Strategies to Boost your Brain Power
Brain Food
Boost your brain power
diet and exercise
Increase your Creative Flow
Yoga breathing exercises
to clear mental fatigue
Aroma Therapy relaxers
& energizers
Feed your brain
Mashed Potatoes: The new brain food
Mashed potatoes and barley have the power to improve memory minutes after consumption. These common carbohydrates especially help the elderly and people with bad memories. "The worse a subject's memory, the more improvement there seems to be," said researcher Randall Kaplan of the University of Toronto. As our population ages, investigating what foods enhance or prevent the decline of mental function, will help find food -based treatments of illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease.
In the last ten years most of the research has been focused on the effects of glucose, a naturally occurring sugar. In one study, participants who ingested a glucose drink had test results showing improved memory. Kaplan tested the effect of mashed potatoes, because they are easy to digest and have a high glucose content which reaches the brain in 15 minutes.
Glucose evidently helps brain function and memory in particular, because it aids production of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter (chemical substance) that enables one neuron to communicate with another. Kaplan says that people with impaired memory tend to have a deficient supply of acetylcholine.
In memory testing experiments, Kaplan's subjects improved their memory retention by 37% after eating barley, 32% after eating mashed potatoes and 8% after consuming the glucose drink. It is clear carbohydrates play a role in memory retention but the reason is not yet known. Further studies are planned to examine the effects of fats and proteins on the mind.
—(Source: The Globe and Mail 10/26/99)
Feed your Brain with Herbs, Vitamins and Minerals
Gingko bilboa and gotu kola increase blood flow to the brain. (Check with your doctor first before taking these herbs.)
Boron is essential for memory and attention. Sources include apples, pears and green leafy vegetables.
Vitamin B is essential for brain power. Sources include peas, beans, liver, kidney, chicken and eggs.
Aroma Therapy
A few drops of essential oils in your bath or in a diffuser will relax and refresh you. You can also put a drop or two in a cotton ball or hanky and inhale.
Warning: If you use aroma therapy in your office. use caution. Some oils can cause allergic reactions, and some can pose a danger to pregnant women.
Energizers include:
Peppermint, Cypress and lemon.
Relaxants include:
Ylang ylang, Geranium and rose
Boost your Brain Power with Exercise
Relaxation and good health are essential pre-requisites to creative thinking. The body and mind should be operating at peak efficiency through a balanced diet, exercise, rest and fresh air.
Angeles Arrien says we need to be outdoors for at least one hour a day to stay balanced. We also need enough sleep to optimize our brainpower.
The benefits of exercise:
n Juices up the brain with nutrients in the form of glucose. The more glucose it uses, the more active the brain.
n Increases nerve connections to the brain
n Increases oxygen in the bloodstream that is delivered to the brain
n Releases endorphins into the bloodstream (the runner's high)
n Meditative rhythm of the running / walking / swimming – quiets mindful chatter, allowing your imagination to flow.
How to overcome mental fatigue with Yoga breathing.
Kapala Bhati
Kapala Bhati is a series of forced exhalations: exhale quickly and lightly through the nose, letting the inhalation occur as a natural reflex. Do this for up to one minute, then rest and breathe normally. Repeat exhalations. Begin with 3 rounds of 30 exhalations and gradually increase to 10 rounds of 60.
Kapala Bhati purifies the head area, clears mental cobwebs, calms the mind and the breath.
Important: Persons with high blood pressure or lung disease should not practice this exercise.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
1. Gently exhale all air. Close the right nostril with the thumb of the right hand and inhale slowly and deeply through the left nostril.
2. Close the left nostril with the ring finger, releasing the thumb, and exhale through the right.
3. Inhale through the right nostril, then close it with the thumb and exhale through the left. This makes one round.
Begin with 10 rounds and gradually increase to 40.
Imagine a brilliant clear light in the middle of your head as you do this. This exercise purifies the mind and calms the emotions.
Linda Naiman
www.creativityatwork.com
