Mental Fitness

100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s (Review of an Outstanding Book)

July 28, 2016 by Joi 1 Comment

100 Simple Things You Can Do To Prevent Alzheimer’s And Age-Related Memory Loss by Jean Carper is one of my favorite books in my entire personal library. It’s also one that I reopen again and again. The information the author shares is fascinating as well as vital.

What’s more, it’s also exciting because there are things we can do (and avoid doing) to increase our odds of avoiding Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and other forms of memory loss.

It’s like being in a room with the scariest zombie you ever saw and suddenly seeing an escape hatch.

Most people think there is little or nothing you can do to avoid Alzheimer’s. But scientists know this is no longer true. In fact, prominent researchers now say that our best and perhaps only hope of defeating Alzheimer’s is to prevent it.

After best-selling author Jean Carper discovered that she had the major susceptibility gene for Alzheimer’s, she was determined to find all the latest scientific evidence on how to escape it. She discovered 100 surprisingly simple scientifically tested ways to radically cut the odds of Alzheimer’s, memory decline, and other forms of dementia.

Did you know that vitamin B 12 helps keep your brain from shrinking? Apple juice mimics a common Alzheimer’s drug? Surfing the internet strengthens aging brain cells? Exercise is like Miracle-Gro for your brain?

Even a few preventive actions could dramatically change your future by postponing Alzheimer’s as long as possible. If you can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s for five years, you cut your odds of having it in half. Postpone it for ten years, and you’ll most likely never live to see it. 100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s will change the way you look at Alzheimer’s and provides exciting new answers from the frontiers of brain research to help keep you and your family free of this heartbreaking disease. – From the Inside Cover

Each of the 100 “simple things” include 2-4 pages of information to back it up. There are quotes from leading experts, research data, and fruits of research the author (a medical journalist) has conducted over the years.

A WEALTH of information.

The 100 tips are easy to implement in your daily life and, here’s a wonderful bonus – whatever benefits your brain benefits your heart. Follow these wonderful steps and they’ll lead you to a healthier brain and heart…. now that’s someplace worth going!

I want very much for you to grab your own copy of this book, so I don’t want to give much away. However, I will share one of the tips with you: #44 Google Something! Surfing the internet actually exercises your brain.

It’s a scientific fact: doing an Internet search can stimulate aging brains even more than reading a book. So finds Gary Small, MD, director of the UCLA Center on Aging. “Internet searching,” he says, “engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function.”…… One reason Web surfing is so demanding is that you are forced to make multiple decisions as you click, click, click to get to the ultimate information you want. Such constant decision making “engages important cognitive circuits in the brain,” say researchers, giving your brain a significant workout. Mental exercise, like physical exercise, appears to strengthen your brain’s resistance to mental decline and Alzheimer’s. – Pages 132 – 133, 100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s

100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’sWho is This Book For?

You may automatically associate this book with readers who are over 50 and, while we Baby Boomers can benefit greatly from it, let’s not leave out the youngin’s! I wish I had had access to this information when I was in my 20’s, I could have made smarter decisions then that would help protect me now. Make no mistake about it, this book is for anyone in any age group.

Basically, anyone who values their brain enough to protect it will love this book. The information could prove to be the weapons you need to save you from that scary zombie – the one no one wants to talk about, but everyone thinks about: Alzheimer’s Disease.

See 100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s for more information. This one qualifies as a MUST HAVE.

Common Drugs (for Allergies, Sleep, and Depression) That Can Shrink Your Brain

June 1, 2016 by Joi Leave a Comment

I might just be the queen of e-mail newsletters. Someone recently said that e-mail newsletters are “dead.” I said, “Not in my inbox.. they’re very much alive and well.” One of my favorite health-related newsletters is called Doctor’s House Call. It’s from Dr. Al Sears, MD and I highly recommend it.

I was anxious to share a recent edition with you. How anxious? Well, it just landed in my inbox and hour ago.

THAT anxious.

Many drugs that we buy and use regularly are actually doing our brains harm. Benadryl and Dimetapp (allergies), Unisom (sleep aid), Paxil (depression). Dramamine (motion sickness), and Demerol (pain killer).

I have used Benadryl, personally, for allergies as long as I can remember. As for the others, I’m only familiar with Dramamine – I’ve used it for motion sickness a few times over the years. The problem with these drugs is this: They all belong to a class of drugs called anticholinergics (AC). These medicines are effective because they block the action of acetylcholine in the brain.

As Dr. Sears points out, “.. it’s always a bad idea to wage war on a part of your body.”

I’ll simply let you read the rest of the newsletter by posting it below. I’ll chime in at the bottom with more information about where you can find the natural remedies he lists.

From Doctor’s House Call June 1, 2016:

——————– NEWSLETTER —————–

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter. It carries messages throughout your nervous system and stimulates muscle contractions throughout your body.

AC drugs stop that stimulation. They block acetylcholine from getting into nerve cells. That can shut down natural movement of muscles in the gut, lungs, heart, urinary tract, and other parts of the body.

Perhaps worst of all, it affects the parts of the brain involved in learning and memory. I’ve seen confusion, memory loss and declining mental skills in my patients who come to me on these drugs.

New research confirms what I’ve seen in my own practice. Studies now link AC drugs to cognitive impairment and dementia.

Researchers looked at patients’ brains using PET scans and MRIs. They found that people taking AC drugs had reduced brain sizes. They also had lower brain metabolism.

In other words, their brains weren’t as active. It was especially true in the hippocampus — the part of the brain associated with memory.

Another study in JAMA Internal Medicine found a link between long-term use of AC drugs and dementia. Pharmacists from the University of Washington tracked nearly 3,500 men and women aged 65 and older. They used pharmacy records to determine all the drugs each person took in the 10 years before starting the study. Then they tracked the people for seven years.

Results showed people who used AC drugs were more likely to develop dementia. And their dementia risk increased with the cumulative dose over the years. Taking an AC for more than three years meant a 54% higher dementia risk than taking the same dose for just a few months.

But even taking AC drugs for a few months can interfere with your ability to think. A study in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia found that AC drugs cause cognitive problems when taken continuously for as few as 60 days.

Here are some alternatives I suggest to my patients.

1. Natural Sleep Aids

Instead of Unisom or other dangerous sleeping pills, I recommend these 100% natural alternatives. You can get them at most health food stores.

Melatonin. This natural sleep hormone reverses insomnia by resetting your clock. But make sure you get the right kind. Pills get destroyed in your gut before you get the full effect. I recommend melatonin sprays. Take 500 micrograms to 1 mg about 30 minutes before you want to go to sleep.

Valerian Root. This herb has a calming effect on the nerves. It helps you fall asleep and get better quality sleep. Take 300 to 600 mg, 30 minutes to two hours before going to bed. It may take up to two weeks of daily usage to get the full benefits.

Tryptophan. This amino acid is found in sleep-inducing foods milk and turkey. I use a starting dose of 250 mg a half an hour before bedtime. If that doesn’t produce good quality sleep, increase the dose to 500 mg. You can enhance its effect by taking it with a glass of warm milk.

2. Natural Antihistamines

When your immune system spots an invader, your body releases defensive chemicals called histamines. Itching, sneezing and even hives are all signs that histamines are at work. Instead of reaching for AC drugs like Benadryl and Dimetapp, try these alternatives.

Marshmallow Root. Used in traditional European cough medicines, it’s known to relieve irritation of mucous membranes. And it helps the body expel excess mucus. Look for dried root, extracts, teas, tinctures or capsules in your health food store.

Burdock. Both the seeds and the root help soothe the mucous membranes. It’s also used to treat colds and sore throats.

Acerola Cherry. Considered a “superfruit,” this cherry has eight times more vitamin C than an orange and acts as a natural antihistamine.

3. Nature’s Antidepressant

Boosting vitamin D can help get you off dangerous AC antidepressants like Paxil. It helps the brain make serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood. In fact, vitamin D can boost serotonin by anywhere from double to 30 times. ⁴

I recommend a daily intake of 8,000 IUs of vitamin D. Here are the best ways to get it…

Sunshine. Getting some midday sun unprotected for about 10 to 15 minutes a day is good for you. It will give you between 3,000 and 5,000 IUs of vitamin D.

Vitamin D Foods. A serving of cooked wild salmon or mackerel provides roughly 350 IU vitamin D. Sardines or tuna in oil provide about 225 IUs of vitamin D. And one tablespoon of cod liver oil contains nearly 1,400 IUs.

Vitamin D3 Supplements. I recommend taking a supplement of vitamin D3 called cholecalciferol. It’s the same vitamin D3 that your body produces. Just be sure to avoid the synthetic D2 form found in most multivitamins. It’s less potent and less absorbable.

——————– END OF THE NEWSLETTER—————–

Where Can You Find these Supplements?

Sunshine and Vitamin D foods are easy enough, and the other natural alternatives take very little effort. You can check Dr. Sears’ Private Label Supplements at Primal Force Supplements.

Marshmallow Root, from Nature’s Way
Burdock, from Nature’s Way
Acerola Chewable Cherry Wafers
Salam Vitamin D3
You can find the other supplements on Amazon

Again, I wholeheartedly recommend the Dr. Al Sears, MD newsletter. I’m going to try the Acerola Cherry and Marshmallow Root (tea) and see if they can handle what my intense allergies throw at them. I’ll let you know how it goes! If you’re looking for a more natural alternative to what ails you, be sure to keep your usual medication on hand, just in case. I’m anxious to try allergy supplements, but I have zero intention of being caught without Benadryl on hand.

Also, if you could possibly be allergic to any supplement or ingredient in that supplement, don’t even think about it. Look for your next alternative.

~ Joi

Acerola Chewable Cherry Wafers

Adult Coloring Book Review: “Wonderland”

May 25, 2016 by Joi Leave a Comment

Wonderland Adult Coloring Book by Amily Shen

Wonderland: A Gorgeous Adult Coloring Book

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of brilliant inventions, imaginative creations, and creative solutions to problems. I’m always blown away by the human mind and what it is capable of. Adult coloring books are one of the most inventive and downright “clever” solutions of our time. They allow free expression while giving you an outlet for creativity. What’s more, people swear by them for dealing with both stress and anxiety.

There are a flood of adult coloring books on the market, which is, if you ask me, a wonderful thing. The fact that there are so many give you the chance to find the ones that resonate most with you and your personal interests.

They also pretty much ensure that you never have to color the same picture twice…. ever!

The adult coloring book shown here, Wonderland, is one of my personal favorites. The pictures are so absolutely wonderful, looking at them makes me smile each and every time. The drawings are also intricate enough to allow you to spend plenty of time on each page. The adult coloring books with larger, simple pictures kind of defeat the point. It’s the whole process of spending time coloring the small details that allows you to relax and focus on something other than your bad day at work, your stress level, or the anxiety nagging at you in the background.

Follow the White Rabbit into this imaginative adult coloring book inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, featuring intricate pen-and-ink drawings by acclaimed artist Amily Shen.

Meet the Cheshire Cat, attend the Mad Hatter’s tea party, and play croquet with the Queen of Hearts in this evocative tale that invites you into a strange and beautiful new world of coloring.

Using Adult Coloring Books for Stress Relief

Why are adult coloring books like Wonderland so effective for dealing with stress? They provide you a simple, brief amount of escapism that isn’t remotely negative or harmful.

In fact, allowing yourself to create something beautiful is actually beneficial. So you’re helping yourself by…. well… helping yourself!

You could delve into a lot of complex reasons WHY adult coloring books help you cope with stress, but I think the simplest way to describe it is this: They take your mind away from things that are weighing it down and give it a break.

Breaks aren’t just good, they’re glorious. And necessary.

If you have certain, set times when you enjoy your adult coloring books, not only is it an escape from stress at that moment, it gives you something to look forward to all day. Having something to look forward to is one of the best ways to cope with stress. Even during a particularly hectic day, your mind says, “It will be better later!”

Most people enjoy coloring in these books in the evening and notice they have the extra benefit of helping them drift off to sleep. It’s a lot easier to sleep when you’ve unloaded extra stress and burdens. Light sleep is the best sleep.

Using Adult Coloring Books to Cope with Anxiety

Many people who deal with anxiety say that it feels a lot like “pent up energy” – as though parts of your body are on high alert, expecting something… anxious for something. We’ve all experienced anxious moments, haven’t we? That’s why we’re able to sympathize with those who live in what seems like a perpetual state of an anxious moment.

While adult coloring books have the biggest reputation for helping with stress, I think a huge advantage of these books lies in how they can help individuals cope with anxiety. Sitting down with a great adult coloring book gives that anxious, nervous energy an outlet. It’s as though you can corral all of that energy and give it something to do.

Wonderland is Filled with Intricate Pictures

This is one beautiful and highly enjoyable adult coloring book and I’ll let you in on a little, not so well-kept secret: They’re impossibly fun for everyone….

If you regularly feel stress or simply have occasional stressful days.
Whether you deal with anxiety on an almost daily basis or simply feel anxious because of work or health-related issues.
Even if you are a rare bird who seldom ever feels stress or anxiety, you will love expressing yourself and getting in touch with your creative, artistic side again. Sadly, most of us abandon this side of ourselves when we graduate. Adult coloring books help bring back creativity, along with all of its rich benefits.

I highly recommend Wonderland – you will absolutely love every single page.

~ Joi (“Joy”)

P.S. If you use small-tipped markers instead of coloring pencils, you’ll achieve much more vibrant pictures!

Note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. The opinions are entirely my own.

Review: Healthy Brain, Happy Life by Wendy Suzuki

March 23, 2016 by Joi Leave a Comment

Healthy Brain, Happy Life

I was recently sent a copy of Healthy Brain, Happy Life (pictured above) to review on Self Help Daily. I enjoyed it so much and found it to be so informative and useful that I also wrote a Healthy Brain, Happy Life review on my brain fitness blog.

Healthy Brain, Happy Life is the first book from Wendy Suzuki, PhD – but I hope it’s just the first of many. She writes in such a way that allows her infectious personality to come through each word. This is, undoubtedly, my favorite type of author to read. When an author can inject personality into the prose… that’s where book magic happens.

A neuroscientist transforms the way we think about our brain, our health, and our personal happiness in this clear, informative, and inspiring guide—a blend of personal memoir, science narrative, and immediately useful takeaways that bring the human brain into focus as never before, revealing the powerful connection between exercise, learning, memory, and cognitive abilities.

Nearing forty, Dr. Wendy Suzuki was at the pinnacle of her career. An award-winning university professor and world-renowned neuroscientist, she had tenure, her own successful research lab, prestigious awards, and international renown.

That’s when to celebrate her birthday, she booked an adventure trip that forced her to wake up to a startling reality: despite her professional success, she was overweight, lonely, and tired and knew that her life had to change. Wendy started simply—by going to an exercise class. Eventually, she noticed an improvement in her memory, her energy levels, and her ability to work quickly and move from task to task easily. Not only did Wendy begin to get fit, but she also became sharper, had more energy, and her memory improved. Being a neuroscientist, she wanted to know why.

What she learned transformed her body and her life. Now, it can transform yours.

Wendy discovered that there is a biological connection between exercise, mindfulness, and action. With exercise, your body feels more alive and your brain actually performs better. Yes—you can make yourself smarter. In this fascinating book, Suzuki makes neuroscience easy to understand, interweaving her personal story with groundbreaking research, and offering practical, short exercises—4 minute Brain Hacks—to engage your mind and improve your memory, your ability to learn new skills, and function more efficiently.

Taking us on an amazing journey inside the brain as never before, Suzuki helps us unlock the keys to neuroplasticity that can change our brains, or bodies, and, ultimately, our lives.

Healthy Brain, Happy Life is, obviously, geared toward strengthening the brain, but it goes further than than that. The book shows you how you can take control of your own life, your own mind, your own heart, and your own destiny. Your life isn’t something that happens by chance – you are at the wheel. And guess what, if you don’t like where you’re headed…. you have it in your power to turn!

As someone who is completely fascinated with mental fitness and with improving and strengthening the brain, this book didn’t just speak to me, it yelled. I love the “Brain Hacks” that come with each chapter. They, basically, tell you, “Okay, this is what you’ve learned… this is why it matters… and this is how it can rock your world.”

I also love how clearly the author illustrates how exercise and meditation can improve your brain. Exercise, for example, actually increases the number of new brain cells.

How exciting is that?!

Profound Message Within the Pages

As I said, I love everything about this thought-provoking and eye-opening book. As a book lover, I’m a firm believer that you can get at least one “gem” from any book you read. I’ve even found inspiration in Agatha Christie mysteries. You just have to know where to look, I guess.

While I got a lot from reading Healthy Brain, Happy Life, one of the most profound “take aways” was a small paragraph in one of the early chapters:

The more you bring a memory back to mind, the stronger it becomes…. At the neural level, with each repetition you are strengthening the synaptic connections underlying the memory, allowing it to resist interference from other memories or general degradation. – Page 75

Basically, each time we dwell on something or relive something in our past, we are giving it lasting power. As we grow older, doesn’t it stand to reason that the strongest, most easily “called to mind” memories will be the ones that’ll keep us company?

Hmmm, wonder if that’s why some older people look so miserable?

Since I’ve often been accused of being a “Mary Poppins,” I guess it’s no surprise that I tend to dwell on happy thoughts. I have a darn good knack for shaking unhappy thoughts out of my head. My reasoning is that thoughts are like company you keep and I have zero interest in being in miserable company. Lead me to smiling faces, good times, positive vibes, and happiness – whether they’re in the present or in my memories.

Problem is, a lot of people don’t choose their company quite so carefully. In fact, I’ve known plenty of people who “call up” negative memories more often than most people call their mother. Deep down, beneath the umbrella, my inner Mary Poppins always knew this was an unhealthy way for them to live. However, until reading the words on page 75, I never realized just how harmful it was to dwell on negative memories.

The more you bring a memory back to mind, the stronger it becomes….

I want to strengthen my good memories, how about you?! As for the bad ones, let’s vow to push them so far out of our minds that a GPS couldn’t help them find their way back.

Front to back, Healthy Brain, Happy Life is a wonderful read. The author brings personality and even “fun” to a very important subject.

You can improve your mind while improving your world and I just told you all about a book that can help you take the next step.

From the Back Cover

The key to a happy life . . . is a healthy brain

From the outside, it looked like Dr. Wendy Suzuki had it all. She was a world-renowned neuroscientist. She had been lauded by her peers with many prizes and had produced many highly regarded scientific publications. She had tenure at a top-ranked university, where she also ran her own lab—two of the most difficult and highly coveted positions for any scientist to attain. And yet . . .

Wendy was forty, frumpy, and focused on her work one hundred percent of the time. She was single, overwhelmed by her responsibilities, and often found herself in uncomfortable, strained interactions with everyone around her. To put it simply, Wendy Suzuki needed to change her life.

She set out on a journey that would transform her body, her mind, and her brain. The first step was exercise and creating a regime that would make her body more fit. In the process, Wendy found herself focusing better, working smarter, and getting more accomplished in a shorter amount of time. As her body changed, her determination grew. Wendy set out to build a more vibrant social life, spark her creativity, and engage in meditation and other mindful activities—using her expertise in neuroscience to pinpoint exactly how these actions not only made her brain work better but also made her feel, well, happy. In Healthy Brain, Happy Life, Wendy Suzuki makes the ultimate mind-body-spirit connection and shows that everything she did for her body changed her brain—and her life—for the better.

Healthy Brain, Happy Life is an accessible blend of memoir and science narrative that will transform the way you think about your brain, your health, and your personal happiness. Through both groundbreaking brain research and personal stories, Wendy offers practical and fascinating ways to improve memory, engage the mind more deeply, and learn new skills that will ultimately transform your body and your life.

About the Author

Wendy Suzuki, PhD, runs an interactive research lab at New York University, where her work has been recognized with numerous awards including the prestigious Troland Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences. She is a two-time TEDx speaker and is regularly interviewed in the media. She lectures nationally and internationally on her research and serves as a reviewer for many of the top neuroscience journals. She lives in New York City.

Billie Fitzpatrick has coauthored numerous books, including several New York Times bestsellers. She specializes in mind-body health, neuroscience, nutrition, and diet and fitness.

Read more about Healthy Brain, Happy Life on Amazon.

Keep those thoughts positive! ~ Joi

Staying Mentally Strong is A Huge Part of Aging Well

February 17, 2016 by Joi Leave a Comment

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.” – Henry Ford

In addition to Self Help Daily, I have a brain health and mental fitness blog, “Out of Bounds.” Mental fitness and all that goes with it (preventing dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, brain strength, overcoming stress, dealing with anxiety, etc) is one of my greatest passions. I spend as much time reading about brain health as I spend reading anything.

If I could recommend just three things to you to incorporate into your life to improve the health of you brain, they would be:

Eating a “heart healthy” diet – lots of fruit, healthy nuts, vegetables, and fish, while cutting WAY back on fried food, saturated fat, red meat, and sugar.
Getting plenty of activity – whether it’s yard work, housework, walking, or yoga… don’t be a couch potato. You do not have to go to a gym or buy special equipment. If you’re moving and grooving, your brain doesn’t know (or care) whether you’re at the gym, on a trail, or in your yard.
Keep learning every single day of your life. Use it or you’ll lose it. Literally.

I’m not going to “mother hen” you about the first two (today anyway), but I do want to encourage you with third. When my girls were little, one of the first things I ingrained into their minds was this: “A day spent without learning something is a day wasted.” Since I home-schooled them from Kindergarten through 12th grade, it was easy to make sure they wasted as little time as possible.

Like my girls, all of us have ample opportunities to learn something new every day as long as we’re in school. The challenge comes when “school isn’t in session,” whether that’s weekends, holidays, summers, or the all-encompassing rest of our lives.

A lot of people have the mistaken assumption that their work or vocation provides “enough” learning. While having a challenging job does help keep our minds active, we need MORE. Why? Well, one reason is the fact that we become programmed to respond to the challenges of our daily job.

For example, I work full-time from home as a blogger/web publisher/writer. While things such as developing a recipe for my food blog, writing a book review, or researching for an article on early-stage dementia keep my brain cells busy, it’s all in my wheelhouse.

However, if I work on developing a recipe in an area I’m not the least bit familiar with (such as Indian cooking) or research/read up on a subject entirely new to me – it’s a wake up call for my brain cells and they love it.

This “in your wheelhouse” dilemma is one of the reasons why so many educated and intelligent people are developing dementia. Each day, they stay firmly in their wheelhouse. Whether they’re afraid they don’t have the time to venture out or they lack the inclination, I honestly believe it’s at least part of their downfall.

So, the lesson for you is this – get out of your wheelhouse and learn more every single day.

One fun, inexpensive, and mentally stimulating way to do just that is to “go back to school” – or to be more precise, “go back to school books.” Get your hands on a few schoolbooks, covering different subjects, and read through them as you did in school…

take notes as you read
look up words you aren’t familiar with
answer the questions that inevitably hold you accountable at the end of each chapter

While I wholeheartedly encourage finding textbooks dealing with your “old favorites” (for me, these would be History, Literature, and English), the real magic happens when you dig deep into those subjects you didn’t particularly care for (my mortal enemies were science, geography, and anything with numbers).

Recently, I sorted through some of the textbooks I saved from my daughters’ home-schooling days and found just what I was looking for Geography for Christian Schools (on Amazon for $1.14, hardback). Geography – one of my mortal enemies. Even when my daughters studied Geography in our home-school, I didn’t immerse myself in the subject – I did as I did in school, payed just enough attention to get by. Aside from the flags of the countries (which I find uncommonly fascinating), all other aspects of Geography always made my eyes glaze over. When I was in school, I’d daydream about my basset hound, Siamese cat, lunch, softball… anything BUT what was in my textbook or on the chalkboard.

I decided to go back this time and REALLY delve in – memorize the capitals of the countries of the world, the desserts, lakes, rivers, and as many other geographically-inclined facts I used to snub. Oddly enough, I’m actually finding it incredibly interesting this time around. Imagine if I’d just paid attention back then.

{Continued Below…}

A Few Tips for Finding/Using Textbooks:

Amazon has A LOT of Textbooks and many are ridiculously cheap. Anyone who home-schools today really has it made. There are textbooks and workbooks for both high school and college. If you really, really, really need to go back and brush up on a subject – start with the lowest grade level needed and move up. When it comes to math, I don’t even want to think how far back I’d have to go. I seriously think I have a math allergy.
When you buy an “older” history or geography textbook, keep in mind that some details and information has, undoubtedly, changed. The fact that you’ll find yourself on Google double-checking information simply means you’re doing more research and using your brain EVEN more.
A lot of used bookstores and “Teacher Supply Stores” have textbooks and workbooks. They’re definitely worth checking out.
If you’re really brave (and we’re talking braver than I am), grab foreign language textbooks and brush up on a language you once knew or even learn a totally new one.
When you come across a subject that’s especially interesting, go deeper. Find more books dealing with the subject and uncover everything you can find online.

You get the picture, wake up those brain cells by snatching them out of their comfort zone. So few good things happen in the comfort zone and that holds especially true for your brain’s fitness and your mental health.

Never stop learning – your future self will thank you for it.

~ Joi

Mental Fitness

100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s (Review of an Outstanding Book)