Keep Your Brain Healthy and Happy and Growing

Much research is emerging that indicates the brain can grow, regenerate itself, and adapt more remarkably and with greater potential than we previously understood. Here is a neuroscience primer from the Society for Neuroscience, so you can learn how to strengthen and develop your brain.

BASICS of NEUROSCIENCE

1. The brain is the body’s most complex organ.
2. Neurons communicate using both electrical and chemical signals.
3. Genetically determined circuits are the foundation of the nervous system.
4. Life experiences change the nervous system.
5. Intelligence arises as the brain reasons, plans, and solves problems.
6. The brain makes it possible to communicate knowledge through language.
7. The human brain endows us with a natural curiosity to understand how the world works.
8. Fundamental discoveries promote healthy living and treatment of disease.

PRACTICAL USE
Neurogenesis refers to the process for creating new neurons. In adults, neurogenesis appears to be directly associated with learning and memory. Stress appears to negatively impact neurogenesis.
Neuroplasticity refers to changes in the brain as a consequence of life experiences. This particular concept is getting progressively more attention, especially as it is now understood that brain functions can arise from areas not previously thought to be capable of those functions.

• GET PROPER SLEEP, as adequate rest renews and restores the brain, supporting healthy neurogenesis
• MANAGE STRESS EFFECTIVELY, as doing so optimizes the brain’s adaptation to stress, supporting learning and memory
• EAT PROPERLY, to nourish and strengthen brain tissues and processes
• STAY PHYSICALLY ACTIVE, to maintain appropriate delivery of nutrients and removal of waste from the brain
• KEEP LEARNING for LIFE, as the evidence is substantial that brain changes due to persistent and continuous learning pump up the brain’s ability to adapt to stress, disease, or trauma, like a stroke (CVA or cerebrovascular accident)
• STAY ENGAGED in the world, as sensations, perceptions, experiences, and relationships keep the brain optimally functioning

Two resources for learning about and fostering brain health are SharpBrains: The Brain Health and Fitness Authority’s Top 30 Brain and Fitness Articles of 2008 and Society for Neuroscience’s The Essential Principles of Neuroscience, which discusses the aforementioned basics in greater and more interesting detail.

Stay sharp, sane, and sassy by boosting your brain health.

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