Saturday, February 18, 2012

Brain Power!


           Forget where you put your car keys last night? Guilty…this happens to me all the time. Juggling long hours at work, being a full-time student, remembering to pay bills, and attempting to have a social life can add up to major stress levels by the end of the day. All of this stress takes a toll on the brain! To keep the brain in fine tuned condition, there are several lifestyle changes that can be made to lead to a more memorable life. Let’s face it; you or me aren’t getting any younger! Doing the following seven-step exercise and diet plan can increase brainpower:
           
1: Get that heart rate goingà As little as 30 minutes of walking a day increases blood flow to the brain and reverses the shrinking of brain cells. The results? Better memory!
2: Tone up lower back & absà Have you seen how obnoxious college books are? Getting around with out carrying heavy weight is unrealistic. The down side: you’re hurting your back AND brain capacity. Another reason to tone up
3: Keep it below 25à maintaining a BMI below 25 & decrease loss of brain tissue in the memory factory of the brain, the temporal lobe. Excess fat contributes to toxic chemicals eating away at your memory.
4: An apple a dayà we all know the saying, well put it into action! Apples contain high levels of the antioxidant quercetin that can help defend against damage.
5: Complex imagesà engaging photos is like lifting weights to build up the brain.
6: Me gustaà Spanish. French. Chinese. It doesn’t matter, picking up a second language at any age showed a 35% increase in gray matter (darker tissue in the brain, a.k.a. intelligence)
7: Shop till you dropà Yep, that’s real. A study found that 75-year-old women had better brain function than 75-year-old men due to a little thing called shopping. All the physical and mental activity that goes into it benefits our minds…and wardrobe!

More information can be found at Women’s Health Magazine


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