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Mentalrobics®
Mentalrobics®
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You exercise your body to stay physically in shape, so why shouldn't you exercise your brain to stay mentally fit? With these daily exercises you will learn how to flex your mind, improve your creativity and boost your memory. As with any exercise, repetition is necessary for you to see improvement, so pick your favorite exercises from our daily suggestions and repeat them as desired. Try to do some mentalrobics every single day!
As you are falling asleep, do you ever think about things that you need to do the next day, but you don't want to turn on the light to write them down? The Phonetic Mnemonic System can help you remember these things in the morning. In fact, this system can be used any time that you don't have a pen and paper handy.
To do this, simply associate the thing that you need to do (go to the bank) with a phonetic keyword for 1 (tie). Visualize the next thing that you need to do (pick up dinner) with a keyword for 2 (knee). When you wake up in the morning, you simply need to go through your keywords to remember the things that you need to do.
A variation on this method is to group your keywords by category. For example keywords 1-10 could be used for things related to work, keywords 11-20 could be for things related to home, and so on. This will help mentally organize your to-do list.
To reduce interference between days, you could use different keywords for each day of the week. Monday uses keywords 1-10, Tuesday 11-20, etc. Pick the method that works best for you.
To do this, simply associate the thing that you need to do (go to the bank) with a phonetic keyword for 1 (tie). Visualize the next thing that you need to do (pick up dinner) with a keyword for 2 (knee). When you wake up in the morning, you simply need to go through your keywords to remember the things that you need to do.
A variation on this method is to group your keywords by category. For example keywords 1-10 could be used for things related to work, keywords 11-20 could be for things related to home, and so on. This will help mentally organize your to-do list.
To reduce interference between days, you could use different keywords for each day of the week. Monday uses keywords 1-10, Tuesday 11-20, etc. Pick the method that works best for you.
There are many recent studies that show that drinking green tea may have beneficial affects on the brain. Green tea contains a bioflavonoid called catechin, which is a powerful antioxidants that can help prevent damage to the brain caused by free radicals. This damage can lead to problems such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Green tea is also one of a handful of substances that can reduce levels of nitric oxide in the brain. Nitric oxide is an important neurotransmitter that contributes to memory formation, but too much nitric oxide can cause certain neurodegenerative disorders.
Some research even indicates that green tea may protect against Parkinson's disease by cleaning up excess iron in the nervous system.
Other studies have suggested that the antioxidant characteristics of green tea may also help to prevent against certain types of cancers, heart problems, high cholesterol and hypertension.
Black teas contain most of the beneficial elements of green tea, but to a lesser extent depending on how the tea is processed. For people sensitive to caffeine, there are many decaffeinated brands on the market that preserve the positive properties of the tea.
Green tea is also one of a handful of substances that can reduce levels of nitric oxide in the brain. Nitric oxide is an important neurotransmitter that contributes to memory formation, but too much nitric oxide can cause certain neurodegenerative disorders.
Some research even indicates that green tea may protect against Parkinson's disease by cleaning up excess iron in the nervous system.
Other studies have suggested that the antioxidant characteristics of green tea may also help to prevent against certain types of cancers, heart problems, high cholesterol and hypertension.
Black teas contain most of the beneficial elements of green tea, but to a lesser extent depending on how the tea is processed. For people sensitive to caffeine, there are many decaffeinated brands on the market that preserve the positive properties of the tea.
After analyzing brain scans of hundreds of children over almost two decades, researchers have found that the brains of smarter children develop later in life than the brains of children with average intelligence.
In all children, the Cerebral Cortex grows thicker to a certain point and then thins out during the next few years. In children with average intelligence this thinning out starts at around age 7. In children with above average intelligence, the thinning out doesn't start until as late as age 13.
It is still unclear what factors, besides genes, may contribute to this difference, but environmental factors have not been ruled out.
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In all children, the Cerebral Cortex grows thicker to a certain point and then thins out during the next few years. In children with average intelligence this thinning out starts at around age 7. In children with above average intelligence, the thinning out doesn't start until as late as age 13.
It is still unclear what factors, besides genes, may contribute to this difference, but environmental factors have not been ruled out.
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The Phonetic Mnemonic System has several advantages over some of the other mnemonic systems.
The Peg system is limited by the length of lists that you can use it to remember. The Phonetic system does not have this limit and can be used to remember very long lists.
The Loci system requires that recall be in sequential order. This is not always convenient. The Phonetic system allows you to recall items out of order and by number. In other words, you can recall the 78th item directly without counting through 1-77.
Another advantage is that the Phonetic system can be used to easily remember numbers. No other system can do this.
The big disadvantage of the Phonetic system is that it takes the longest to learn and is slow to use until you have mastered the technique.
The Peg system is limited by the length of lists that you can use it to remember. The Phonetic system does not have this limit and can be used to remember very long lists.
The Loci system requires that recall be in sequential order. This is not always convenient. The Phonetic system allows you to recall items out of order and by number. In other words, you can recall the 78th item directly without counting through 1-77.
Another advantage is that the Phonetic system can be used to easily remember numbers. No other system can do this.
The big disadvantage of the Phonetic system is that it takes the longest to learn and is slow to use until you have mastered the technique.
The Phonetic Mnemonic System can be used to memorize playing cards. This can be a helpful advantage when playing a game of cards such as poker or blackjack because you'll be able to remember all the cards that have been played. It can be difficult to remember the cards as-is but by assigning a keyword to each card, you can make them more memorable. Keywords can be assigned to playing cards in the following way:
The first letter of the keyword should match the first letter in the suit (Hearts=H, Spades=S, Clubs=C, Diamonds=D). Then, use the phonetic sound associated with the value of that card to form the word. For example, we know that in the Phonetic Mnemonic System, the 'n' sound is assigned to the number 2, so the 2 of hearts could be represented with the word 'hen.' Likewise, the 8 of clubs could be "calf" or "cave." For 10, use the phonetic sound for 0 (10 of diamonds = dice). For the cards higher than 10, we use the double-digit value (J=11, Q=12, K=13). For example: King of Spades = Stem.
Now, if you want to remember that a player just played the 9 of clubs and the 4 of hearts, just visualize a 'cop' with really long 'hair.'
The first letter of the keyword should match the first letter in the suit (Hearts=H, Spades=S, Clubs=C, Diamonds=D). Then, use the phonetic sound associated with the value of that card to form the word. For example, we know that in the Phonetic Mnemonic System, the 'n' sound is assigned to the number 2, so the 2 of hearts could be represented with the word 'hen.' Likewise, the 8 of clubs could be "calf" or "cave." For 10, use the phonetic sound for 0 (10 of diamonds = dice). For the cards higher than 10, we use the double-digit value (J=11, Q=12, K=13). For example: King of Spades = Stem.
Now, if you want to remember that a player just played the 9 of clubs and the 4 of hearts, just visualize a 'cop' with really long 'hair.'
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