Tag: Exercise

Mentally Better: Your Brain should Get Exercise Too

Common in our society today are the brain exercises designed to give our mental faculties the boost they need. There are games, activities and all other cranial calisthenics that claim to be helpful in maintaining our brains functioning superbly. You should know that these things are not just for those who have mental problems, these activities and exercises are also good for everyone everyone who seeks to keep your minds healthy; to better your brains. From senior citizens to the younger generations, these activities should be helpful enough to keep them all mentally fit.

Although some scientists may not fully believe in the benefits of brain exercises, a lot of researchers and professionals hold on to the numerous studies showing that the brain really does need an exercise just like the body does. Studies have showed that people who have tried to perform brain exercises regularly have improved memory as well as focus. See, with simple brain exercises the functioning of both hemispheres of the brain are made better; your brain becomes healthier.

Cross Crawls

Cross crawls is a type of exercise that is based on the principle that our nervous system works homolaterally. This means that the left portion of our brain controls the movement of the right portion of our body, and so on for the other half. The principles of kinesiology are also applied in this exercise wherein rhythmic movements are suggested so that the brains lateralization can be improved further. You can do this simply by touching your right hand or elbow to your left knee. Do this for several times, and after one side, you may proceed with the other side, doing the same steps.

This exercise, when performed by babies, are believed to realign the brain circuits in order for the left half of the brain to be able to connect with the left part of the body, and vice versa. For the adults, on the other hand, when this exercise is done there is an integration of the different functions and tasks of the brain. This is the reason why this exercise is mostly recommended for people suffering from dyslexia. Aside from this, this exercise is also good for strengthening your immune systems responses.

Lazy Eights

Another exercise which can benefit both the left and right hemispheres of the brain is the lazy eights. This is done by drawing the number 8 on a piece of paper using your right hand for two minutes. After the right hand, you may proceed to draw the same sign using your left hand. This should be done daily, and the result is that you will have better concentration and your hand-and-eye coordination will improve. Aside from these, another benefit is that you would feel a reduction of stress and an enhancement of your mood.

You may also do the Rhythmic Eights wherein instead of using paper and pencil, you can just create an imaginary eight in the air with your hands. This should be sufficient to coordinate the two sides of your brain as well.

Try Different Exercises for A Change

Since there are already a lot of exercises designed to improve your mental functioning, it would be a better idea if you would alter your exercises so that your brain will not get used to just one routine. By varying your brain work out, you are also able to exercise as many parts of your brain as possible. There are puzzles, crosswords and other brain games available; you just have to look for those which best fits you. Exercise your brain, better your brains performance.

Preventing Anxiety Attacks

Anxiety attacks choose no one. It can happen to happy and perfectly normal people of all ages including children. Many cases of anxiety attacks just come out of the blue, or happen without any logical, clear or apparent reason. It may occur while you are relaxed during the day and even while asleep. Still, there are several ways on how to prevent anxiety attacks.

Learn about anxiety Understanding how anxiety affects the body as well as the mind can go a long way in your effort to prevent attacks. Read articles about anxiety and other psychological disorders that are related to it. Learn what are the things you should watch out for, things you should avoid, and practices you should do in case of an attack.

Avoid unnecessary stressors Recurring attacks are caused by “triggers” situations such as speaking in front of the public or getting trapped in an elevator. The effects of these triggers are often aggravated by stress. In other words, stress can act as a catalyst for such attacks to happen. Hence, reducing the stress level by avoiding unnecessary stressors can help prevent attacks. Avoid people that stress you out. Learn how to say ‘no’ to invitations as well as overtime when you have other things to do. Do not accept additional work that you can’t accomplish. These may seem very little things but can significantly increase stress level as well as increase the chances of having an attack.

Exercise has lots of health benefits including the promotion of well-being. It is also proven and effective method to prevent anxiety attack. Research shows that as little as 30 minutes of physical activity – 3 to 5 times a week – is enough to promote a healthy body. Increasing the intensity of the exercise produces more positive effects.

Eat balanced diet Like exercise, a well-balanced diet is important in keeping the body healthy, resistant to illnesses, and maintain a low stress level. As much as possible, eat natural or organic foods. Avoid processed foods or those that contain preservatives and chemicals.

Avoid smoking and caffeine. To those who are susceptible to anxiety attacks, substantial amount of caffeine (from coffee, soda and tea) as well as smoking cigarettes can provoke such attacks even further. It is wise, therefore, to avoid these things as much as possible.

Practice relaxation techniques Yoga, meditation, and other breathing techniques help strengthen the body’s relaxation response. When practiced regularly, these techniques even increase the feeling of uplifted emotions, happiness, and self-control, which increase self-confidence and self-esteem – significant factors in fighting anxiety attacks.

Learn to become assertive People with anxiety disorder usually have low self-esteem. Low self-esteem is manifested by passiveness, feeling worthless, feeling of guilt and shame, depressed mood, isolation, and difficulty in school, work, and community functions. Learning to become assertive may involve joining a group, entering into therapy sessions or simply learning to open up to others. It may take a while, but once a person learns how to assert himself, he will carry positive outlook in life which helps prevent anxiety attacks caused by “triggers”.

Awareness of the symptoms of anxiety attacks is as important as knowing how to prevent it. Watch out for:

Chest pain or heart palpitation
Feeling of loosing control or going crazy
Irrational fear over trivial things
Hot flashes or chills
Trouble breathing or choking sensation
Feeling like passing out
Feeling unreal or detach
Nausea or stomach cramps
Hyperventilation
Shaking or trembling
Feeling and fear of dying

Vital Techniques that Can Help Better Your Memory

There is nothing wrong in aiming to do things to help better your memory. You don’t have to go to professionals to learn how. You can actually do your own research whenever you have time for such task. Here are some ways that can help you learn more about what you can do in this regard.

1. If you have time, you can spend it on your local library to pick up books that deal with the topic. You can browse it wherever you are while taking down notes as to related tips that you can do to help improve your brain’s performance.

2. You can also check the web for related articles that you can read and gain tips from. Through reading, you will gain the right techniques on how you can improve your memory. This is also a favorable exercise on your brain because this enhances thinking.

3. You can also ask professionals for help regarding the matter. You can do this if you are undertaking your regular physical exams. You can take this opportunity to learn about what you can do to improve your memory by asking the right people about the matter.

Healthy Lifestyle

One factor that plays a big factor into the overall scenario is your lifestyle. Your brain needs a good supply of blood and oxygen. This can be achieved by exercising regularly and eating the right foods that can help you in this regard. You must also limit drinking alcoholic beverages. If you must, do it on a moderate basis. You should also not engage in drugs and other prohibited substances as these can cause damage on your brain which you may be unaware of at first. You will just get the surprise of your life when you wake up one day and you feel the negative effects that these have brought about.

More Tips

To help you with the goal of retaining as much information as you want and need, here are some more simple techniques that you can opt to do.

1. Try to assimilate occurrences and people to other factors that can help you remember them. You don’t want to get into situations wherein you cannot remember important faces and names just because your memory fails to work well. By helping your brain in trying to remember, you will be successful in the venture as you practice the act through time.

2. Do a mental picture of what you are trying to remember, especially when you have to engage into speaking commitments wherein you have to deliver long speeches. You can try to break the speech into parts wherein each part will be associated with something to help you remember the line.

3. Do not quit learning as you age. It will be helpful to engage in activities that you used to do when you were young. If you have kids, you can browse on their books to re-learn some things that you already have forgotten. This can also be a bonding moment for the family. You can help your children do their homework. While you are at it, you will be amazed at how this activity can help you exercise your brain in the process.

If you feel like there are so many things that you are finding hard to remember, it is high time that you think about resorting to tips and techniques on how to better your memory. You should avoid getting serious disorders by engaging into the kind of lifestyle and activities that promote healthy brain functions.

What are Neurobics?

The term neurobics is one you may not be familiar with. It is similar to aerobics which are exercises for the body to take part in. They keep you fit and healthy and you should be taking part in them on a regular basis. Neurobics are very similar as they are exercises that you should take part in so that your brain gets the exercise that it needs. If you are someone that follows a routine day after day, this is going to create some fun as well as some chaos in your world!

Neurobics are fascinating to explore because they allow you to use all five of your senses to exercise your brain. At the same time it allows you to explore your emotional senses and to see how they should all be able to work together. When you engage in such activities your brain is going to get stronger. You will also grow new brain cells which is important for your overall mental well being.

There are some really fun activities you can try that fall into the category of neurobics. For example, try to do something such as eating or getting dressed with your eyes closed. When you do so you have to rely upon your other senses to help you get it done. Try to engage in a conversation with someone but no words can be exchanged. Instead you have to rely upon your other movements of the body to express yourself.

Another category of neurobics involves exploring two things at one time. This isnt on the same level though as multi tasking though. You want to do two things that allow your mind the freedom to be creative. For example you can draw while listening closely to the music on the radio.

We all have many routine things about us that we may not even notice. These are habits engraved in our brain patterns. We take part in them without thinking about doing it differently. This form of neurobics involves changing those normal routines. Do you usually clean the kitchen first in your home? If so, then save it for last this weekend. Do you always start your day the same way? Now is the time to shake things up and do something different.

Identify which hand is dominant and then decide for an entire day to do everything with your other hand. It is going to be harder than you thought, and it is going to take plenty of concentration. You may discover that you get better at it though as the day progresses. It is going to alter the way that your brain has to think when it comes to accomplishing tasks that have become too single for you.

There are so many different ways in which you can experiment with neurobics. Have fun with it and do your best to learn all you can from it. Most of these types of tasks you can do at home, at work, and even when you travel. The key is to identify those things you always do one way. Then you can make a conscious effort to do it differently. It can also be fun to keep notes documenting what you have discovered as well as the outcomes of your neurobic activities.

Neurobics can be very fun to take part in as they help you to further develop your mind. They help us to appreciate what all our brain is able to assist us with accomplishing each day. However, it also gives us insight to the conclusion that our brains control a great deal of what we do. The fact that we often just go along with it and not question it needs to be something of the past. As you explore neurobics though you will understand that you have the ability to change things around and to always keep your brain learning in new ways.

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