Neuroimaging study shows how being “in the zone” requires intensive practice first and then learning to surrender

Flow, or being “in the zone,” is a state of amped-up cre­ativ­i­ty, enhanced pro­duc­tiv­i­ty and bliss­ful con­scious­ness that, some psy­chol­o­gists believe, is also the secret to hap­pi­ness. It’s con­sid­ered the brain’s fast track to suc­cess in busi­ness, the arts or any oth­er field. But in order to achieve flow, a per­son must first devel­op a strong…

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Update: Promote brain plasticity by taking your daily exercise pill — physical and cognitive

Wel­come to a new edi­tion of Sharp­Brains’ e‑newsletter, fea­tur­ing nine sci­en­tif­ic reports and indus­try devel­op­ments to help pro­mote life­long brain health. #1. A must-read, and must-prac­tice: Pro­mote brain plas­tic­i­ty and keep your mind at ease by tak­ing your dai­ly “exer­cise pill” #2. If cog­ni­tive stim­u­la­tion came in a pill it’d be worth a quadrillion, give or…

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Helping young brains fight off anxiety by training and raising cognitive control

Anx­i­ety is one of the most com­mon child­hood men­tal dis­or­ders. About 7% of chil­dren suf­fer from it at any giv­en time, with near­ly 1 in 3 ado­les­cents expe­ri­enc­ing it some­time dur­ing their teen years. For an anx­ious child, seem­ing­ly nor­mal activ­i­ties can be hard. Wor­ried kids have trou­ble adjust­ing to school, mak­ing friends, and learn­ing. They…

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Study: Strenuous physical exercise may lead to cognitive –not just physical– fatigue

__________ Too Much Exer­cise Can Tire Our Brains Out, Too (Dis­cov­er Mag­a­zine D‑brief): “For years, the Nation­al Insti­tute of Sports, Exer­cise and Per­for­mance (INSEP) in France had been study­ing an unusu­al phe­nom­e­non. If an athlete’s work­out reg­i­ments were ramped up, it didn’t always lead to a bet­ter per­for­mance — even if that ath­lete felt like…

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