Nurture Your Brain.

Everyday everyone does at least one thing to negatively affect their brain. 
Some actions more obvious than others, from shaking your head too much to taking life-threatening drugs.  I am here to warn you and give you a little knowledge on things that harm your brain.

First I will discuss the things that you can physically control and be aware of.  To get started, one thing that kills brain cells is rapidly shaking your head.  This causes axons to tear killing brain cells as well.  You have complete control over shaking your head, so don’t do it!  An obvious, unhealthy habit would be eating junk food, when your brain cells are not provided with the nutrients it needs to survive, they die.  You can eat junk food once in a while, but think about how many brain cells you are killing when you do it.  Drinking alcohol causes a temporary chemical imbalance and structural changes.  Alcoholic patients who have MRI’s show a decreased brain volume.  Dehydration allows ions to get disrupted resulting in brain damage, replenish your body with the sufficient water levels it needs, and spare your brain harm.  However, drinking too much water also causes some damage, drinking too much water in a short period of time will flood the nervous system and kill brain cells as well.  You know what a reasonable amount of water is for your body, so just drink that.  Avoiding exercise does not kill many brain cells right away, but if you wait long enough your brain cells will eventually die.  So get out there and do something active that you love!  Smoking is another habit that is extremely detrimental to your health and brain.  Not only does it kill brain cells, and stops the production of new cells, it can take a toll on your mental health.  Believe it or not, certain cosmetics such as shampoo have also had the effects of killing and damaging brain cells, don’t use too much!  One of the most important parts of a persons daily routine is sleeping, and what if you lack the quality of sleep?  First of all, you can not properly function the next day, it interferes with social and learning functions, it kills brain cells as well.  Try and get the amount of rest you need to run effectively, some need five and some need ten, but overall you know what is best for you and your brain!  Finally, a surprising action that kills brain cells is microwaving your food.  If you are standing to close to the microwave or there is a microwave leakage, you are killing your brain cells.  So please, don’t stand too close.

These are things that you can emotionally control and be aware of.  First of all, too much stress is very unhealthy.  When you begin to have adrenaline rushes, your body produces an excess chemical called “cortisol” and this is what kills brain cells.  As i have mentioned before being a positive thinker helps your brain, so what happens when you are a chronic negative thinker?  You will not necessarily lose brain cells from being pessimistic, but being a negative thinker causes stress and stress and other related activities due to negative thinking are what kill brain cells.  Finally, extreme anxiety or panic in serious situations provokes stress, and the releasing of cortisol which will kill your brain cells.  Try and stay reasonably calm.

These are some of the things that you can now be aware of and try to prevent in your everyday life.  Enjoy and stay healthy!

Sources: http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/news/health/stress-kills-brain-cells-$1065028.htm

http://4mind4life.com/blog/2008/02/22/50-things-that-kill-brain-cells/

Images: http://images.usatoday.com/news/_photos/2007/01/14/alzheimers.jpg

Dont Hate, Appreciate.

The brain helps us in so many ways, so shouldn’t we help it as well? Yes, in fact if we don’t take care of ourselves and stay healthy, the brain will eventually deteriorate.  Not only will the brain be negatively affected if we do not take care of ourselves, but the heart will be affected as well.  If your heart is not pumping well or if your brains blood vessels are damaged, the brain has trouble getting the food and oxygen it needs.  Any condition that damages your heart or blood vessels affects the brain’s blood supply.  So take care of yourself. 

Many people think that staying healthy and staying fit is just about the image on the outside, more than the inside.  However our brain plays a crucial role in everything we do.  There are so many steps that we can do to protect our brain from damage.  We all need to make brain healthy decisions in our everyday lives.  We need to remain active socially and physically as well as eating brain healthy foods and maintaining a stable diet.  In order to maintain a brain healthy diet you need to reduce intake of fat and cholesterol.  Many saturated fats and cholesterol clog many arteries that are associated with many diseases. 

To keep our brain healthy we need to remain socially and physically active.  Remaining socially active will decrease stress levels, which will help brain cells maintain a healthy connection.  Studies have also proven that having a positive outlook on life, and a positive way of thinking nurture certain circuits in the brain that promote happiness in our lives and our futures.  No matter what challenges we may face, if we wake up every morning looking at the glass half full, instead of half empty will have a profound effect on our brain.  Remaining physically active is key for a healthy blood flow to the brain as well as encouragement to new blood cells that are being developed.  Combining social and physical activities together stimulate the body and mind.  Try to stay active in the workplace,  volunteer in your community, get involved in a club, sport, or activity. 

The most important thing however is maintaining a healthy diet.  The following foods are vital for a healthy brain; avocados, bananas, beef, brown rice, brussels sprouts, cantaloupes, cheese, chicken, collard greens, eggs, fibers, milk, oatmeal, oranges, peanut butter, peas, potatoes, salmon, soybeans, tuna, turkey, wheat, yogurt and many more.  The best brain foods are complex carbohydrates.  The molecules in these carbohydrates are longer which allows more time for the intestines to break them down into simple sugars.  This provides a steady, beneficial source of energy. 

Follow these few tips above, and support your brain and heart.  Live a longer happier life!!

Resources: http://www.increasebrainpower.com/brainfoods.html

http://www.aarp.org/health/brain/takingcontrol/practice_positive_thinking.html

Images: http://www.ireporter.tv/Upload/antiaging-skincareproducts.com/exercise.jpg

http://www.cactuscanyon.com/super-reds.jpg

You decide.

Where is your destination in life?  The essence is you choose.

Essence-the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features.

So you ask, what is the essence of the brain?  The brain gives us the ability to reason.  The ability to make our own decisions whether logical or emotional.  Humans are the dominant organism/species living on the earth, due to the brain.  We as humans, need the brain to function, reason, determine, but most importantly to live.  “The brain is now known to be seat of intelligence.”

Intelligence is the capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc.  Depending on how we use our intelligence, we can be successful in living our lives to the fullest.  Do you use your intelligence to be book smart? Or are you hands on?  This intelligence gives us the ability to live our life as we want, the ability to dream our dreams and make them come true.  Intelligence helps us learn things and incorporate them into our everyday lives, the ability to make it through high school or college, and have the job we’ve always dreamed of. [book smart] Our intelligence gives us the ability to travel the world, and survive in the most exotic places using knowledge and common sense. [hands on]

The essence is that we as human beings have the ability to choose how we live our lives, what direction we want to take, and where we want to end up?

Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/essence

Image: http://www.treemo.com/files/treemo.playball.127811.dd.jpg

 

The brains mistakes.

 

 

If you focus on the object in the middle of the image, you will soon notice that the purple dots soon COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR.  Are you going crazy?  No, this is an illusion, an interpretation in which your brain inaccurately discovers. 

You see, in our bodies we have many cells called sensory receptors.  Every single receptor has its own energy which is transmitted to the brain.  However we interpret these signals in many different ways, most of the time accurate, yet sometimes inaccurate.  This is what we call an illusion.  These illusions trick our bodies and minds into thinking that there is something strange happening, when of course there really isn’t.  These illusions play jokes on us…almost everyday.

Our brain does do many wonderful things yet it tends to trick us every so often.  There are many types of misinterpretations our brain makes.

• Impossible Optical Illusions- These illusions reveal insights on 3-D objects and 2-D images.  It may be difficult to see or understand how the object is put together, because the object really is not 3-D, the brain just perceives it that way.
• 3 Dimensional Illusions-  Otherwise known as the “Unstable figures,” are lines that make up an image that appears to be 3-D.
• Camouflage and Optical Illusions- A camouflage illusion is one that you must search for.  An object may be hidden in an environment that is the same color as its own.  Camouflage illusions are hard to find, but once you do they are beautiful.
• Facial Illusions-  These are illusions that show pictures of people with different emotions.  It is hard for the brain to interpret what emotion is being portrayed. Often, there are multiple images in one.
• After Images-  The brain interprets motion and color where there is none.  Sometimes if you stare at a colored object for a long period of time then look at a blank piece of paper or object, the colored object will appear on the blank paper.  Exciting huh?
• Distortion Illusions-  The illusion changes every aspect of an object, its height, length, shape, and color.
• Color and Shadow Illusions-  These illusions depend on the comparisons of multiple objects such as contrast and color.

Next time you think you are seeing something that is unclear or incomprehensible and weird, remember…it may just be your brain messing with you!

 

Sources:       

• http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110336/types.htm
• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cs4fn.org/vision/images/adamx3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cs4fn.org/vision/brainangle.php&h=480&w=1920&sz=83&hl=en&start=95&um=1&tbnid=NmUq0xfZqcCjrM:&tbnh=38&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbrain%2Breal%2Bhuman%2Bcool%2Band%2Bamazing%26start%3D80%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DIRFA,IRFA:2008-21,IRFA:en%26sa%3DN

 Found image: http://www.brainteasercentral.com/riddle.php?riddleid=680&status=a

 

 

The brain helps.

Help applies to the brain in many different ways.  The brain send messages to your body in which they allow you to help others, and help yourselve.  Not only does the brain help you personally, but every single part of the brain needs help from the other parts to function correctly.  The brain helps us every second of everyday.

A New York Time article stated  that the brain helps with our ”vision, hearing, touch, the sense of balance, movement, and emotional responses.”  There are many different parts of the brain that affect many different parts of us. 

• The endorphins help ease pain and they cause sleepiness
• The “Gila” (means glue) helps hold brain cells together
• The Skull helps surround the brain
• Neurotransmitters help our emotions and mood.
• Limbic Regions helps reactions to danger
• Hypothalamus helps regulate hunger, thirst, body temperature, and hormones
• Hippocampus helps store and process memories
• The Growth Factor helps axons grow in specific directions to form specific connections
• Popamine helps regulate physical movement, pleasures, and thoughts
• Neurons help the learning process, the brain consists of millions of microscopic cells that become connected everytime you learn something new.

Enough of the brain terminology and long complicated words.  In simpiler terms, the brain is the main source that determines when someone is going to react positively and help others or if they choose to act negatively.  There are a bunch of tiny cells in the human body which are called amygdala.  This part of our brain is responsible for all of our emotions, including empathy and the need to help others.   

 

 

 

Intro to the brain.

In this blog I will be talking about the most fascinating part of the human body- the brain.

The human body is such and amazing thing, but how does it work? What part of the body tells us what to do?  What controls our feelings, emotions, reflexes, and actions?  There are many different parts of the brain that control different parts of our bodies, and our feelings.  Did you know that the left and right side of your brain control completely different things?  It is as if we are two different people combined into one body.  The left side controls our logic and factual thinking while the right is responsible for our emotions, dreams, and images etc. 

Why is this important to me and why am i writing about the brain?  The brain is in every single human being and many people don’t understand why we act and say certain things. It is all related to the brain and i find that incredibly fascinating. How can one body part the size of a grapefruit (a little larger) control everything we do and say?  I have been interested in this for quite some time, I am very interested in understanding the way people work, and why people do many things.

I can not wait to learn more about the brain and how if affects every single person as well as their every day lives.

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