Are You Ready To Jump Start Your Brain Training??

Jump Start Your Brain Training Now!!!

Some popular brain game programs are entertaining to be sure, but not a truly demanding workout like what is necessary to see real changes. It's sort of like playing ping-pong, its fun and engaging but not very demanding as an exercise. 

You certainly develop some skills like eye-hand coordination, but really you only get better at ping-pong and those skills just aren't as useful in other aspects of your life.Just like basic strength, endurance and fitness training can benefit you in almost any physical endeavor (including ping pong), So can brain training that improves memory/recall, concentration, processing speed and sequencing/shifting(decision making).

 These exercises may be less entertaining, but much more important to the overall goal of brain fitness. This is very much like the process for physical training, you gauge the effectiveness of your workout by how much you can now lift, or how far you can run, or throw a ball, etc... Professional and amateur athletes will never tell you they got where they are by luck or giftedness. 

The fact is they all train very hard to improve their "talents", and the beauty part is, anyone can improve, physically and mentally, directly related to the investment in effort given to exercise.

- Team Shirsa

Why isn’t brain health on top of your mind?

Recently I’ve been speaking to peoples about what a healthy lifestyle means to them.  The reason I’m doing this is to understand where brain health fits in with overall health:  eating right, exercise and emotional health.  What I mostly hear from folks is that brain health isn’t top of mind unless someone has a close family member suffering from a disease like Alzheimer, dementia.

Most of the people want to stay mentally fit as they grow older but they don't have specific things  doing about it, and the reason is they don’t see or feel a need for it yet. 

 What’s striking to me about this is that the same people will go on and on about what they do for their physical exercise, a healthy diet and in some cases, therapy or meditation for mental health.  They attend Weight Watchers and track their points religiously.  They don’t miss a day with gym.  They hit the gym and track how much weight they move.  They shop at the  market weekly for organic vegetables, use little salt in their foods, etc.  They attend yoga and aerobics.  And they do these and that things to be healthy overall.

 But why not brain health?  Why hasn’t it hit mainstream yet? 

 I think its just a matter of time.  We need to continue to get the word out to the news media about how important brain health is.  Its not about waiting until you are 70 anymore to do something about your brain health.  Its about living a brain healthy lifestyle from now until you are 70 and afterwards. 

  Earlier in 80s people use to eat a high-fat diet and rarely exercised.  There were no gyms.  And as far as mental health, it wasn’t ‘normal’ to go to therapy till last decades. 

 So, I am hopeful we’ll see the same phenomenon with brain health and brain fitness.  The more the media writes about it, the more mainstream health insurance and doctors acknowledge the benefits and the more we talk to our friends of any age about it, the faster we’ll spread the word and make it mainstream.  
Someday brain fitness will be top of mind just like eating healthy and exercising. I just hope it comes sooner than later.

- Team Shirsa