Tag: Memory

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.

Writing Down your Thoughts can Improve your Thinking Process

So much goes on around us every single day. Therefore it is hard for our mind to remember all of it. The thought process is very complex and indeed fascinating at the same time. If you want to be able to remember details of your day write them down in a journal or a diary. Your thinking process will improve as you do this. Chances are that you will be able to remember various details as well that you didnt recall with the memory just stored in your mind.

When you write down your thoughts you can also do so freely. Too many times we are analyzing what we are thinking as we do it. Try to get into the habit of writing down what your true feelings are without allowing yourself to analyze what you are doing. This freedom is going to help you uncover how you really feel about a certain topic.

Try to remember all of the details of an event that you wish to remember in full detail. Identify the five senses that were present for that event to take place. This is important because later when you read this material again you will be able to conjure up those same images with clarity due to the fact that you are going to give your mind such a detailed reminder.

In order to really benefit your thinking process you should write down something every day. Many people do so at the end of the day as a way to help them relax and unwind in the evening. Others choose to write first thing in the morning as it allows them to get plenty of inspiration for that day. If you arent interested in writing down events that occur each day consider writing down what you remember of your dreams. Then you can work on interpreting them which is a really neat hobby.

When you have certain goals in life that you want to meet, writing them down is a huge step towards achieving them. This offers you a concrete way of seeing what you have to work towards. You can easily look at that material every single day for inspiration and to keep yourself on the right track. Make sure you keep such information in a place where you can easily refer to it every day.

Make commitment to write for a set period of time each day. It can be 15 minutes or more but make sure you do it. Dont analyze what you are going to say, just let it flow. It is fine to jump from one subject to another. Dont worry about sentence structure or other aspects of it. The focus should be on allowing your brain to freely work through whatever you are thinking about.

There is also a type of therapy that comes with writing down your thoughts. It is a great way to clear your mind and to put things into perspective. Many people find that it also helps them to reduce stress. They dont have to rely upon their memories alone to help them with the details of an event. The more time that occurs between when you write down your thoughts and when you read them again the more special and cherished they become.

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Learn a New Word Every Day to Exercise your Brain

Learn a New Word Every Day to Exercise your Brain

Most of us have to rely upon a calendar each day in order to keep ourselves organized. There are calendars out there that offer a new word each day on them. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to expand your vocabulary and to exercise your brain. Try to use the new word that you learn at least three times that day. It can be fun coming up with creative ways to insert it into conversations.

When you use these new words three times in a day, it will help with your memory. You will be able to remember what the word is and the meaning of it for a very long time. You want to be able to do more with it than just to use it that one day and then forget about it. You dont have to use words that are huge or that wont fit into anything you talk about either.

If you dont have such a calendar available, use a dictionary. Just flip it open to any page and pick out a word to learn about. You can also start at the beginning of the dictionary and work your way through it. Devise a method that works well for you and then stick to it. When you get into the habit of doing this each day you will start to look forward to it. You will find that your vocabulary is quickly expanding as well.

In fact there are some specific types of words that you can choose to learn about. Some of them can be specific to a career or other type of environment. Many people enjoy these types of word learning exercises because they know that they will be able to actively use them in their daily life. It can be harder to find such materials locally though but you will have no problems finding them online.

What many people find as they start to learn a new word each day is that they are limited in their vocabulary. Sure, you may have thousands of words that you use but the fact is that you use them over and over again. If you do lots of writing for your job you want to through in some new words to stir things up. Those that read it will notice that they arent getting the same old stuff that they see from everyone else. Therefore exercising your brain in this way can really help you to rise in the ranks with your employer as well.

Parents can help children to exercise their brains in this way too. For example the entire family can have a routine of learning a new word per day. Then everyone can use that word in a conversation that night at dinner. If they were able to work it into conversations throughout the day as well then that should be shared. This is a great way for the entire family to do their best to have brains that are exercised and in great shape.

There are also plenty of fun word games that you can play online too. This is a good variation of learning a new word every day. You can play them whenever you get the chance. Most of them have many levels too from beginners to advanced so start where your level is now and then work your way up from there.

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Deaf People Can Benefit From Cochlear Implants

Some people suffer from a deafness problem that cannot be corrected. Fortunately, there is a way to make them hear sounds.

This is where cochlear implants come along. This device is surgically planted and instead of amplifying sounds which hearing aids do, it stimulates the functioning auditory nerves inside the cochlea with an electric field stimulated through an electric impulse.

This implant consists of many small parts. These include a microphone, speech processor and an RF transmitter. Not that many people have undergone this procedure because it is very expensive and there are still other options available before this will be utilized.

But is it worth the money? Most of the patients who have undergone cochlear implant say so because although you get almost near to normal hearing.

A study has shown that adults who have had cochlear implants benefit almost immediately and their hearing improves quite rapidly after the first 6 months of tuning sessions. This is not the same for children because it will take them more time to adjust to the implant.

The device helps them distinguish different types of sound and understand speech without the need to lip read. In fact a surprising number are able to use the telephone.

The only limitation to cochlear implants is that background noise is still present and this will interfere with the persons ability to understand. When this happens, he or she has to rely more on speech or lip reading instead of this listening device.

This is why doctors say that although there are benefits to cochlear implants, to what degree really depends on the patient. These factors depend on auditory memory, exposure to sound before hearing was lost, shorter period of deafness before surgery, the condition of the cochlea and the auditory nerve fibers.

Once the device has been implanted, the patient has to visit the clinic regularly for the first 6 months to adjust the volume and to make sure that everything is working. If a child was the one who underwent the cochlea implant, they will need to develop their listening and speech skills compared to adults.

So what is the price tag for a cochlear implant? The cost could go from $40,000 to $100,000. This depends where it was performed and who was the specialist in charge of the operation. Money should not be an issue anymore given that most third party health insurance health plants now cover a certain percentage for those who need a cochlear implant.

The cochlear implant is the only device to date that can help people who have permanent deafness problems. In fact, research is now ongoing to see if this can also help people with other types of hearing loss.

In the US alone, 23,000 adults and 15,500 children have received them. Most of the children who had this were between two to six years of age but the age requirement was lowered in 2000 making it possible for even a one year old to undergo the implant.

There is no doubt that someone who is deaf or is suffering from a permanent deafness problem will benefit from a cochlear implant. You might even call it life-changing given that you are given second chance to hear again the different sounds that life has to offer.