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Brain Fitness and Stress Reduction

The answer to things like brain fitness and stress reduction is to add a couple of links into the series of things we pay attention too.  In the west, we are taught that reality is outside of us, and that the driver who cuts me off is what angers me,  when it is really my thoughts about my perceptions which angers me.  Or makes me happy.

 And all my perceptions, which means the processing of photons through the eyes and sound waves vibrating the ear drum (no words about that vibration at the ear)and pressure (touch) at the sensory motor cortex, smell in the limbic brain, and taste on the tongue and in the brain, that all happens inside my noggin, so sensory reality is all inside me, and it is my thoughts about those things which make me stressed and/or my brain fit or unfit.

Stress hormones are supposed to prepare me for a short term flight or fight situation, which is over after  I elude the saber tooth tiger, or he has finished his next meal.

Chronic stress response, which we have been taught to do in order to improve productivity, actually kills brain cells in the hippocampus, where my memories are laid down, and that chronic adrenalin and cortisol dumping inhibits the neurogenises of new neurons that my brain does for me through out my life time, so if I want a productive neurological situation in my late life time, I need to learn to pay attention to my internal world at least as much as I do to my external world.

By that I mean breathe deeply, and attend to the brain in my heart, using HeartMath.  It has only been in the last decade or so that research has given us the awareness of the sophisticated nervous system in the heart, and the tools to harness heart rate variability by breathing and imagery.  And my heart likes it, since it feels so good to use heart rate variability coherence, and all it takes after a few practices is a cue thought for my heart to change the inside of my body.

Stress reduction feels good?  No way?  And it is good for my brain? You bet.  I can respond positively to people who choose to be rude?  Yes, I can keep the inside of me nice and peaceful,  say every five minutes, I practice my cue thought for two seconds, which is so easy to do, I can do it between key strokes right now for example, and relax, and change the chemistry in my body, and my body soon enough reminds me with discomfort that I have not been taking care of it.  Regular attention to the inside of me becomes a habit.  Brain Fitness enhanced, stress reduced. Mission accomplished.

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 From Alvaro at Sharp Brains.  If you are not reading about his work, which monitors the trends of the brain fitness industry, you may by into marketing fluff.

“We can expect to read more on this very inportant topic for years to come. A few months ago I commented on a great column by David Brooks in the NYT. David Brooks: The Cognitive Age (5/2/08). Quotes: 

-”It’s the skills revolution. We’re moving into a more demanding cognitive age. In order to thrive, people are compelled to become better at absorbing, processing and combining information.”

-”the most important part of information’s journey is the last few inches — the space between a person’s eyes or ears and the various regions of the brain. Does the individual have the capacity to understand the information? Does he or she have the training to exploit it?”

-”But the cognitive age paradigm emphasizes psychology, culture and pedagogy — the specific processes that foster learning.”

Beautifully said. Yes, we are “moving into a more demanding cognitive age.” This is true for the reasons that Brooks aludes to: because of globalization that requires workers to keep their cognitive skills sharp to compete. But, there are other reasons such as current demographic, health and scientific trends. People are living longer which means that they have more opportunities to experience cognitive decline and and will require specific interventions. Huge medical advances over the last 100 years have enabled longevity, improved quality of life overall. But, they have focused more on how to maintain “healthy bodies” than on “healthy brains.”  Alvaro Fernandez

How true folks, and I am trying out a number of different approaches to brain fitness, the online versions now, including Mind Evolve, Brain Builder 3.0, Posit Science, and Lumosity, in order to keep my 60 year old professional, father, and husband brain working effectively until at least my 4 year old daughter graduates from high school, so at age 84, I may be able to find myself some hammock time, and I do not want that time, most of which I will dedicate to reading Dumas or Twain,  or maybe Schopenhaur,  (Wow, I complete believe I said I would read philosophy!), impacted by alzheimers disease.

I have also used a lot of other tools, including biofeedback and sound and light machines,  in the last 10-15 years, and I am a student of Chi Gong.  I know I have rewired my brain studying that process, because I have passed some very interesting initiations.  Well,  let us get on with our Sunday.  The tools out there, like the tools I am using,  are very helpful, simply because of intention.  And try HeartMath.  Frazzled Dad Mike

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 Brain Fitness Programs

Can you think about a problem many ways?

I found this at the Lumosity blog.

“The concept of fluid intelligence (gF) as defined by its founder Raymond Cattell is “…the ability to perceive relationships independent of previous specific practice or instruction concerning those relationships.” Fluid intelligence contributes to abilities like learning and problem solving. It is distinct from its counterpart, crystallized intelligence (cF) which involves  “…abilities that have obviously been acquired, such as verbal and numerical ability, mechanical aptitude, social skills, and so on.”

How do you learn fluid intelligence? 

“Fluid intelligence tests usually entail completing visual patterns of some kind.  Performance on such tests typically declines after reaching a peak in early adulthood.  This study, however, offers evidence that it’s possible to improve fluid intelligence, at least temporarily.

The researchers used a computer-based working memory task called the “dual n-back” to simultaneously administer auditory and visual stimuli in sequence.  A response was required whenever one of the presented stimuli (visual or auditory) matched a previously presented stimulus n positions back in the sequence.  Four groups trained daily for either 8, 12, 17 or 19 days, with each group being matched by a control group that did not have training.  Pre and post tests of fluid intelligence were given to all groups.

What the study found:

• The working memory training significantly improved performance on the fluid intelligence tests.
• Fluid intelligence performance improved in proportion to the amount of training received.
• Working memory (as measured by digit span) also improved significantly.

The authors suggest that the above effects were due primarily to an increased ability to control attention.”

I can sure use some improved attention, so I think I will go practice my dual nback program.  I really enjoy it.  In fact, today I moved up to n=3, but could not keep that going, and dropped back to n=2, but after the way I started, when I found the program really confusing, I am heartened to move up a level.  There is no end to the improvement, so I will keep training.

References:

Cattell, R. B. (1971). Abilities: Their structure, growth, and action. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Jaeggi, S., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., Perrig, J. (2008).

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Fluid Intelligence

Yesterday I wrote a bit about Martin Walker’s Mind Evolve program which is based on the research mentioned in the article linked to above.  Interesting synchronicity.  And this link is to the Lumosity blog, which offers a very fun and interesting brain train exercise.

 The mental muscles we can train include , attention, stress and emotional management, memory, visual/spatial processing,  auditory processes, language motor coordination and executive functions such as planning and problem solving. 

 A mentally fit person demonstrates improved attention (see the information above!) memory, thinking, and stress management skills.

 I have really enjoyed Martin’s program, and I think he just changed the name of it, but it is fun to use.  And I enjoy the Lumosity exercises also.  I know that I am paying better attention because I am better able to stay on schedule.  

 Maybe there is hope for the incredible number of projects I have going on and piled up in my office. 

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Martin G. Walker

Check out Mind Evolve software, brought t0 us by Martin G. Walker.  

Martin has taken the work of Bueschkall and Jaegi to the internet.  Their research indicates that it is possible to increase what they call fluid intelligence, which is our ability to create options and opportunities in the middle of the noise of our day to day lives.  You can contrast that to crystallized intelligence, which is what we have learned and memorized over the course of our lives.  Heaven forbid I get caught in only my crystallized intelligence for problem solving.  

 I am really enjoying my experience of the dual nback tasks, which involve processing auditory and visual data at the same time, and looking for matches in one or both after a certain number of repetitions.   The researchers say that there apparently is no upper limit to improvement, and Martin is marketing this as a tool to increase your ACT or SAT scores.  I think eventually he will market to other demographics too.  We spoke during a podcast which I will post here as soon as I edit it.  In the meantime, take a look at his site, and tell him Mike the counselor sent you. 

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Brain and Body Wellness

Brain Wellness?  Our grey matter can be exercised and attended too?  Are brain spas next? 

Yes, actually, and if there is not one nearby, you can workout your brain online, before, during, or after your body workout.

 As Matthew Blakeslee says in a 2007 Discover Article reviewing two books, “Based on results like these, Begley holds out hope that our emotional lives and personalities, far from being carved in stone by our genes and early experiences, will prove as sculptable through mental training as our bodies are through physical training.”

Or perhaps create your own brain wellness spa at home. 

Online programs which are quick, economical, and effective include the Lumosity program,  to which  I  have provided a link at the bottom of this entry.

 Research is saying now that we can exercise and improve the circuits in our brain’s working memory, for example. or its fluid intelligence, and that the potential exists to establish a “cognitive reserve” which will help us continue to stay vital as we age.

Michael Merzenich at Posit Science has built some excellent tools and he makes some very strong claims for the potential of his tools.  And he has a proven track record for effective innovation like the cochlear implant.

As a clinician, I have   personally and professionally used  many of the tools  you will find at Transparent Corporation, including the sound a light machines, and EEG Biofeedback, which I have used very successfully with addictions clients.

 NLP, or neurolinguistic programming is a tool I like, and you can find wonderful adaptations at Transparent.  In fact, I like to use NLP on New Year’s Day to set my goals for the year.  I like that now the tools are available in software adaptations.

 So consider tools from Lumosity and Transparent Corporation for your home brain fitness spa.  Time regularly spent there will pay off handsomely in your personal life, with effective decisions and accurate perceptions.

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Brain Fitness Workout

Can old dogs learn new tricks?  Perhaps I should say it this way, can old brains learn new tricks? 

 It appears that the old model of viewing  the capabilities of the human brain is spectacularly wrong, and yes, old brains, young brains, any brains, can learn new tricks and the programs are emerging.  The paradigm is shifting, and we will be able to jump on the bandwagon. 

According to Martin Walker, at Mind Evolve Software, we are on the cusp of seeing brain fitness workouts as part of our daily routine, and I agree.

That is because I have been using four programs, including Martin’s on a regular basis now for about a month, actually I have done Martin’s for about a week.  I just purchased it, and all of them are fascinating.

 Mathew Blakeslee, in Discover Magazine, writes that …”Begley holds out hope that our emotional lives and personalities, far from being carved in stone by our genes and early experiences, will prove as sculptable through mental training as our bodies are through physical training.” 

 And the programs are arriving. 

Martin’s program is a fun and difficult and addictive tool.  Once you get a feel for it, and move into what feels like a Flow experience, it does seem to just flow, and according to the research on which it is based, there does not appear to be an upper end to your improvement. 

 Now imagine spending 1/2 hour or less a day on your brain workout, or perhaps every other day, and experiencing effective fluid intelligence, longer working memory, and great creativity?  That is for me.

I just did a teleseminar with Martin, listen for it here.

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Brain Fitness Practice

I have found a new program to add to my daily regimen of brain fitness practice.  Mind Evolve from Martin Walter, which is a version of what is called the dual n back program, I believe.  It is very fun to do, and is quite confusing to begin with, but a few minutes practice each day begins to clarify the process.   You have to follow visual and verbal clues and tag a certain pattern of recognition, either verbal or visual or both, and the interesting thing about this is that there apparently is no upper end to the level of improvement you can achieve.  However, before you take that to the bank, let me do a teleseminar with Martin Walter tomorrow, and find out more about the research end of the program.

 I did Mind Evolve this morning for the 5th time, and it was much easier to do.  As usual, there were a couple of trials where I drifted away, and did poorly, and a couple where I was able to sustain effective attention, and did the best I have done.  And then I went to the Posit Science Brain Fitness Program, where I was involved in the match game, and found my spatial awareness vastly improved, because of the Mind Evolve experience I am sure.  Then did Brain Builder 3.0 and I am up to remembering a series of 6 numbers, presented visually and verbally, forward and backward.  Looking forward to increased effectiveness in this area too, but my Lumosity scores for memory train were down, because I got excited about using a Lumosity text link on a Social Networking site.  The monster game just ate me up. 

 Now I am going to go take revenge on my son, who was up with his overnight guest at 4:30 this morning to do play station.  My wife went berserk, well she yelled anyway. And now it is 7:30 am and I will go wake him up for his shower, and remind him that school starts in three weeks.  Frazzled Daddy signing off now.

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Brain Fitness Programs

I just added a new tool to my repertoire of brain training programs.  It is called Mind Evolve, and it is fascinating.  The claim is that it can increase your “fluid intelligence” as opposed to your “crystallized intelligence” which is what you already know.  I am paraphrasing for right now, but I think fluid intelligence is more like your ability to learn new things.  At any rate, the maker of Mind Evolve, Martin Walker, says that using the program will increase your scores on graduate school admission tests for example.   So I bought the program yesterday, and did my first session today, and it is really cool.  And very confusing to start because you need to remember both auditory and visual information and respond when there is a match after a certain number of trials.  Seems much more like real life processing than the other programs I have tried.  But putting them all together, Posit Science Brain Training, Lumos Labs, Brain Builder 3.0, and now Mind Evolve, I am remembering more detail with more clarity, and MUCH MORE importantly, I am not losing track of my schedule.  That will make me much more profitable. 

I actually finished my first 30 sessions of the Lumosity program.  They report that I have increased my scores over 2 standard deviations, which is very significant statistically, but what is most practical for me is the realization that I switch gears very quickly between trials and that causes me to lose accuracy.  Call it ADD.  Increased awareness gives me better choices.  Mike

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Brain Fitness Programs

I am currently trying out for size four computerized brain training programs, to get a sense of what they do, and how I might bring those tools into my counseling practice.  They are Lumosity, Posit Science Brain Fitness Program, Brain Buildeer 3.0, and a new one I just purchased yesterday, called Mind Evolve, which has the dual n back strategy included, which appears to increase fluid intelligence.  Martin Walter says regular practice increases IQ, and makes possible better scores on tests like the SAT, or the LSAT, or the GRE, or the ACT.  And there is research to back that up.  I have taken all of those but the SAT.  Firstly, w