January 3rd, 2010 → 6:40 am @ andre // No Comments
Doing mental exercises is a great way to stimulate neuron growth. But did you know that there’s an ingredient that neuroscientists only recently discovered that is essential for brain exercises to work? In fact, without this ingredient mental exercises could actually have an opposite effect.
That crucial ingredient is none other than social interaction. Studies on rats have found that rats housed with various to play with – such as a running wheel – had more neurons but this benefit disappears as soon as it is housed in isolation. Not only that, applying stress on these rats did not increase their neuron count but instead decreases it.
No one knows exactly why that is and the results are directly applicable to human beings but I think it would be wise to be careful than be sorry. After all, human beings evolved as social beings. The very reason that we survived as a species is because humans learned to stick and work together.
This kind of group work required more brain power than working in isolation and is thus part of what’s responsible for who we are today. Ironically, the technology humans invented to bring people closer achieved the opposite result. A fundamental element humans evolved with has now suddenly disappears… how could the brain not sensed it?
So here’s the best thing you can do today for your brain health: go out make a few friends. Join the local community and have some social interaction.
Who knows, your brain may spring back to life just from doing this alone?
