Games Are Good For Brain : 10 Reasons To Play!!!

Games for the brain sound like a good idea!!!!

train your brain!!!

But are they really or are they just a waste of time?   we hear a lot about the negative impacts of children playing too many video games, so you must be wondering... why would games for the brain can be good..

Everything in moderation of course, but read on to discover 10 reasons to incorporate brain games into your daily workout routine:

1)       Brain exercise – Brain games challenge our language, math and problem-solving skills in ways that we may not otherwise find in our daily routine.
 
2)   Verbal Skills – Language based brain games help keep your vocabulary strong.  Games for the brain that encourage word finding are particularly beneficial. 
 
 3)     Creativity – Some brain games help stimulate right-brain thinking.  Look for games for the brain that include open-ended problem solving activities.  Think outside the box to solve problem.   At Shirsa, one of our favorites is Color Switch – give it a try.
 
4)     Memory Skills – Research shows that short-term memory skills can be improved by playing games for the brain.  Short-term memory skills can fade without stimulation as we age.  Practice holding new information in your mind and recalling it back.  Play games like Memorica, Memorica swing, Word Bubble to give your memory a workout.
 
 5)    Socialization – Not all games for the brain need to be played on the computer.  Find a friend and get out a deck of cards or the Scrabble board.  Enjoy socializing while you play.
 
6)  Change is good for the brain – Exposing your brain to a variety    of                                     cognitive tasks including online games for the brain can help support neuron growth in the brain.  Novel exercises are key, so change up your crossword puzzle and opt for more mathematical, language, novel games with Shirsa for twice or thrice a week.
 
7)    Hand eye coordination – Studies show that surgeons who played games for the brain a few hours a week had improved accuracy and efficiency during surgery.
 
8)    Stress Relief – Taking a short break to tackle a fun challenge can help you relax and provide a brief distraction from your current frustrations.
 
 
 9)  Pure Fun – Breaking away from your daily work to have fun is both good for your brain and offers you something to look forward to.  Use game time as a reward for completing your current task.
 
10)  Not So costly – There are many good  brain games available online or with a simple deck of cards.  Building a brain-healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to buy costly package.  Work to make small changes each day and enjoy some exercises with Shrisa
 

- Team Shirsa

Is It repetition That Makes Strong Connection??

When playing with a child, signing a song, or reading a book together, you might frequently hear, "Do it again!!" We all have probably heard this request. 

Connections in your brain

This repetition is exactly what the developing brain needs. When experiences are repeated, the brain creates strong pathways of connections based on those experiences. The brain then retains those connections. 

If an experience doesn't happen frequently the brain eliminates connections made from those experiences. As explained it in our earlier blog as well the brain adapts to the environment it is exposed to. The "use it or loose it" process explains how this adaptation takes place. The brain adapts skills needed for survival and success for the world in which it lives. 

As a result, for healthy brain development and helping a child thrive, positive environments and experiences are needed.  Shirsa program for kids includes an activity which helps you to develop new connection among your young ones.

- Team Shirsa

Ready To Test Your Exec­u­tive Atten­tion Capacity?

stroop test

Quick! say aloud what color you see in every word, NOT the word you read.

Expla­na­tion: 

The Stroop test is used in neu­ropsy­cho­log­i­cal eval­u­a­tions to mea­sure men­tal vital­ity and flex­i­bil­ity, since per­form­ing well requires strong atten­tion and self-regulation capability.

Enjoy the day. You can enjoy many more mind and brain teasers with Shirsa.me. 

- Team Shirsa

Shirsa : A Complete Health package.

Shirsa has your brain covered......

Our comprehensive training program enhances brain health and performance using clinically validated tools designed by neuroscientists.  Through Shirsa users can experience benefits that include:

Shirsa Package

• Clearer and quicker thinking
• Faster problem-solving skills
• Increased alertness and awareness
• Better concentration at work or while driving
• Sharper memory for names, numbers, and directions

No matter who you are, your brain needs care. 

Invest a few minutes today, and you could reap the rewards for years to come.

Your brain will thank you.

- Sukhada Desai

"Smart" Foods To Your Daily Routine ~ The Science Of Eating

- Team Shirsa

Your Brain By The Numbers..........

- Team Shirsa

How much time does Shirsa takes in a day?

Brain training exercises

Shirsa exercises is designed so that you can spend as little as ten minutes to as much time as you like in it at any given time. 

Any training is better than none! 

A good rule of thumb is to follow the basic guidelines for physical exercises: As We do physical exercises to keep our body fit same way do brain exercise to keep your brain fit.

 Use it at least 10-15 minutes a day, and your brain will thank!!!!!!!! 

- Sukhada Desai

Is Shirsa Proven To Work? Have Studies Been Published?

Shirsa Proven to Work

Yes. Dozens of journal articles supports the impact of  brain training exercises on normal aging adults. 

These indicate that the Shirsa not only improves key standard measures of cognitive function (including speed and accuracy of processing, attention, and memory), they also improve key standard measures of quality of life (including health-related quality of life, feelings of control, depressive symptoms, and functional independence). 

If you are interested in learning more about our studies, click here. 

- Sukhada Desai

How Does Shirsa Achieve These Benefits?

Shirsa's exercises are based on a handful of powerful ideas. Unlike previous cognitive training, they do not try to fix a problem by practicing it—they don’t improve memory by practicing memory. 

Rewiring the Brain

Instead, the exercises start with elemental cognitive function by first improving the speed and accuracy of your sensory perceptions. This becomes the foundation for improved attention. Improved attention is the building block of working memory, and working memory is the building block of much else—immediate memory, delayed memory, episodic memory, executive function, reasoning, speech and language, visual-spatial skills, and so on. No one has taken this complete bottom-up approach to cognitive training before.

In addition, our scientists are experts in brain plasticity, the ability of the brain to re-wire and change. Each exercise draws on what experts have learned in recent years about driving change in the brain.

Training must be focused on improving speed to meet real-world conditions; it must intensively and progressively improve accuracy; it must adapt continuously and minutely (by thousandths of a second) to each person’s performance; it must be designed so the task gradually generalizes to real-world experience; it must be engaging in a way that stimulates neurotransmitters (chemicals in the brain that enhance attention, learning and mood) and that brings you back to do the exercises again and again.

- Sukhada Desai

What Benefits You Can Get From Using Shirsa?

Benefits of Brain training

Improving your brain’s performance has the potential to bring countless benefits to your everyday life. 

Both science studies and customer stories show Shirsa speeds up thinking, sharpens attention, and enhances memory—and these benefits lead to myriad others ... from safer driving to feeling more confident in conversations. 

If you’d like to read about benefits our users have seen,  click here.  For a description of the most common benefits of Shirsa,  click here. For a description of science studies and their results, click here.


- Sukhada Desai

What Is Shirsa???????????

Shirsa.me

We are very Glad to inform you that the beta version of our  portal shirsa: a personalized brain training platform' is live now. 

Shirsa means brain in Sanskrit.....

We all are very much aware about 'Shirsasana' (head down exercise in yoga), which improve blood circulation to brain, Shirsa  resembles and gives same effect of 'Shirsasana'.

Brief about Shirsa:

Shirsa is a personalized brain training program, which helps you to improve  your cognitive skills like speed, attention, focus, critical thinking, problem solving, visual perception, task switching, multitasking and etc, for all ages.

Shirsa provides solution in form of online brainy exercises, by which users can initiate growth of new neuron cell by regular exercising (10-15 mins a day) with shirsa.me

The solution provided by Shirsa has scientific validation, visit our site for more details, 

- Sukhada

How Does Attention Relate To Brain Fitness?

Attention

Does it drive you crazy when you can’t remember where you put your keys? You probably weren’t paying much attention when you set them down.

When You really pay attention to something, you remember it better. Focusing your attention causes your barin to rlease special chemicals that strengthen learning and memory. It’s one of the clever ways your brain keeps track of what matters to you, and lets go of what doesn’t.

It’s all too easy to pay less attention than we intend to. We get out of practice. Re-training your brain to focus better is a key part of improving memory!

   -  Team Shirsa

How Much You Know About Alzhemier???

Questions on Alzheimer

More than 5 million Indian have Alzheimer’s disease, and that   number could climb to 16 million by 2050. Women face a higher risk of developing it than men, and are also more likely to become caregivers.

Take this quiz to see how much you know about Alzheimer’s. Solution are below only but try to answer the questions first.

1.At what age can early-onset Alzheimer’s occur?

In your 30's
In your 40's
In your 50's

2.You’re more likely to develop Alzheimer’s if which relative had it, according to a recent study?

Your father
Your mother
Your brother

3.Which health issue has been associated with a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s?

A broken arm
A head Injury
Tonsillitis

4.You follow a healthy diet and exercise frequently to help ward off Alzheimer’s. What else can play a preventive role?

Avoiding tobacco
Eliminating caffeine
Playing golf

5.Problems with which of these bodily organs have been associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s?

The heart
The liver
The kidneys

Turn Off Your Television Now!!!!!!!!!!!

watching television

An Australian study recently released a shocking finding: every hour of television a person watches shortens their life by an average of 22 minutes. 

Looking at the behavior of 11,000 participants, the Queensland scientists found that people who watched around 6 hours of TV each day lived an average of almost 5 years less than people who never watched TV. 

This research corroborates another recent study from Harvard. The Harvard team found that TV watchers are at a significantly greater risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and early death than people who don’t watch TV.

Perhaps the most sobering statistic cited by the Australian team: if TV didn’t exist, the average life expectancy for women would be 1.5 years longer for women and 1.8 years longer for men.

Before you throw your TV out, consider this aspect of the finding: it’s probably not the TV itself that’s causing the problem- it’s the fact that because you’re watching TV, you’re not doing other, more active things. 

The researchers in both studies agree that watching a lot of TV is strongly correlated with reduced physical activity and poor eating habits. So if the only TV you watch is at the gym while you’re on a treadmill, this finding may not apply to you.

Not sure what to do now that your TV is off? Visit our Shirsa.me to learn quick brain fitness tips and to learn more about how to choose daily activities that boost your brain instead of draining it.

- Team Shirsa

Optical illusion

optical illusion

What did you see in this picture?

Interesting secrets of brain!!!

While doing research for Shirsa, i came across to an interesting article from Glamour Magazine’s February 2008 issue talks about 5 secrets of your brain.  The article was based on the content written by neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt, Ph.D., coauthor of Welcome to Your Brain, speaks about in her book.

While I question whether any of them are really a ‘secret’, I do find Secrets #2 and #3 interesting and relevant for those interested in Brain Fitness.

Secret #2: Because of sex hormone’s in a woman’s brain, women tend to be able to recall objects’ locations better than men – such as where you parked your car or left your glasses.  The ability to recall locations relies on what is often referred to as Visual Working Memory.  One of our products, actually focuses on improving visual working memory.

Secret #3: Human brains do have a memory peak in their thirties.  And unfortunately, as we age, our memories do get weaker.  Dr. Aamodt suggests physical exercise as the best way to stay sharp as exercise increases blood flow to the brain.  However, we also have proven that brain fitness exercises like those in The Brain Fitness Program can also keep your memory sharp well into your later years.

- Team Shirsa

Use it or lose it!!

You want your retired life should be like this as shown in the picture? , think again! A recent paper with the title “Mental Retirement” is currently suggesting that early retirement may lead to quicker memory decline.
According to study conducted by  Laura L. Carstensen from Stanford University, suggests that work actually provides an important component of the environment that keeps people functioning optimally.” The analysis of the data which was collected for the study suggested people may have to engage in stimulating activities to preserve memory and reasoning skills after their retirement.

The study which was published by economists Susann Rohwedder and Robert J. Willis in The Journal of Economic Perspectives supports the “use it or lose it” theory, further they also supports the idea that cognitively stimulating activities may delay cognitive aging. 

It was started about 20 years ago by the National Institute on Aging on a sample of 22,000 Americans who were submitted to memory tests every two years. Several European then started their own national studies and are being followed by countries such as Japan and Corea, using similar proceedings in order to obtain comparable data. It was found that “the longer people in a country keep working, the better, as a group and also lives healthy, think healthy!!!

- Team Shirsa

Want to burn calories? Think hard!

Are you aware that  thinking burns calories? I wasn’t knowing about  that till now, and today while doing some research for Shirsa,  I came across a Q&A article in New Scientist on this topic. According to behavorial neuroscientist Ewan McNay, who has conducted research in some particular area,

“A rough calculation suggests that thinking hard about a task for 30 minutes might burn about 1/30th of a gram of fat. Thinking is not likely to turn an intellectual couch potato into a lean machine.”

Some other neuroscientist  ‘Roger Hicks said it in a simpler way :

“It appears that the thinking part of brain function,  consumes a relatively small amount of extra energy and is therefore of little use in weight loss-unless, of course, some of that thinking is aimed at producing exercise.”

My  suggestion is, better sign off your computer and hit the gym. As there’s lots of evidences  shows  that  physical exercise is good for your brain too, instead thinking hard!!!!

-  Team Shirsa

I've got one more reason to hate traffic!!!

I’ve recently noticed several studies related the effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution on brain function and longevity. The research shows that air pollution may harm the brain and affect cognitive processes negatively.

One study looked at people over the age of 51 and found that those who lived in areas with a lot of air pollution had lower cognitive scores than people who had lived in unpolluted areas. The results were normed to take social status and education level into account.

In a second study, conducted at Ohio State University, the research team looked at the effect of pollution particulates in the brain of mice. They found that exposure to pollutants affected the hippocampus- the brain area responsible for learning and memory formation. The exposed mice’s hippocampi had less neuronal growth than those who were not exposed.

Even the London Telegraph reported couple of years back, that the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) had identified as many as 200,000 Britons were exposed to levels of pollution that appeared to shorten their lives significantly–by an average of about two years.

This is a very impotant field of study, and Shirsa is looking forward to seeing additional research findings in this area, as we have many people who identify as suffering from “pollution-related cognitive decline” and seek solutions for improving brain function.

- Team Shirsa