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Mental rotation refers to moving things around in your mind. It is one of the main visuospatial skills we all have…in different degrees, yes.

Here’s an exam­ple. Please pic­ture in your mind an arrow point­ing to the right. Now, turn this arrow so it points to the left. Done? You have just per­formed a men­tal rota­tion. Read the rest of this entry »

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AARP just released a very interesting brain health research study based on 1,200 online interviews conducted in August 2014. Key findings include:

• Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important to all consumers (99% find it at least somewhat important). Brain health is the second most important component in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, after heart health (37% find brain health most important while 51% find heart health most important). Younger consumers Read the rest of this entry »

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Brain teaser: Please con­sider Linda, a 31-year-old woman, sin­gle and bright. When she was a stu­dent, in high school and in col­lege too, she was deeply involved in social jus­tice issues, and also par­tic­i­pated in environmental protests. Which is more prob­a­ble about Linda’s occu­pa­tion today? Read the rest of this entry »

Time for Sharp­Brains’ May 2014 e-newsletter. If you’re look­ing for new think­ing, research and tools to enhance life­long brain health and performance, you’re in the right place…

New thinking:

• For cognitive training to work, it must induce neuroplasticity in brain regions that matter
• Which kind of mindfulness meditation to choose? Comparing sitting meditation, body scan, and mindful yoga
• Neurofeedback treatment for ADHD is gaining strong support
• Larry King interviews Alvaro Fernandez on Brain Fitness!
• What cognitive skills are for (or, is the Internet making us dumber?)
• What “some kind of asset” are we talking about?

New research:

• Finally, growing awareness of chemotherapy-induced cognitive deficits
• Mindfulness can modify stress-related brain behavior
• Use and misuse of ADHD drugs and nootropics among teenagers and toddlers
• On brain development, socioeconomic status and parenting styles
• Sleeping less than 5 hours, or more than 9, can lead to cognitive decline

New tools:

• New online cognitive self-assessment by Cogniciti (Baycrest): a thermometer for the mind?
• Mind games that can sharpen the brain
• Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center adopts Intelligym cognitive training
• Registration open for 2014 SharpBrains Virtual Summit: Shaping the Practice and the Future of Brain Fitness

Have a great month of June! To start on the right foot, you may want to tease your mind with this visual illusion…

Cheers,

The SharpBrains Team

Mind games that can sharpen the brain (Miami Herald):

“A great resource for finding “mind games,” or what’s popularly know as “brain training,” is the website of SharpBrains, a company that tracks health and wellness applications of brain science. Its founder and CEO, Alvaro Fernandez, writes in his blog that, “Anything we do involving novelty, variety and challenge stimulates the brain and can contribute to building capacity and brain reserve.”

Fernandez advises choosing a game “that exercises a core brain-based capacity … that is relevant to real-life outcomes.” For example, in his list of the “ Top 50 Brain Teasers and Games” that his readers have enjoyed the most Read the rest of this entry »