Monday, March 26, 2012

Attaining Your Dreams May Be Determined by Brain Fitness

The ability to conduct simple daily activities is hinged on brain fitness. Balance and co-ordination and other locomotive functions are all the brain’s doing. Apart from the physical, intellectual functions like planning and decision making require a perfectly working brain. Factors that challenge brain fitness include poor diet, depression and drugs. Lack of exercise; both physical and mental exercise, result in low brain fitness.

Poor diet may either refer to malnourishment or the taking of unhealthy foods. Malnourishment deprives the brain of essential energy and causes significant reduction in cognitive functions. Lack of water is especially known to cause the brain to shrink. If prolonged, poor feeding will not only cause low brain fitness but also irreversible brain damage. Foods with a lot of fat on the other hand will increase the risk of blood clots and aneurism. Even before such blockage occurs, the brain fitness will decline due to poor circulation and low oxygen.

Exercising has been proven to not only increase cardiovascular fitness but also influences brain fitness. Physical exercise increases circulation and removes harmful toxins through sweat. It is also regarded as a stress remover which contributes to the brain’s overall health. After a hearty exercise session, an individual releases endorphins which help in better oxidation and hormone balance. Stress and depression cause poor brain fitness and may deteriorate to diseases like dementia and schizophrenia.

Brain fitness must therefore start with good physical and mental health. The right diet should be taken as well as the right medicine. To deal with depression or emotional instability, it is recommended that the individual should seek therapy and other support systems. Next the subject should indulge in brain fitness activities that boost memory and mental manipulation. These may be in the form of games and puzzles. Simple habits such as reading and activities that require calculation will greatly increase brain fitness.

Brain fitness does not only mean increasing one’s intelligence quotient, but also increasing emotional intelligence. This means that one must be able to interact with people meaningfully without buckling under social pressure. Being socially cognitive enables one to sustain important relationships. Social interaction requires one to process a lot of information and those with impaired brain fitness find this difficult to do. Developmental disorders such as child abuse and autism adversely affect cognitive social behavior.

Some of the brain’s impressive abilities are taken for granted in everyday life. These are such as facial recognition and voice recognition. Such unconscious processes are not subject to brain fitness training but are considered to be innate. A brain fitness program is designed only to improve cognitive function only. The exercises are important to combat the threat of dulling of these functions by malaise and aging. Memory is usually the first victim of mental impairment which throws all other cognitive functions off balance. The restoration of brain fitness often requires a concerted effort of socializing, exercise, diet and supplements. It may also need a specialist for specific problems or a coach to aid with one’s progress in the neuroscience field.

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