Category Archives: Brain Health

The world is a crazy place, and life is stressful. It’s important to take time for yourself. Headspace is an app that is full of meditations and mindfulness exercises intended to help you relax, focus, improve sleep, and more. There are loads of different meditations and courses to choose from, in a variety of themes. […]

They say that human beings are social animals. It seems intuitive (even for introverts!) that social contact has benefits. Obviously we need other people to fulfill basic needs such making sure that our genes outlive us. Maybe less obviously, we seem to need other people to maintain adequate levels of mental well-being and motivation. Even […]

The Holidays… For most people, this period rhymes with chocolate, tea, coffee, and lots of sweet treats. As we all know, all these are to be consumed in moderate quantities. But what if a mix of coffee and sugar suddenly became legitimate to boost your brain efficiency? A study by a team of Spanish researchers […]

Sometimes the speed of technological advancement and the rate of change is awe-inspiring. In many cases new technology makes our lives easier. Just imagine living without the benefits of wireless communication or the ease of access to information on the Internet. But as technology makes some of our tasks easier, is it changing the way […]

A recent paper with the title “Mental Retirement” is currently suggesting that early retirement may lead to quicker memory decline. According to Laura L. Carstensen from Stanford University. The study suggests that work actually provides an important component of the environment that keeps people functioning optimally. The analysis of the data which was collected for […]

Are you one of the lucky individuals that can remember the face of everyone you meet? If so, there is a good chance that you likely inherited this trait from one of your parents. In a recent study (Human Face Recognition Ability is Specific and Highly Heritable) published in the Proceedings of the National Academy […]

Ever wondered how falling in love actually happens? Or have you ever done something stupid out of love? Professor Stephanie Ortigue, a researcher at Syracuse University, has recently revealed that falling in love happens in your brain, and not in your heart. Not only that, the meta-analysis study also proved that love at first sight […]

Ability tests are nothing new. You need to take the SAT to get into a good college. Athletes at varying levels need to be able to perform physical tests at predetermined levels to join the team. Failing to reach a certain standard can be the difference between success and failure in numerous life situations. Now, […]

In neuroscience news this week, a newly published study by Scott Huettel, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Duke Center for Neuroeconomic Studies) attempts to help disprove the myth that simply aging makes us inferior at financial decision making compared to our younger counterparts. Dr. Huettel’s study was published earlier […]

Just in time for the Holidays, here’s a list of healthy brain foods. Incorporate some into your Holiday feasts with friends and family…. Wholegrain foods: Your memory will love it! It has also been proved that higher levels of folic acid, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6 made it easier for women to recall information. Fortified […]

Cooking is an activity that takes a person through a variety of brain functions. When we take to our kitchens to prepare our favorite dinner recipes, we are also honing many of our cognitive skills. Even before we open our refrigerator to get started, the meal plan must first be put together and organized. This […]

Does brain health suffer during stressful economic times? How? Generally speaking, stress does affect your cognitive capacity and ability. Memory performance decrease, it can become increasingly difficult to difficult to focus, etc.. In fact, when you are stressed out, a number of intrusive thoughts affects your working memory performance, and therefore, your ability to concentrate […]

Doctors and scientists have long known that n-3 fatty acids, also known as omega-3s, are purported to have a positive influence on brain health. If you are concerned with maintaining your cognitive abilities and keeping your brain healthy you likely already sustain a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids through fish, walnuts, supplementation and/or other […]

For more than four centuries it was a common held belief that our brains only developed during childhood and then grew rigid during adulthood lending false credence to the old adage, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” But researchers are continuing to prove that this outdated theory is not accurate and are providing […]

The way our brain stores, maintains and retrieves memory is a fascinating process. It is only recently that neuroscientists and academic researchers are beginning to really understand how this complicated process works. There are three primary ways we process incoming information: sensory memory, short-term (working) memory, and long-term memory. Sensory Memory – Sensory memory is […]

BBC published the results of a ‘brain training’ study in Nature magazine. The show “Bang goes the Theory” funded and conducted a study with 8,600 subjects using a simple set of light-weight computer games, played them for a minimal time and declared to the world that “brain games don’t work”. With so many willing subjects […]

This blog has delivered several articles on ways to keep your memory sharp. Many of you have also inquired about ways to keep your natural energy up throughout the day to help you concentrate better. There are some simple, scientifically proven, things you can do during the course of the day to assist in maintaining […]

It’s important to remind ourselves of some of the simple ways to improve memory. Here are five methods to improve memory based on scientific research: 1) Sleep – Sleep has long been identified by scientists as the state in which our bodies optimize and consolidate newly acquired information and store it as memory. A new […]

Barbara Strauch, the Health and Science Editor for the New York Times, was a guest on NPR’s radio program Fresh Air with Terry Gross last week to discuss the topic of the aging brain and promote her book The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind. During the interview […]