Mode De Vie Fit is a fashion, fitness, travel and lifestyle blog. So WHAT THE HECK IS BRAIN POWER DOING HERE you may inquire?

Well…

For those of you who know me or have read my bio, you know I’m engaged to one of the brainiest guys on the planet.

LITERALLY.

I get to hear all about the human brain whether I want to or not, A LOT! And actually, let me tell you, it’s quite fascinating. I mean we have this big muscle in our heads directing our body and our every thought, word and action ALL THE TIME.

We spend a lot of time at the gym working out to strengthen our muscles and increase flexibility, right? SO why wouldn’t we want to make a habit out of working out our brain, an organ that will inevitably kill us if it stops functioning properly? We can live a quality life without large biceps and triceps, but not without a fully operative brain. I’m sure most of us have seen a loved one or two go through life with alzheimer’s or dementia before passing away. I have and it’s just awful guys.

These are HARD CHALLENGING SAD diseases.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could FIND A CURE? Or GET ACTIVE in trying to prevent ever having memory loss?

ABSOLUTELY!

I know it may sound a bit dismal but CHEER UP! There are so many cool, new, fascinating projects and developments on the human brain- the list goes on and on. It’s the next BIG THING in our society, says yours truly!

But before we get into the technical, over-my-head stuff that Anton has the patience of a saint to even attempt to teach me, let’s delve into simple, basic things we can do on a daily basis to help keep our brain fit and fully functioning at a high level. Just like we do in terms of fitness with our body!

You’ve seen those magazines, Shape, Fit and Fitness, right? Well, how many articles have we seen on how to maximize our body’s performance? How to take our performance to the next level? I believe the time has come to apply all of these body training principles to our brains. Who wants a super fit, active body with a semi- functioning brain? Look at our 40th President of the United States Ronald Regan for example. He had this amazing, in shape body for his age but sadly, his brain gave out way before his body did. The same happened to my Grandma 🙁 .

I refuse to accept memory loss with age and relax and take it easy while it happens! And I encourage you all to take my same approach! Let’s get sassy, fired up and excited about ways we can activate our brains and increase our learning capabilities to keep our brain FIT for a very long time!

Let’s all mark our daily calendars and take a crack at my list of brain power activities!

1. Watch less TV. This is an easy one if you ask me. Just turn it off LOL. TV relaxes us and our brains. A little TV in moderation is OK, but why not cut back and make room in our day for other fun things? Like my #2 below…
2. Learn a new language! Why the heck not? We will sound sexier and smarter speaking more than one language, our brains will be mega stimulated, and knowing another language is a great asset on our work resume!
3. Play chess or solitaire. These tricky card games require a lot of thought and concentration. Especially when we want to beat those bad ass computers of ours!
4. Exercise. Choose a more mental based workout like pilates or yoga. Dance is great because it requires you to recognize, repeat and memorize patterns so your brain is almost always working in high gear!
5. Eat healthy omega 3’s. Foods with omega 3 fatty acids like fish and olive oil make a great part of your brain power meal, promoting brain cognition. Omega 3’s build brain cell membranes, reduce brain inflammation and promote new brain cell formation. Omega 3’s have also been shown to possess antidepressant and neuroprotective properties.
6. Read. Reading mentally stimulates us. Our brain is a “use it or lose it” muscle just like every other muscle in our body. We might even learn a new vocaublary word or two from reading, another stimulant for our brain.
7. Socialize. I am SO sure a lot of you guys will love this one! Socializing forces us to use our brains and get active. Conversing forces cognitive thought processes and concentration, keeping our brain stimulated!
8. Challenge ourselves. Try archery or karate. Learn something different- it’ll make you think twice as hard!
9. Problem solve our day after it’s happened! I love this one. It not only activates our brain, but it makes us learn more about ourselves. Could we have handled a situation better? How can we learn from our mistakes and move on in a positive direction?
10. Sleep. Sounds so easy, doesn’t it? For some of us this can be one of the most challenging things we can do for ourselves. We need at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Becoming sleep deprived can decrease our cognitive function, posing serious threat to our moods and memories. (And, I might add, to our relationships! If I’m moody and grumpy on 3 hours of sleep and 3 workouts, look out Anton. Poor guy better go into hiding until I get caught up on some zzzz’s!)

Now that’s a LONG list I know! But we don’t need to check everything off the list in one day. Let’s start by trying to incorporate one or two of them into our daily routine and increase from there each week. I say start with your diet and exercise first. Our goal is to fit as many of these brain power activities into our daily mode de vie’s as possible!

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Did I miss one?

xx Shanna

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