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5 Daily Brain ExercisesMany men are devoted to exercise to bulk up their bodies, but the phrase use it or lose it

applies to more than just the muscles in our bodies -- it also applies to the neural pathways and

connections in our brains. There are a variety of exercises and activities that can successfully

work each of the brains five major cognitive functions on a daily basis. In addition to the tasks

you can perform daily, you can also train your brain withHAPPYneurononline brain games

and a personalized brainfitness program.

Our minds consist of five main cognitive functions:

memory, attention, language, visual-spatial skills, and executive function.

Its important to challenge, stimulate and effectively exercise all five areas to stay mentally sharp

as our brains age. Here are 5 daily brain exercises that can help you do this.

1- MemoryMemory plays a crucial role in all cognitive activities, including reading, reasoning and mental

calculation. There are several types of memory at work in the brain. Taken together, these are the

cognitive skills we may notice most when they begin to fail. To maintain a good memory, you

need to train for it, which can be easier than you think. Listening to music is not only enjoyable,

but by choosing a song you dont know and memorizing the lyrics, you boost the level of

acetylcholine, the chemical that helps build your brain, andimprove your memoryskills.

Challenge yourself even more by showering or getting dressed in the dark or using your opposite

hand to brush your teeth. These challenges help build new associations between different neural

connections of the brain.

2- AttentionAttention is necessary in nearly all daily tasks. Good attention enables you to maintain

concentration despite noise and distractions and to focus on several activities at once. We can

improve our attention by simply changing our routines. Change your route to work or reorganize

your desk -- both will force your brain to wake up from habits and pay attention again. As we

age, our attention span can decrease, making us more susceptible to distraction and less efficient

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at multitasking. By combining activities like listening to an audio book with jogging or doing

math in your head while you drive forces your brain to work at doing more in the same amount

of time

3- Language

Language activities will challenge our ability to recognize, remember and understand words.

They also exercise our fluency, grammatical skills and vocabulary. With regular practice, you

can expand your knowledge of new words and much more easily retrieve words that are familiar.

For example, if you usually only thoroughly read the sports section, try reading a few in-depth

business articles. Youll be exposed to new words, which are easier to understand when read in

context or easier to look up on a dictionary site if you are reading the news online. Take time to

understand the word in its context, which will help you build your language skills and retrieve

the word more readily in front ofyour bossin the future.

4- Visual-SpatialWe live in a colorful, three-dimensional world. Analyzing visual information is necessary to be

able to act within your environment. To work this cognitive function, try walking into a room

and picking out five items and their locations. When you exit the room, try to recall all five items

and where they were located. Too easy? Wait two hours and try to remember those items and

their locations. The next time youre waiting on your coworker or friend to arrive, try this mental

exercise. Look straight ahead and note everything you can see both in front of you and in your

peripheral vision. Challenge yourself to recall everything and write it down. This will force you

to useyour memoryand train your brain to focus on your surroundings.

5- Executive FunctionWithout even realizing it, you use your logic and reasoning skills on a daily basis to make

decisions, build up hypotheses and consider the possible consequences of your actions. Activities

in which you must define a strategy to reach a desired outcome and calculate the right moves to

reach the solution in the shortest possible time are actually fun activities you do daily -- like

social interaction and, yes, video games. Engaging in a brief visit with a friend boosts yourintellectual performance by requiring you to consider possible responses and desired outcomes.

Video games require strategy andproblem-solvingto reach a desired outcome -- like making it

to the final level. Its not justHalo, honey; Im exercising my executive brain functions!

cerebral workout

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As we age, its important to flex our mental muscles as well as our physiques. Now that youre

aware of the five main cognitive functions and how to exercise them, it will be easy to find daily

activities that will help you break a mental sweat and keep your brain in shape. If you need a

little structured help,HAPPYneuronhas fun and challenging games to work the brain in all five

areas, as well as a virtual coach to serve as a personal trainer and ensure you get the most optimal

brain workout for you.

Neurologist & neuropsychologist Dr. Bernard Croisile, author of Dental Floss for the Mind, Get

your Brain in the Fast Lane andBroccoli for the Brain, as well a developer ofHAPPYneuron

online brain fitness program, fills you in how the brains five major cognitive functions are

affected by various types of activities.

How To Increase Your Intelligence and Get Smarter

A new study by Utrecht University finds thatspeeding up the brain's network may increaseintelligence.

In the multi-billion dollar herbal supplement market, many claims have been made that thefollowing supplementsspeed up brain waves:

Essential fatty acids in general Omega 3 fatty acids (As onearticlesays: "Recall that your brain is comprised of at least

60% fat and the fatty or lipid part of your brain helps to transmit information rapidlyacross your neural networks".)

Phosphatidylserine, commonly known by the initials "PS" DHA

And certain types of music - such as certain selections ofMozart- allegedly can speed up your

brain waves

But the Utrecht study doesn't just sayspeedof brain waive propagation is important:

A new study has finally solved the decade-old mystery about where exactly intelligence lies in

human brains after scientists found that it's everywhere.

A team at Utrecht University has found that the most efficiently wired brains belong to the most

intelligent people -- a finding that suggests that improving this efficiency with drugs could offer

a tantalising means of boosting IQ.

According to lead scientist Martijn van den Heuvel, "The concept of a networked brain isn't so

different from the transportation grids used by cars and planes.

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In other words, it is efficiency in the brain's connectivity which may be the key.

Scientists have also discovered that theDasm1 proteinplays an important part in neuralconnectivity:

Researchers have discovered a critical protein that regulates the growth and activation of neural

connections in the brain. The protein functions in the developing brain, where it controls the

sprouting of new connections and stimulates otherwise silent connections among immature

neurons, and potentially in the mature brain as well, where it may play a role in memory

formation.

And as Kenneth Wessonwrites:

Greater brain stimulation promotes an increase in the number of dendrites ("little trees")connecting the billions of cells in the brain. Neurons sprout and re-sprout new dendritesconnecting more and more brain cells throughout one's life giving all of us the neuro-physiological wherewithal to learn throughout our entire lifetime.

Multisensory experiences further extend these plentiful and precious connections throughoutthe entire cerebral cortex and they form additional links with other sub-cortical structures insidethe brain. Conversely, reducing the quantity and/or quality of experiences and learningopportunities diminishes the brain's neural pathways permanently decreasing one's ability tolearn. However, the human brain is capable of creating trillions of interrelated neural networksrendering our capacity to learn virtually limitless, if the proper foundations are laid early in lifeduring the critical periods of the developing brain.

New neural connections are created as a result of incoming information from at least 19 sensorysystems (there are not just five senses)...

While the "power" of a brain can increase in direct relationship to the number ofcellscomposing it, the human brain's capability is best calibrated by the number ofconnections thatdevelop among its billions of brain cells. Neurons are constantly rearranging their 500 trillion-plus connections (via the dendrites) in response to new information and experiences. UCLA's

Arnold Scheibel stated that, "Only when the neuron develops these extensions from itself, does itbegin to significantly increase its surface area as a total unit and provide more and more of alanding field' for other incoming neural messages" coming in from active healthy neurons...

Music at sixty beats per minute (Baroque music, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and others)helps to lower blood pressure and aids in relaxing the body's large muscle groups, which allowsfor a greater amount of blood flow and blood utilization in the human brain. Although the brainis only 2% of the body's weight, it consumes over 20% of the body's energy, nutrients, and

oxygen.

Reducing this vital supply of nutrients and energy to the brain limit its ability to function at itsoptimal levels. The brain requires an excessively large and disproportionate amount of our bloodsupply. Unlike other organs and muscles, it cannot store energy. Consequently, a pint and a halfor blood must flow through the carotid artery (in the neck) and into the brain single everyminute.

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You can also play games to increase your brain function (seethis, for example).

Exercise also helps keep your brain

You can also play games to increase your brain function (seethis, for example).

Moreover, relaxing activities likemeditationandprayerhave been shown to increase brain mass

and connectivity in certain areas of the brain.

On the other hand, high levels of cortisol - the chemical released by the body when one is undercontinuous, unrelenting stress - and poverty canphysically impair the brain and people's abilityto learn.

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