Sunday, June 17, 2012

Make Your Brain Better

“The holy grail of brain training is [. . .] physical exercise. Simple aerobic exercise, such as walking 45 minutes a day three times a week, improves episodic memory and executive-control functions by about 20 percent, finds Art Kramer of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/01/03/can-you-build-a-better-brain.html

“Kramer finds that a year of exercise can give a 70-year-old the connectivity of a 30-year-old, improving memory, planning, dealing with ambiguity, and multitasking.”

Meditation

Playing Video Games

Newsweek’s The Daily Beast gives these 31 tips for boosting your brain (I first read these in the Newsweek with “Gay Angel Obama” on the cover:

  1. Play Words With Friends
  2. Eat Turmeric
  3. Take Tae Kwon Do (get your heart going)
  4. Get News from Al Jazeera
  5. Toss Your Smartphone
  6. Sleep. A Lot.
  7. Download the TED App
  8. Go to a Literary Festival
  9. Build a ‘Memory Palace’
  10. Learn a Language
  11. Eat Dark Chocolate
  12. Join a Knitting Circle
  13. Wipe the Smile Off Your Face
  14. Play Violent Videogames
  15. Follow These People on Twitter
  16. Eat Yogurt
  17. Install SuperMemo
  18. See a Shakespeare Play
  19. Refine Your Thinking
  20. Hydrate
  21. Check Out iTunes U
  22. Visit MoMa
  23. Play an Instrument
  24. Write By Hand
  25. The Pomodoro Technique
  26. Zone Out
  27. Drink Coffee
  28. Delay Gratification
  29. Become an Expert
  30. Write Reviews Online
  31. Get Out of Town

I also like this summary on Fierce Authenticity.

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