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Intellectually Better: Your Brain’s Physical Exercise

As you may have known, your brain works in a complicated manner. The left portion of your brain controls the actions and movement of the right part of your body while the right portion of your brain controls that movement of the left part of your body. Thus, it may be possible that the side of your brain which controls you dominant hand is more used than the other side. So, if you use your non-dominant hand into doing some of your daily activities, would it better your brain’s performance?

If you are a right handed person, then most of the time you are stimulating the left part of your brain. Now, if you use your left hand in doing certain tasks, then you are able to stimulate the right side of your brain as well. By doing so, you are awakening the part of your mental faculties that is intuitive and creative. On the other hand, if you are a left handed person, and you use you right hand in doing simple tasks, then you are stimulating the side of your brain that is rational and organized.

This idea is supported by Tony Buzan, the author of a book entitled Using Both Sides of the Brain. According to him, doing simple exercises or cross-trainings like this bring in additional features to one’s mental functioning, and at the same time there will be a total improvement in one’s brain power. By doing so continuously, a person may stay mentally young and fresh.

Other activities which can stimulate the other side of your brain may be done without really straining yourself. You can just simply walk around your room with your eyes shut close, or you can get dressed and strip of them with closed eyes. You can also revisit your childhood games; the game when you rub your stomach with one hand while your other hand is tapping your head is also a good brain exercise. Simple tasks like these already constitute physical exercise for your brain, and they can already bring good effects to your brain, no matter how trivial they may be.

So, you may start to wonder regarding the mental condition of those people who are blessed to be able to use both their hands for complicated tasks such as writing, or simply put the ambidextrous. You may think that since they are stimulating both sides of their brain that they are more intelligent than others. This is a misconception; there are no studies or researches which can attest to this idea.

There are people who are able to teach and train themselves to use both their dominant and non-dominant hands to do tasks, and sports like the cricket players. But their training does not necessarily turn them into academic geniuses; so perhaps, this is just too much to ask for.

So, whether or not these simple exercises may make you a little bit more intelligent, these physical exercises are still believed to have good effects on your brain. Academically, the results may just be minor, or even unnoticed, but there can be other aspects which are affected, such as your creativity, organization and other features. One thing worth noting is that by doing these exercises, you are stimulating the part of your brain which is not used as often as the other part. Don’t you think it is always best to keep them balanced? If you want to better your brain’s performance, you might as well try to stimulate you whole brain, and not just a single portion.

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When most people think of exercise, they envision working out to keep their bodies physically fit and healthy. But the brain – so important to living a full life — also needs an ongoing exercise regimen to stay agile and alert as we grow older.

Scientists used to believe that people were basically stuck with the brain they were born with – and that individuals naturally began to lose cognitive function as they aged. This old thinking allowed people to accept memory loss as inevitable and believe that nothing could be done about it.

However, recent brain research – conducted over the past few years – has shown that the brain constantly renews itself, providing new hope for those with cognitive decline. And, we now know that the brain can learn as much in the second half of life as it did during the first half. However, during the senior years this learning may require more repetition and it may take a little longer. The key is to give the brain a daily workout so that it will constantly generate new cells and neural pathway connections, thereby creating a higher level of brain functionality.

What can you do in your daily life to challenge your brain? Activities that stimulate thought and cause you to retain information as well as problem-solve are excellent activities. It could be as simple as daily hobbies like crossword puzzles, card games, reading, Sudoku number puzzles, or art projects — such as painting. Even planning a vacation or learning about a foreign culture will require the brain to process new information.

More challenging activities for the brain would be mastering a foreign language or learning to play a musical instrument – both will cause the brain to work hard. The end result will enrich a person’s life and help keep the memory sharp.

Good overall physical health is vital to good brain health. Be sure to get regular medical check-ups and follow your doctor’s advice. Make sure that together you review all of the medications and supplements you are taking to avoid any drug interactions. If you have any memory concerns, don’t delay, see a doctor immediately.

The brain will also benefit greatly by certain lifestyle changes that can make a tremendous impact. Constant stress, for example, can be a serious “brain drain” as can many underlying medical conditions, such as heart disease or a chronic illness. A prolonged lack of quality sleep will have a serious adverse affect on brain function.

Smoking isn’t good for the brain – or for any part of the body. Also avoid drinking to excess and overeating. In fact, a poor diet is as bad for your brain as it is your waistline. Eat healthy, drink plenty of water and focus on a balanced diet.

Your brain and your general outlook on life will benefit from positive social interactions. To avoid depression and isolation, it’s recommended that people have at least five meaningful social interactions each day. Take advantage of any opportunities to meet new people and stay in touch with friends and family. These important social interactions will help keep you alert and involved.

Finally, get moving. A brisk walk, an exercise class or a trip to the gym is essential for the brain as well as the body. Aerobic exercise increases the blood flow to the brain and will activate the repair formation and growth of brain cells. Regular exercise is one of the best activities for helping to maintain and improve brain function.

So, the next time you think of a workout, remember to include the brain. The overall health goal is to keep people physically healthy and mentally alert for as long as possible, so the quality of life is at its optimum.

For more information about brain health and dementia, visit us online at http://www.brainlc.com or contact the Brain Longevity Center at 805-497-7274. The Brain Longevity Center is a medical facility that offers proactive programs for those with mild-to-moderate dementia and those seeking to maintain a healthy brain as they age.

Exercises for the brain are a twenty-first century phenomenon. Brain gymnastics, cranial callisthenics and whole brain workouts have taken off. Some brain exercises programs are geared to an ageing population well aware of the rising numbers of people suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. Brain exercises are not only for senior citizens but are being introduced into schools and workplaces. Brain workouts for babies and for individuals with neurological problems or damage are also available

Scientists have not yet fully endorsed the idea that the brain needs exercising just as the body does. Neurologists have criticized programs for being based on simplistic ideas about the way the brain works, even though some scientific studies have suggested that they may sometimes yield positive results. People who have tried brain exercises regularly report improvements in memory function and concentration. Whole brain exercises, as the name suggests, do not aim to develop abilities that are believed to be localized in one or other side of the brain. Instead they focus on either improving the joint functioning of both hemispheres, or on stimulating multiple regions of the brain.

Cross Crawls

Kinesiology is the study of movement and its relation to the nervous system. The cross crawl exercise depends on the idea that when we are born our nervous systems are homolateral. The right brain controls movement on the left of the body and vice versa. The cross crawl uses kinesiological principles and recommends rhythmic movement to enhance brain lateralization.

In babies the cross crawl is said to realign neural circuits so that the right brain connects to the left of the body and the left brain is integrated with the right side. For adults, cross crawls are believed to integrate brain function. The exercise is recommended for dyslexia and for boosting immune system responses. The mechanism is the promotion of right-left brain communication through the corpus callosum.

The exercise can be done seated or standing, as follows: Touch the right hand or right elbow to the left knee. Then repeat the action with the right hand or right elbow. The exercise should be done for about two minutes, or about 25 times each side.

Lazy Eights (also called the ‘Infinity Sign’)

Another kinesiology exercise geared towards working out both right and left brain hemispheres is known as ‘Lazy Eights’ It is believed to benefit concentration and reduce stress while enhancing mood and hand-eye co-ordination. You will need a pencil and paper. Using right and left hands alternately, draw the infinity sign (a sideways figure of eight) for approximately two minutes. Repeat daily.

A slightly more physical version of the same kinesiology exercise is known as ‘Rhythmic Eights’. It is also used to co-ordinate the two sides of the brain. Instead of using a pen and paper, make rhythmic figure of eight movements in the air, first with the left hand, then the right. Continue for one minute and repeat daily.

Vary Your Brain Workout

Many other exercises have been promoted as components of workouts for the whole brain. They include movements to activate the ‘brain button’, hook-ups to stabilize mood, hand-eye tracking exercises and energy yawning. Many ordinary exercises can be helpful too. Juggling is believed to exercise many areas of the brain. Intellectual puzzles and brain games all help to promote concentration and alertness and keep the brain in condition.

Most People Think the Brain/Genes/Eating Issues/Disorders Can’t Be Changed, but the Real Truth Is in Brain Exercises

The question to ask is how can you apply this concept of changing your brain and genes to be free of eating disorders (or any eating issue) brain patterns or negative behavior triggers?  It is documented by Doidge that brain exercises in some situations are more effective than medications.  Furthermore talk therapy as in psychotherapy is known to work in changing the brain as much as any medications do for depression and anxiety.  Those mental conditions are certainly a challenge for those suffering from any eating disorder, eating issue, or doctor ordered diet change.

Slow to make it’s ways in the traditional belief system the idea of a flexible brain and its possibilities is shaking those old beliefs.  If the past belief has been that the brain is like the heart and is only mechanistic, then if one function and location is damaged, this rules out change.  This past belief has been called neurological nihilism.  In other words this past belief said, “You’re stuck with mental limitations for life.”

1.      Science got it wrong.  That is neural science. 

2.      The truth today is the brain has plasticity and you can use that knowledge to change your brain in many ways. 

3.      What might be the plan that can help eating disorders, eating issues & brain change?  We learn that our thoughts can switch our genes on and off, altering our brain anatomy.

4.      We then learn to use our imagination as a tool to “make it so” with this new brain model. 

5.      Books that begin with an initial eating disorders quiz can help you to find your weak areas. These weak areas are then given specific tools and exercises for strengthening.   You can find a workbook, playbook, journal, study guide and step-by-step approach that will give you the means to change your brain.

6.      There are so many ways to heal that no matter what your old beliefs are, many of the new brain exercises can help you. 

7.      The many myths regarding weight loss that can lead to eating disorders need to be put to rest. These continue to tease society into complacency and victim-hood.

 Let’s look at an application of focused attention that changes the brain.  In using specific workbooks, playbooks, brain exercises/techniques, and the commitment to continue, a trained eating disorders therapist can help facilitate those positive brain changes.  Psychotherapy supports the individual in processing and letting go of negative feelings and negative thinking so that one can continue to be committed to using their focused attention.  Sustained effort needs to be encouraged by supportive safe others such as one’s therapist, accountability partner in learning, a sponsor, or support group etc. 

For those that want results now would I ask you to begin an exercise program of running ten miles starting today? Do you think you could be successful?  Or would you be more successful if you started a walking program to build stamina and slowly increased it incrementally to running a one half mile then to one mile and so on.  Then you would find you are growing by following this plan of action.

The step by step approach for active eating disorders brain and genes change is modeled by Sherry.  Sherry is magnificent.  She is an active bulimic with thoughts of tantrum rage like “screw you” and “I’m going to let go and do for me.”   Her purging behavior was eliciting feelings of doubt, shame, guilt and the undoing was loss of self control along with fear of loss.  Her life got to a point in her forties of going down the drain so to speak.  This prompted or madly drove her, at forty-four, to begin focused psychotherapy with brain exercises specifically from an eating disorders specialist.  She worked once a week in session, while doing her daily workbook/playbook brain exercises with a commitment focus.

Sherry noticed considerable positive changes after only six sessions and the bulimic deterioration that brought her to therapy began to reverse.  It is no wonder that Sherry engages her mind in something like classes or seminars, because she is a lifelong self-educator. In other words Sherry knows how to give it her full attention.  This was the exact ingredient to become successful at changing her brain

              According to psychiatrist Norman Doidge one needs to give what one is learning full attention to create change in the brain.  That’s counter to what multi-taskers or book readers who quickly devour the information in a book do.  In his book, “The Brain that Changes Itself,” Doidge powerfully points to the discovery that thoughts can change the structure and the function of one’s brain.  This applies to old age as well.  What a breakthrough and it’s being called the most important in neuroscience in four hundred years.  Doidge gives examples showing eighty –year- olds renewing their memory functions to the level of a person twenty years younger.  Doidge calls this a great example of adult plasticity or malleable brain that can and does rewire itself when it is damaged.  

After confronting those past “weight loss’ myths, you can look for authentic clear cut brain exercises and actions that support personal empowerment plus the actual changes in the brain and the genes. Could this lead to healing eating disorders and eating issues on every level?  Is this truly the breakthrough action formula for proven brain change for all ages?  Yes.

Soul Mapping An Imaginative Way to Self Discovery

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Hear even the “faint calls and small voices” of vocation
This is a superb book. It doesn’t work out linearly: you could read one chapter and one chapter there and do their respective exercises without losing on anything. It’s not a “read-only” book but a workbook where you reflect on different areas of your life and write down the key ideas you discovered about yourself. And even if you thoroughly worked on yourself before, you are subject to find out new, uncharted areas. It discusses such unexplored subjects as the envy you feel that gives clues about your vocation, the detours and losses of your life, the power of place (favorite travels and inner terrains). The last chapter puts everything together, whenever you’re ready. Take your time, you could be working on it for many weeks or months. Enjoy yourself!

5 Stars Soul Mapping Offers a Gradual, Deep Path to Self-Discovery
I have long been interested in the problem-framing approach known as mind mapping, and that’s what led me to order a copy of this excellent new book. I have only had a copy of Soul Mapping in hand for about a week, and I am already very excited about the work I have completed in it. It’s not one of those “instant fix” self-help books, but one that offers a curriculum for life change that will probably take me several months, or more, to work through slowly. I like that – the feeling that I am working gradually on a process that will help me better understand myself, my place in the world and the options available to me out there. It’s a truly caring, thoughtful and intelligent book that emphasizes authentic life changes over quick ones. I’m very pleased and I hope this book will find the wide audience it deserves.

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Use Both Sides of Your Brain New Mind Mapping Techniques Third Edition Plume

Using the latest research on the workings of the human brain, Buzan provides step-by-step exercises for discovering the powers of the right side of the brain and learning to use the left side more effectively. By increasing our understanding of how the mind works, Buzan shows us how to use our brains to the best advantage.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Easy-to-learn concepts, Great book
I found Tony Buzan’s book to be priceless. I first started using mind mapping during my sophomore year of college – I am now graduating. I found that studying and remembering what I studied were much easier, and being able to see how everything was interrelated and connected made college much easier.

I even used mind maps for writing essays and large term papers. I found that this made for a good outline. It really helps in writing to organize your thoughts and know where to go.

I am going to give his “Mind Maps at Work” a try and see how well it can be used for everyday on the job situations. I would recommend this book to anyone, it is easy to learn and can be mastered with a minimal amount of effort. I would also recommend adding A LOT of color to your mind maps.

5 Stars This book helped me pass a very tough exam
In the State of Texas, there is a comprehensive exam to become a certified school teacher. It’s in two parts, given at different times of the semester.

Thanks to Buzan’s ideas, I managed to pass both parts of the exam the first time. I used mind maps, memorization techniques he presented and in general, studied extensively. To be sure, I modified his techniques to fit my own style, but it worked. Mind mapping and mnemonics make good partners!

As with many other study techniques, it is still a lot of work and requires effort, and sometimes you’ll have to make time to study when you’d rather do something else. In other words, you’ll still need self discipline. But in my opininon, it makes the time studying a lot more fun.

Your mind maps don’t have to be great works of art — and they can be revised — in fact, the process will help you remember better.

It’s possible to do well and pass — even ace — tests without these techniques. But if you want something that will make the process more fun and probably more efficient, then this is the book for you.

4 Stars Intro Only
This is a good book to introduce you to how your brain works but it doesn’t go into great depth. If this is your first read on the subject then I highly recommend it.

1 Star Misinform your mind
Tony Buzan is not an expert in brain science, nor is he an originator. This is evident in the “facts” he gives to explain how the brain/mind works. The info given is old pseudoscience about the mind, adapted from the extreme views of Sperry, amongst other speculative writers of the 1970s. But I know why Tony Buzan hasn’t updated the information to include all the studies that show; mind mapping does not work to any significant level, it is not adopted to any significant level by students, it does not balance the brain any more than other types of note making, and it certainly does not make you smarter.

The reason for this persistent adherence to old and debunked pseudoscience, is that it sells books. Some common mind myths include; You use less than 1% of your brain, the brain is seperated into specific left/right skills, creativity can be increased easily using simple techniques, and just imagining something will bring it to pass in reality. These have all been debunked in the latter part of the 1970s.

The techniques given in the book are extremely limited in comparison with the strategies given in other less glitzy study method/ learning books. That is good enough reason not to buy the book. But the principles given that dictate the use of techniques are so nonsensical compared to more recent science, that they can only be thought of as sales pitch, or an effort to sell other books by the same author.

Mind mapping is a very feable technique compared to other graphic organizers (eg the concept map). Speed reading is so misleading that it tends to result in very successful deception litigation. They have both been debunked on several occasions.

Find a study method book that doesn’t just stroke the ego. Probably any book on study techniques will give better methods without setting you up for anticlimax.

G.Gladstone

5 Stars Wish I Had This Book as a Kid
This book is fantastic. I have started to use it with my children to help them be more successful in school. The concepts on learning are unbelievable – where was this stuff when I was growing up? Well worth the cost from the information you gain on how to learn more efficiently. Can’t wait to buy his book on memory.

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