stress With Capoeira
Okay, this is alittle biased, but any martial arts will do. Participating in martial arts not only helps you to keep fit, but keeps your discipline and focus in check, two key ingredients in keeping stress at healthy levels.
One of my favourite martial arts forms has to be Capoeira. It’s way cool. But don’t be fooled, training in this art can be extremely tiring on the muscles and joints. However the result is flexibility and confidence. To prove my point, watch this video:
I don’t know of anyone who’s ever watched Capoeira and not felt excited and energized. Does martial arts help you to de-stress too?
July 31st, 2008 - Posted in Fitness, Freedom, Videos | | 0 Comments
