See: Why Stress is Something You Need to Deal With NOW
~ Joi
Christian Book Reviews, Self Improvement, Positivity
by Joi 2 Comments
See: Why Stress is Something You Need to Deal With NOW
~ Joi
Below is a great infographic that shows how learning a new language affects our brain. We need to make mental fitness a huge part of our everyday routine. Learning new languages is both a fun and challenging way to give our brains the workout they crave.
If you’ve always wanted to learn a second language – you now have a wonderful reason to get started!
by Joi 3 Comments
If you’re as interested in mental fitness and brain health as I am, you’ll answer this question with a question of your own: How soon can we begin?!
Fortunately, you can begin the second you get your hands on this outstanding book. Bend Your Brain: 151 Puzzles, Tips, and Tricks to Blow (and Grow) Your Mind is actually more than a book, if we’re being honest here. It’s more of a workout program for the part of our body that is probably taken more for granted than any other part. Which is perfectly ridiculous when you consider that it runs the whole shebang.
Then you need to bend your brain! This first book from the team behind Marbles: The Brain Store, a chain devoted to building better brains, offers puzzles and brain teasers to help enhance memory, build problem-solving skills, and reduce stress.
Since Marbles started helping people play their way to a healthier brain, they’ve sold, solved, and been stumped by more than their fair share of puzzles. Along the way, they’ve learned which puzzles tie people in knots (not in a good way) and which ones make the neurons downright giddy. With the help of their in-house team of BrainCoaches and access to cutting-edge neuroscience, they’ve designed these puzzles to keep your mind flexible and fit.
Arranged in five key brain categories—visual perception, word skills, critical thinking, coordination, and memory—Bend Your Brain offers a variety of puzzles ranging from mind-warming (easy) to mind-blowing (hard!):
· Connecting the dots? More like working your spatial-orientation skills.
· Identifying famous smiles? Flexing your visual memory.
· Taking a closer look at your keyboard? Coding, storing, and retrieving.
· Word-doku? Summoning cognitive abilities like appraisal, inference, impulse control, and evaluation.
· Word scrambles? Tapping your brain’s association areas.
Your brain is your most important muscle, so let the brain-building begin! – Bend Your Brain: 151 Puzzles, Tips, and Tricks to Blow (and Grow) Your Mind
Well, you get the idea. We’re talking about experts in their chosen field.
MARBLES: THE BRAIN STORE is in malls across the country. They’ve been featured in Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, USA Today, and Wired, as well as on the Today show and Martha Stewart Living. Like I said… experts.
While the book is flexible, the cover is made of a very sturdy material – it isn’t the type of “romance novel” paper covers that dog-ear or tear. It’s ideal for curling up in a comfy chair with a pencil and a hot Chai Tea Latte as you treat your mind to a FUN and STIMULATING workout. I’m, perhaps, more familiar with brain games and brain puzzles than the average person. Another one of my blogs (“Out of Bounds“) involves mental fitness and brain health. While doing research for the articles on “Out of Bounds,” I’ve bought and used countless books with “brain stimulating” puzzles.
Frankly, there are quite a few on the market that are outstanding. However, the puzzles throughout Bend Your Brain: 151 Puzzles, Tips, and Tricks to Blow (and Grow) Your Mind are different from other puzzles I’ve seen in other books. Bend Your Brain does a much better job of letting you know WHY you need each type of puzzle. I also love the fact that the puzzles address the five key brain categories (visual perception, word skills, critical thinking, coordination, and memory).
What good would it be to focus on just one or two?!?!
If I were to recommend one book for the individual who is interested in protecting and strengthening their mind, this would be the book. The puzzles are a PERFECT blend of challenging, very challenging, and OMG challenging. What’s more, they’re a lot of fun!
If you’re looking to strengthen your mind and memory, increase self-confidence, and even improve your problem-solving skills, Bend Your Brain shouldn’t just be the next book you buy… it has to be the next book you buy.
Click through and learn more about Bend Your Brain: 151 Puzzles, Tips, and Tricks to Blow (and Grow) Your Mind. Trust me, this is one you and your brain are going to love.
Never stop learning!
~ Joi
If you want to strengthen your brain and keep your mind as sharp as ever, you have to be proactive. Wisdom won’t just come to you automatically… that only happens to owls!
I’ve posted two new articles on my mental fitness blog, Out of Bounds.
The first article, How Exercise Strengthens Your Mind, Body, and Soul: Get That Body Moving shows how exercise is actually vital for mental health, physical health, and even emotional health. The article also shows you sneaky ways to “trick” yourself into getting more activity!
The second article, How to Strengthen Your Mind and Avoid Brain Atrophy details the mental dangers of living in a rut. Growth never occurs in a rut. We all HAVE to start paying as much attention to our mental health as we do our physical health. If we keep overlooking our brain’s fitness, we’ll suffer memory loss, brain fog, and possibly dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Make today the day you begin paying more attention to your brain’s health.
by Joi 6 Comments
Since one of my websites deals with Mental Fitness, I spend a great deal of time wrapping my brain around mental fitness, brain health, memory, brain games, Alzheimer’s prevention, and so forth. Truth be told, even if it weren’t for this particular website, I’d still be found reading every book, magazine, and article I could get my hands on that dealt with the health of the brain.
Trust me, it’s an incredibly fascinating field. One can’t underestimate it’s value, either. Think about it, we spend a great deal of time and money in the pursuit of physical fitness – and rightfully so! But, what good will any of that do us if we allow our brains to turn to mush?
I don’t want to give details – because it would be decidedly uncool to do so – but I recently had a conversation with someone who told me (with as much shock on their face as I had on mine) that their co-workers were unable to do simple arithmetic. I’m talking about the sort of arithmetic that a fourth grader knocks out within 5 minutes. The co-workers range in age from about 28 to 50.
Before I could pick up my jaw, I was told that they also struggled with simple spelling and vocabulary words.
I’m afraid that this isn’t a rare thing. I’m part of a large, wonderful family – but, aside from them, I’m somewhat kind of sheltered from society. I work from home, so I don’t have a lot of experience with face to face human interaction. However, from what I’ve seen and heard, it seems that many people aren’t just letting their minds turn to mush, they’re facilitating the process.
What would it take to snap people out of the mental rut they’re allowing themselves to sink into? I have no idea but, truth be told, it kind of scares me. Make no mistake about it, you won’t agree with 100 percent of the things you read on Self Help Daily or Out of Bounds. I wouldn’t want every visitor to agree with every word. That would mean I wasn’t – in any way – encouraging you to think or encouraging you to challenge other ideas, beliefs, and concepts.
One of the things nearest and dearest to my heart is mental health and brain fitness. I spend hours each day researching, reading, and writing within this area. Maybe that’s why I often come across as almost desperate to get through to people. If we don’t use our brains, challenge our minds, and pursue mental growth… you guessed it, mush.
We become adults who require a 4th grader to show us how to add fractions, tell us how to spell Antarctica, and clarify the capital of Texas when we aren’t sure if it’s Austin or Dallas. Granted, as adults we sort of step away from these subjects. Antarctica, Austin, and fractions may not necessarily come up in our everyday conversations and activities…
…. especially if these activities never vary and especially if the majority of these activities take place in front of sitcoms, reality television, or YouTube. Oh-my-God, no she didn’t go there.
This would be me encouraging you… perhaps even pleading with you…. to broaden your mental horizons – each and every day. Put aside a little time each day to challenge yourself, mentally. Below are a few mental exercises that you can do just about anywhere. Occasionally leave the radio off in the car and give your mind something it really craves – challenging brain games and mental exercises. They’re invigorating, they’re rewarding, and they’ll increase your mental power.
Experts tell us that we can increase our brain’s powers and strength by working it out. Please make this part of your everyday activities and put it at the forefront of your goals. In no time at all, fourth graders will be coming to you for all the answers.
Finally, read up on the different foods that are great for promoting brain health. I have a great number of articles on Out of Bounds (which I recently treated to a new look) detailing which foods are best for your brain’s health. I read earlier that a favorite snack of mine, sunflower seeds, are an excellent “brain food.”
From Real Age: “In a study, those who reported getting the highest amount of vitamin E — 19 milligrams a day — were about 25 percent less likely to be diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease over a 10-year period. People in the study got much of their vitamin E from processed or sat-fat foods, like butter, margarine, and mayo. Our suggestion? Get your E from healthy sources, such as nuts, seeds, veggies, plant oils, and nut butters. The bonus with nuts and seeds is that you also get a shot of hunger-quelling protein. Not to mention some heart-healthy fats.”
You can gain more brain power. It’s a fact. The flip side, however, reads like a horror story: You can lose brain power. Like a coin that’s in the air, waiting to land……. it’s your call.
The GORGEOUS Dr. Tony Evans Study Bible (Amazon affiliate link) is exactly what you need if you want to get more from your Bible reading. He makes the Bible come even more alive and, in a way uniquely his own, makes each chapter easy to understand… even Revelations!