Keep Fit Program For The Brain 481
merryprankster writes "New Scientist is running a
feature on 11 steps
to a better brain. While becoming a nun might be an extreme way to avoid
senility, there are lots of other tricks, techniques and habits, as well as
changes to your lifestyle, diet and behaviour that can help you flex your grey
matter and get the best out of your brain cells." From the article: "First, go to the top of the class by eating breakfast. The brain is best fuelled by a steady supply of glucose, and many studies have shown that skipping breakfast reduces people's performance at school and at work. But it isn't simply a matter of getting some calories down. According to research published in 2003, kids breakfasting on fizzy drinks and sugary snacks performed at the level of an average 70-year-old in tests of memory and attention."
Go (Score:5, Informative)
"It's official: playing go really does keep your mind sharp. Researchers have just released a comprehensive study [nejm.org] of the benefits of challenging intellectual activity among the elderly and found that exercising the mind through board games, social activities and education offers powerful protection against mental deterioration and disease.
'Those who played board games had a 74 percent lower risk and those who played an instrument had a 69 percent lower risk. Doing crossword puzzles cut the risk by 38 percent,' reported Shankar Vedantam in the June 19 Washington Post. The report found that seniors who regularly engaged in mentally challenging pastimes reduced their chances of developing Alzheimer's disease and other dementias by as much as 75 percent, compared with those who didn't exercise their minds."
More info on Go [wikipedia.org], the game that exercises both sides of your brain!
correnlation and causation. (Score:5, Insightful)
If not, it seems far more likely that people that have dementia don't want to play board games, instruments, etc because.. well they have dementia. That might make it a LOT harder to concentrate on something like a board game or an instrument.
Re:correnlation and causation. (Score:3, Insightful)
Or, even more likely, that the mental characteristics that lead one to enjoy mentally stimulating activities like crosswords and board games are also ones that are associated with a lower risk of dementia.
That explains it (Score:2)
Go? (Score:2)
"Modafinil can keep a person awake and alert for 90 hours straight, with none of the jitteriness and bad concentration that amphetamines or even coffee seem to produce."
Hot damn! How much did Cephalon pay for that ad and where can I get some!
Re:Vs. Chess? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Custom interactive fiction (Score:3, Insightful)
The timing couldn't be better (Score:4, Funny)
I suspect the folks at Netscape [slashdot.org] could really benefit from this. (See preceding article...)
11-step program? (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, wait...
12th step... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:11-step program? (Score:4, Funny)
D'oh (Score:5, Insightful)
Sad that this is so forgotten that it is news.
Re:D'oh (Score:5, Funny)
Friggin' spinach and crossword puzzles aren't going to help you figure out which satellites Major League Baseball is using to spy on you, hippie.
mitch
ouch... (Score:3, Funny)
Wow, so that makes me about 90, every day.
Maybe that's why I couldn't remember my girlfriends birthday. This will be my excuse from now on!
"Hun, I don't eat a healthy breakfast, how am I possibly going to remember to do the laundry?!"
Re:ouch... (Score:2)
I would like to be there, I could eat a ton of carrots to get an Ipod =o) and then goto the beach to get some nice color!
Re:ouch... (Score:2)
You don't need to memorize it, just read it off the box!
Brainzelle Free Style Rider (Score:2)
They missed one... (Score:2, Funny)
Oh, wait.
hrm (Score:2, Funny)
While becoming a nun might be an extreme way to avoid senility,
So most slashdotters will keep their sanity into old age if they only undergo a gender change operation?
A lot of women... (Score:2)
Good Habits (Score:5, Funny)
There are non-nun habits?
Re:Good Habits (Score:2)
Sugary snacks (Score:5, Insightful)
Well intentioned parents buy their kids crap like Pop Tarts or NutriGrain bars thinking they are healthy. Well read the ingredients and the nutrition label. Practically no fiber, and corn syrup and hydrogenated fat dominate.
Most of the breakfast convenience foods are just candy packaged differently. It's better to eat a piece of fruit (low glycemic index) or whole wheat toast, which, suprise suprise, are just as convenient!
Re:Sugary snacks (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Sugary snacks (Score:2)
Is anyone really fooled by this?
Re:Sugary snacks (Score:3, Interesting)
I wouldn't be so sure about it. Right here I have a box of Kellogg's NutriGrain.
Ingredients:
whole wheat, sugars, vegetal fat (doesn't say partially hydrogenated), egg, calcium carbonate, iodated salt, sodium bicarbonate, color, (lots of vitamins go on in here); for the strawberry filling: corn syrup, sugar,maltodextrine,dextrose,strawberries (emphasis mine), water, glicerine, powdered apple, pectine, artificial and natural flavors, sodium
Re:Sugary snacks (Score:4, Interesting)
If you still have it handy, check out the nutrition information box on the package. Does one serving contain a measurable amount of fiber? I have run into products made with 'whole wheat' that somehow managed not to have even a gram of fiber in them. I'm not sure how they manage that.
Nutrigrain bars are basically vitamin-enriched cookies. They are probably better for you than a regular cookie, or a donut, but they don't really qualify as healthy food either.
Re:Sugary snacks (Score:3, Funny)
If you still have it handy, check out the nutrition information box on the package. Does one serving contain a measurable amount of fiber?
If you eat the box it does, but you likely won't enjoy the experience.
Re:Sugary snacks (Score:4, Informative)
Something like a pop tart or nutrigrain bar is it's ready right away.
Sugar is a simple carbohydrate and is readily absorbed into the bloodstream. There's a nasty spike of sugar in the blood and the body produces a whole lot of insulin to get rid of it by converting it into fat. Whole wheat toast is an example of a complex carbohydrate which has long chains of carbohydrates. The body has to expend a fair bit of energy just to break it down so it ends up taking far longer to work into the bloodstream.
While there are convenient foods like toast or fruit that provide the complex carbohydrates, leftover spaghetti or rice from the night before would also do the trick and would give you the staying power that a piece of fruit might not give.
The body also starts to slow its metabolic rate down several hours before you go to bed and in north america, we (foolishly) eat our biggest meal then. From a weight loss point of view it makes the most sense to eat a modest meal when we get up to kickstart the metabolism, to eat the largest meal at noon so we have the energy to do all our work throughout the day, and a light snack at 6pm to tide us over through the night (for
Re:Sugary snacks (Score:4, Informative)
The real impact of this on diet and weight is less clear. Some have taken this new research as compelling evidence that carbohydrates are bad and should be avoided. Other nutritionists are skeptical of this position. The truth probably lies somewhere in between--North Americans probably eat too many carbohydrates, and too many of the ones we eat are of the kind that is rapidly processed into blood sugar (e.g. white bread instead of whole wheat).
Re:Sugary snacks (Score:3)
I recommend a workout a day (Score:4, Insightful)
It requires a bit of self-control as you have to ignore your hunger but as your body gets used to the idea that it will eat later anyways, you won't notice it much.
This energizes me quite a lot, and the work day just goes by faster, and problems are much easier to tackle.
Re:I recommend a workout a day (Score:2)
Now that the warmer weather is back and its light earlier in the morning I like to walk the dog before work. Even a simple two mile walk in the morning before work makes me feel better by the time I leave the house.
I'm sure better off than I was through the dreary winter months and I'm certainly better off than my miserable co-workers who spent their "wake-up" time in rush-hour traffic.
YMMV.
Re:I recommend a workout a day (Score:2)
Not if you're a procrastinator. I found that the only way to get me to consistently exercise was to eliminate all my excuses. Weather used to be a big one: "Oh, it's raining/icy, I'll skip today". And time: "Well, there's not enough time to make it to the gym today, so I'll skip it." And noise: "All my roommates are sleeping, and the bike pedall
Re:I recommend a workout a day (Score:2)
Re:I recommend a workout a day (Score:2)
AFTER BREAKFAST!!! (Score:3, Informative)
The principle of eating before your workout is universal and doesn't need any source. In case you dont believe me, here's an article about nutrition and swimmers. http: [bcst.com]
Keep brain fit with Alcohol (Score:5, Funny)
That's why you get so much smarter when you drink.
Stolen and paraphrased from someone much funnier than I am.
Re:Keep brain fit with Alcohol (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Keep brain fit with Alcohol (Score:3, Informative)
You obviously don't remember what number was painted on the General Lee.
Re:Keep brain fit with Alcohol (Score:2)
My personal regimen (Score:5, Funny)
For breakfast, I have two eggs, fried in olive oil, with chives or onions.
Then I work a while on my bicycle. It has a fork for extra spice, and a three cheeses for more gondola.
I remember putting together my Heathkit computer, with the round things and the keyboard. We didn't have mice back then, except in the basement. Now they come in everywhere, and I can't seem to trap them.
I think I'll lay down a while.
Re:My personal regimen (Score:2)
I'll have some of what he's having.
Mod parent up, please (Score:2)
I wish I wasn't on a diet. He makes good cake.
Anyway, back to what I meant to say: that's a genuinely funny post, for some reason, and me with no mod points. Somebody mod it up, please, +1 surreal or +1 underrated, anything but funny, so more people can get the giggles at work.
That's what I'm doing wrong.... (Score:2)
That and late nights on
I'm not dumb. I'm resting my brain.
From TFA.... (Score:5, Funny)
I'm not quite sure if that is correct.....
Re:From TFA.... (Score:2)
Since we're sharing, here's my morning routine.... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Since we're sharing, here's my morning routine. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Since we're sharing, here's my morning routine. (Score:2, Insightful)
Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Christy, take off your robe. List
The dreadful consequences (Score:5, Funny)
Two older couples are out for a walk. The men are walking behind the women.
Man 1: We ate at a great restaurant last night.
Man 2: Oh really? Which one.
Man 1: The name escapes me right now ... what's the name of that flower, you know, with the thorns?
Man 2: A rose?
Man 1: Yes, that's it. Rose, where did we eat last night?
Re:The dreadful consequences (Score:3, Funny)
to the doctor to make sure there's nothing wrong.
After an exam, the doctor says, "You're physically okay, but you guys
might want to start writing notes to help you remember things."
That night they're watching TV when the old man gets up from his chair.
His wife says, "Where are you going?"
He says, "I'm going to the kitchen to get a glass of water."
She says, "Will you get me some Vanilla ice cream?"
He says, "All right."
She says, "Don't you
Ways to live to 120 (Score:5, Insightful)
2. Get half an hour exercise each day, which basically means take the stairs or take the bus or if you drive don't park so close to work.
3. Get eight to nine hours sleep a night - this is the hard one for me. If you run a sleep deficit, sleep in Saturday morning, but wake up the usual time on Sunday.
4. For guys, drink one to two glasses of red wine with meals. For women, one-half to one, but depends on body mass.
5. Stop watching the news. All those car chases and crashes five states away just add to stress and you can't do anything about them. If you must watch, choose a less exciting program like PBS or such.
6. Ditch your watch and cellphone. Really.
7. Do crossword puzzles or something that engages your brain most every day. You meet a lot of cute girls that way
8. Don't be in such a rush. Biologically, we're not built to live like that.
9. Eat low on the food chain - how you do this is up to you, but avoid processed foods.
All the rest is commentary.
Re:Ways to live to 120 (Score:2)
Can you say "non-sequitur"??? I knew you could!
Re:Ways to live to 120 (Score:2)
Maybe someone should explain... the crossword puzzle is the black and white grid thingy with short bits next to it like 'do as this in rome'. This is NOT, I repeat NOT to be confused with the 'cute girls' section, which usually involves a toll call...
Re:Ways to live to 120 (Score:2)
Re:Ways to live to 120 (Score:2)
2. I'm not sure how much exercise one gets riding the bus, unless one has to stand the whole time.
4. Drinking 2 glasses of wine at one sitting gets me pretty drunk.
7. I write software all day. It engages my brain, but I don't tend to meet cute girls that way.
Re:sleep habits vary (Score:3, Interesting)
Also Edison may have invented the light bulb, but he did it, and had his patents protected by the work of Lewis Latimer, an African-American who later improved upon Edison's original invention.
Also, Edison thought DC power was the way to go - but was proven wrong (Tesla's AC power was abetter solution, but Westinghouse gets all the credit, and everyone forgets and ridicules Tesla - history is not fair). N
huh? (Score:5, Funny)
Are they suggesting that I eat my own brain to become really smart?!?
Uh oh... (Score:3, Funny)
My God... That's the alternative? Marmite or beans on toast in the morning? I think I'm better off staying stupid until after lunch.
Exercise exercise exercise! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Exercise exercise exercise! (Score:2)
As much as I hate exercising, I think you're right. On the days I don't exercise before going to work it takes me about 3 hours to become completely alert. On the days I do exercise, I'm alert after my 20 minute commute. Coffee helps get my energy up in either case, but it doesn't do anything for my mental acuity.
And remember the old adage: Fail to plan, plan to fail. If you don't plan your meals, you'll end up grabbing something quick and easy. Most qui
MyBrainTrainer (Score:2, Informative)
Heh, good one. (Score:2)
While becoming a nun might be an extreme way to avoid senility, there are lots of
Oh! Hahahahehehehahahahahhaha ha ha. Hehehehe. Hee Hee. Heh.
Okay, perhaps it's not that funny.
Damn, my head is spinning! (Score:2)
Can't they hire someone who knows what they're talking about to fact check this tripe? This is only a sample of the incredibly poor science contained in this article.
For the sleep part (Score:2)
Re:For the sleep part (Score:2)
psychology (Score:5, Informative)
1. All of you probably know this but I'll just emphasize the point: "correlation is not causation."
2. All these "facts" are based on very questionable statistical techniques. I won't go into these techniques here but the idea in these experiments is that you want to make sure the effect of some manipulated variable is above chance (statistical significance). There are two ways to do this: have a large effect (e.g. eating breakfast causes a 10% increase in IQ) or just get lots of people so that even a small effect is not very likely by chance (e.g. eating breakfast causes a
3. Finding a brain area that is "activated" (fMRI) during a certain cognitive task is about as unexciting as learning that people use their hands to perform a physical task. OF COURSE, there is some area (or mostly likely areas) of the brain that is used in cognitive task just as of course there are areas of the body that perform "physical" tasks. Furthermore, it's unclear if "activation" should mean anything at all. Activation is defined as some small change in blood flow (which is correlated with neural activity) as measured via the oxygen levels picked up by a fMRI machine. Again, these difference results just need to be statistically significant to get published so that who knows what that meeds for individuals.
Little offtopic but shoddy science is the bane of all true geeks damn it.
Re:psychology (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.jsmf.org/about/s/badneuro/archive.htm [jsmf.org]
Stupid is as stupid does (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe that's because they are being raised by the kind of parents that feed their kids cola and candy for breakfast?
modafinil (Score:2)
If this stuff really works I'd be concerned about long term side effects.
Not trustworthy (Score:2)
The point being that a News Scientist article posted on the internet is not the best source of information. Research is.
Read A Book A Week... (Score:2)
Reading
Zinging on /. (NOT to be confused with trolling) (Score:2)
This may seem like a wierd one.. (Score:3, Interesting)
I avoided going to the dentist for about 3 years because I didn't feel I needed to. My teeth were straight, white and my gums looked healthy. I flossed 3-5 times a week, brushed twice a day, and used listerine all the time.
I started developing headaches and went to go see a doctor. After trying a few things and nothing helping, he suggested that based on the region of my head pain, I should see a dentist to make sure I wasn't afflicted with grinding, or other teeth issues.
Lo and behold I had an itty bitty bacteria infection on one of my back teeth and gums. It never hurt. It never stank. The dentist remarked for not having been to the dentist in a while, my mouth was remarkably clean of plaque and tartar.
After recieving treatment I noticed an unsuspected side effect. I had more energy. I slept better. It was quite noticable too. My next visit back to the dentist, I inquired and his explanation was quite logical. Your mouth is obviously a breeding ground for bacteria both good and bad. What's in your mouth is basically in your whole body. If you have bacteria in your mouth, your immune system has to work just that much harder to keep you healthy.
An odd anecdote but I'd thought I'd share none the less. It might seem like a no brainer to keep your mouth clean, but even those who follow all the "rules" can experience bacteria spots that affect your overall health and energy levels.
pills (Score:5, Insightful)
A common missed piece (Score:3, Interesting)
For the longest time, I got my beverage fill from soda and coffee, then after *MUCH* insistance from my female counterpart (Wife, not Mom
Re:Breakfast? (Score:2, Funny)
I eat breakfast and that's why I'm your boss. Get back to work, fucking slacker!
Re:Breakfast? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Breakfast? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Breakfast? (Score:2)
Re:Breakfast? (Score:2)
Re:Breakfast? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Breakfast? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Breakfast? (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, they go a lot quicker if you've done them already.
Re:Breakfast? (Score:2)
Re:Breakfast? (Score:2)
Though I can't find it now, this probably has to do with the study that showed people who stay up late are smarter than those who wake up at 6AM every day (as if that needed proof).
Do what I do... (Score:5, Insightful)
By preparing all of my daily meals on my own with fresh ingredients (including making my own snacks), I've lost weight and body fat (I'm at a very trim 173lbs with 10% body fat...almost as good a condition as I was in when I played baseball and soccer year-round back in high school), I've had far more energy, and I've been sharper and more on the ball in my day to day doings at work and at play (hobbies and such). I also started an exercise regime that has further improved my conditioning and stamina and energy level, and have been a happier person for it.
My meals are all balanced to come out as close to what we're supposed to be taking in on a daily basis according to doctors recommendations (caloric intake, vitamins, minerals, etc, etc, etc). I snack exclusively on fruits and vegetables. My breakfast includes a variety of fruits and homemade granola mixed in with a serving of plain yogurt, and I'm able to take that with me to work to eat while I go over my start of day emails and voicemails. My lunches are good sized, but never too large, and the same goes with my dinners. I've cut back on the amount of red meat and pork that I take in, and have increased the amount of fish and chicken....like I said, I hit reset entirely.
I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching or whatever, but I really do believe that there is a lot to be said for eating well and taking care of yourself...I still smoke and have the odd pint of beer here and there, but even those bad habits have decreased nearly to the point of being non-existant.
In short, eat breakfast...you can still eat well, have it taste good, and be good for you if you 'wake up late' and are 'running behind'...hell, you'll find you might even sleep more soundly and wake up more readily if you change your diet.
note: As an aside, and this may or may not be something you would be interested in...a side-effect of my healthier living has been an increase in both my libido and in my performance...couple that with a healthier living sig-o, and you've got a pretty nifty little sex life going. Fruits and vegetables help a lot, from what I understand...in more areas than just performance and stamina. I'm just sayin', is all...
Re:Do what I do... (Score:2)
Now, none of these things are fast (except m
Re:Do what I do... (Score:2)
Also, no sodas or colas...bad for you, bad, bad, bad!
Breakfast like a king (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyway. Eat when you need the energy. Eating in the evening when you don't need the energy just leaves you hungry in the morning. Something with whole grain to provide energy for several hours and maybe fish.
Omega-3 fats have been shown to make a significant difference to heart disease and mental ability. Fish oils or flax seed oils. It seems that the human diet may have contained a lot of fish historically. A kipper for breakfast may
Re:Step 12 (Score:5, Funny)
Okay!
Um...
Re:Step 12 (Score:3, Funny)
But that would leave me with 11 steps again. And then I would read you, and get 12 steps again. And then I would have 11. Ohh, the paradox.
Re:Step 12 (Score:2)
Mark
Re:Okay for the nun part but... (Score:3, Funny)
You know, you're not required to shave down there.
Re:What a crock! (Score:2)
Maybe so, but if you take in a dose of refined sugars, your body has a crisis reaction and produces lots of insulin to control it. So shortly afterwards, you go a bit hypo - which is BAD for the brain and what's more it makes you feel hungry again.
I find I *do* need breakfast. I can miss lunch but absolutely
Accurate label on your post, there (Score:4, Interesting)
Gee, that's funny, essentially every nutritionist not moaning under a cultish trance over some Atkins variant would say dinner's the one to cut back on, but to get a healthy breakfast above all else. It's a conspiracy of experts, as you say. (Please ignore the obvious fact that Americans have never managed to follow this advice from the nutritionists all that well.)
All that is required is a diet with a reasonable amount of high quality protein.
I understand the appeal of contrarian positions, but you're just an Atkins fanboy. That diet, and all its many corollary marketed materials, exist for nutritionists on the same level that "intelligent design" does for biologists. You've successfully regurgitated your share of the sophisms, so call it a day. Go grill a steak.
Re:What a crock! (Score:2)
Re:beans? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:beans? (Score:2)