September 18th, 2009 → 1:01 am
@ andre
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If you’ve done a brief read on the internet about brain fitness, you’ll quickly realize that there are a variety of contradicting advice. Which is real? And which is not?
In this article, I want to debunk some of the myths perpetrated on the internet. With ever point I make, I would like to link to the scientific study that found it to be true, so that you know I’m not making these things up.
- Your brain is not fixed and unchanging. You CAN improve even as you age. This is a relatively recent scientific discovery and thus not a lot of the general public is aware of it. A study by Michael Merzenich on Posit Science’s product showed some of the benefits of brain exercises. Click on the link for the clinical results.
- Cognitive diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, chemobrain and schizophrenia is not irreversible. They can be improved and even reversed with brain exercises. Numerous studies have been done of the subject but for now, I’ll leave you with one: You can find the clinical results here.
- Your thoughts are not separate from your body. They do affect you emotionally and physically. Whatever you think of, do become true. A study conducted by Drs Guang Yue and Kelly, published in the Journal of Neurophysiology, found subjects who imagined lifting weights strengthened their muscles by 22%. Thus if you think you are too weak to lift a certain amount of weight, then you’re probably right.
- There is no such thing as “brain health”. There is only holistic health. Your brain, just like any other parts of your body, requires all parts of you to function optimally for itself to function optimally. For example, exercises that strengthens the heart also benefits the brain by increasing blood flow. A strong healthy lung benefits the brain by providing it with sufficient oxygen. Thus when you look to improve your brain, look to improve your health. Most people make the mistake of focusing on the brain (This is due to conventional medicine’s focus on treating the symptoms and not the cause). Here’s how physical exercise benefits the brain and even how your bowel affects your brain.
- Your brain is often compared to a computer – but that comparison is lacking in one aspect: that is you brain adapts and evolve. Your brain is so advanced, it is able to constantly evolve (literally) as long as it has access to sufficient stimulation and building blocks. For example, if you are always learning and exposing yourself to novel experiences, your brain will “learn how to learn” so that the next time you learn a new skill, you’ll be able to master it faster. Here is the news report on the study done on the brain’s adaptability.
Tags: brain health, brain myths
