Can the brain shrinkage that happens to us with aging be reversed? Can we actually grow back our brain and boost our memory in our 60s and 70s?
The answers seem to be Yes and Yes [Read more…] about Study: A personalized, multi-modal brain fitness program can help grow hippocampal volume and improve brain function
Good coaches get results, respect, and awards. But what makes a coach or mentor good?
One school of thought says they should hold their mentees to specific performance benchmarks and help them reach those benchmarks by targeting their personal weaknesses.
But new research suggests a different tack—namely, to nurture a mentee’s strengths, aspirations for the future, and goals for personal growth. Indeed, [Read more…] about The neuroscience of positive, vision-based coaching
Time for SharpBrains’ July 2013 e‑newsletter, featuring a variety of resources and articles at the frontier of applied neuroplasticity and brain fitness. Enjoy the brain food!
New resources:
New science:
New technology:
Finally, please make sure to review the impressive Speaker Roster at the upcoming 2013 SharpBrains Virtual Summit (Sept 19–20, held over the Internet so there is no need to travel). We hope you can join us!
Have a great summer.
Dr. Justin Kennedy holds the position of Professor of Organizational Behavior and Regional Dean of Africa at UGSM-Monarch Business School Switzerland. He holds a Doctor of Professional Studies with UGSM-Monarch Business School Switzerland as well as a Bachelor of Social Science in Psychology from Rhodes University, SA. Dr. Kennedy returned to the academic field after a 20 year international corporate career in Ireland, New York and South Africa.
Prof. Kennedy, please tell us a bit about your personal and professional background
I worked as a management consultant and executive coach until I had an accident and fell into a coma. I became interested in the brain after recovering from it, with the help of my brother. [Read more…] about Interview: The SharpBrains Guide, adopted as core reader in neuroscience and coaching course
We offered some Brain Fitness Predictions in our Market Report , including…
“7. Doctors and pharmacists will help patients navigate through the overwhelming range of available products and interpret the results of cognitive assessments. This will require significant professional development efforts, given that most doctors today were trained under a very different understanding of the brain than the one we have today.”
The American Medical News, a weekly newspaper for physicians published by the American Medical Association, just published an excellent article along those lines:
Steps to a nimble mind: Physical and mental exercise help keep the brain fit
— Neuroscience is uncovering techniques to prevent cognitive decline.
A few quotes:
- It’s an example that highlights a wave of new thinking about the importance of brain fitness.
- Until recently, conventional wisdom held that our brains were intractable, hard-wired computers. What we were born with was all we got. Age wore down memory and the ability to understand, and few interventions could reverse this process. But increasingly, evidence suggests that physical and mental exercise can alter specific brain regions, making radical improvements in cognitive function.
- With nearly 72 million Americans turning 65 over the next two decades, physicians need the tools to handle growing patient concerns about how to best maintain brain health. Armed with this new brand of science, frontline physicians will be better equipped to address the needs of aging baby boomers, already in the throes of the brain fitness revolution.
- “Encourage them to exercise the brain in novel and complex ways,” he says.
Full article: here
One of the physicians quoted in the article is Gary J. Kennedy, MD, Director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in NYC and a professor in the Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
To put the AMA article in better perspective for SharpBrains readers, we asked Dr. Kennedy a few follow-up questions. Below you have his questions.
Alvaro Fernandez (AF): Can you summarize how cognitive functions tend to evolve as we age?
Gary Kennedy (GK): As we age cognitive functions that rely on [Read more…] about Physical and mental exercise to prevent cognitive decline
Psychologist Robert Emmons recently told us about the many benefits of practicing gratitude.
- “First, the practice of gratitude can increase happiness levels by around 25%. Second, this is not hard to achieve — a few hours spent writing a gratitude journal over 3 weeks can create an effect that lasts 6 months if not more. Third, that cultivating gratitude brings other health effects, such as longer and better quality sleep time.”
Thanksgiving flew by for me this year without my taking the time to express gratitude to many of the people who have been so generous with their time and advice.
Given that this is a blog, I would like to say Thank You! to the following bloggers [Read more…] about Gratitude and Appreciation: from Theory to Practice
