Weekly subscriber blog: The Power of the Brain:  If you’re reading this blog then you are interested in how your brain works and how to maximize its potential for your peace of mind and happiness. We all too often neglect to remember how fascinating and extraordinary our brains are.  Among other things, our brain is a muscle and like any other muscle in our body, it improves and is strengthened with use. There are countless studies that prove using our brains in specific ways can actually increase our ability to remember, focus, and enhance our positive thinking ability. This blog is all about giving you the tools to change the way you think and to give you the tools to live your life in a genuine and happy way. Here are some facts about our brains from bebrainfit.com that will blow your mind!

1. The typical brain is about 2% of a body’s weight but uses 20% of its total energy and oxygen intake.
2. Your brain is 73% water. It takes only 2% dehydration to affect your attention, memory and other cognitive skills.
3. Ninety minutes of sweating can temporarily shrink the brain as much as one year of aging.
4. Your brain weighs about 3 pounds. Of that, the dry weight is 60% fat, making your brain the fattiest organ.
5. 25% of the body’s cholesterol resides within the brain. Cholesterol is an integral part of every brain cell. Without adequate cholesterol, brain cells die.
6. No one knows for sure, but the latest estimate is that our brains contain roughly 86 billion brain cells.
7. Each neuron connects with, on average, 40,000 synapses.
8. A piece of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand contains 100,000 neurons and 1 billion synapses all communicating with each other.
9. All brain cells are not alike. There are as many as 10,000 specific types of neurons in the brain.
10. Only 5 minutes without oxygen can cause brain damage.

(From bebrainfit.com)

The wonderful news is that you don’t have to be genius to increase your brain capacity. All you need to do is invest some time to regularly train your brain. Here’s how:

•  Train your brain. Brain games and certain puzzles and brainteasers help create new associations between different parts of the brain, which keeps it sharp. Sudoku, I.Q. tests, math equations, and any other brain game improve the brain’s neuroplasticity.
• Learn to appreciate aesthetically appealing classic design and classical music: Believe it or not, learning to appreciate art, literature, and classical music actually reduces stress and improves your brain function. Begin today to look into each of these categories and learn to appreciate them. A love of these is truly life-changing.
• Add 5- 10 seconds to each of your daily tasks: I have personally found this little trick to be of immense value in my personal life. Take an extra 5- 10 seconds to do anything- brush your teeth, get dressed, run and errand, do the laundry; you will find that by slowing down your rituals you reduce your stress and provide a greater opportunity to be in the moment and mindful which makes all the difference in the world.
• Eat a cognitive enhancing diet. We all know that a good, clean diet will improve all areas of our health, but there are many studies and an increasing amount of evidence that certain foods slow mental decline. Topping the list of brain-boosting food is any food high in Omega 3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, which has been linked to a lower risk of dementia and improved focus and memory
• Memorize: Take up a language, an instrument, memorize phone numbers, bank accounts, Bible verses, or poetry. Memory is best improved by using it.
• Volunteer. Research shows that this can lower your stress levels and increase mental functioning. Volunteering adds to a person’s well-being and overall health. Not only does it feel good, but it promotes brain health by raising self-worth.
• Look at beautiful photos and images regularly: We all know how powerful a great photo can be. We know the emotional draw it can have and with all of the technological advantages at our disposal, choose to find great inspiring imagery online to improve your attitude and send serotonin into your brain in a healthy way. This is exactly why we have the imagery on our website here- it’s a powerful tool to create a mindset.  One of my favorite sites is the thefullerview.com

• Learn to think positively

Stress & anxiety actually kill existing brain neurons and also stop new neurons from being created. Research has shown that positive thinking, especially in the future tense, speeds up the creation of cells and dramatically reduces stress & anxiety. Learning to “thought-stop” negative thoughts and begin to replace them with positive ones is one of the most important skills we address in our Mastering Life’s ride program. Our freedom subscribers can learn how we do it!!

• Read a book

I have an entire series coming on the benefits of reading but suffice to say that reading several times a day can increase your vocabulary, self-worth, memory and imagination which allows for a healthy form of reverie. In order to maximize this, experts say to read entire books not simply articles or blogs. I suggest any of the classics. Look for my series on this!

• Read Challenging material: studies show that challenging your mind by reading material that requires an extra amount of effort to conceptually grasp will improve brain function and memory as well as make your smarter!!
• Get enough sleep: Sleepcan NEVER be overrated. It is absolutely vital to good health and optimal cognitive function.  This is when your body regenerates cells and removes all the toxins that have built up during the day. Power napping has been shown to increase brain function and longevity. 15-20 minutes is all it takes.