Today - World Alzheimer’s Day, September 21, is a day when the Alzheimer’s Association and other organizations around the globe unite  efforts to raise awareness about the disease and its impact on our families, communities and nations. World Alzheimer’s Day was first launched on September 21, 1994 by ADI.  The fact that 35M people today are living with Alzheimer’s Disease (a 10% increase in just the last 4 years!) should be cause for alarm and, more importantly, cause for action on the part of our health care and health insurance industry leadership, our government elected officials and all of us as individuals. You can read more about Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures and how you can get involved to make a difference in the fight here

The Alzheimer’s Association organizes  Memory Walks across the country to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research and education. It a great way to join others, get exercise,  and walk for the cause. Learn more  Here.

So you understand that maintaining a social network of friends is important to your cognitive health. Do you feel like your social life could use a boost? Try these tips for enhancing your social interactions and relationships:

• Call a friend or relative you haven’t talked to in a while
• Schedule a regular lunch or dinner date with a friend
• Organize a weekly card or board game with a group of neighbors
• Offer to babysit
• Participate in activities at your local community center
• Take an exercise class at a community center or gym
• Join a local walking or hiking club
• Sign up for an art or music class
• Volunteer for your favorite charity

In addition to potentially reducing your risk of developing dementia, having a personally fulfilling social life has numerous other health benefits. For instance, other  studies have shown that people with fuller social lives and relationships have a lower risk of early death, are less likely to become disabled, and have better overall physical and mental health.

SOURCES:  Humana, Inc.; JAMA/Archives journals;  The Lancet Neurology; Department of Health and Human Services;  National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; U.S Department of Health and Human Services

Can you match which cognitive skills are needed for excellence in all sports? For example, in the game of horseshoes, hand-eye coordination and mental focus are critical to a successful game. How about swimming, rowing or tennis?

Find out the answers tomorrow in our blog!

You may find this primer about brain development and functioning, created by the Society of Neuroscience quite interesting. They are a nonprofit  organization of scientists and physicians who study the brain and nervous system and whose mission it to research and educate. The primer is called Brain Facts. It’s written with a non-medical audience in mind and it’s available for free. Definitely worth checking out if you have an interest in how the brain works, how memory is stored in the brain, how changes in the neural pathways effect our memory and the process of learning, to name just a few of of the interesting components.

Last Saturday, August 1st, the 2009 Summer National Senior Games started in San Francisco. HAPPYneuron was proud to be present with its sponsoring partner Humana.

Senior Games, you’re saying? Surely, seniors can be active and do regular exercise but doesn’t the term “games” involve a competition? Are seniors actually able to compete in a sports competition?

The answer is yes, they are, and the Summer National Senior Games, also known as the Senior Olympics (the first edition took place in 1987) gives men and women age 50 and older the opportunity to compete in their favorite sport, just like proper athletes.

Like Vivian Stancil, 56, who is blind and has been swimming for years, thus losing 135 pounds and being able to compete at events like the Senior Olympics, the exercise making her feel much happier. Then, there is also Johnie, 82, and Dee, 78, Howard who have been playing tennis, even taking part in competitions, ever since they married in 1995!

The Senior Olympics does not merely provide excellent exercise for older adults but also provides something else very important: the opportunity to socialize and meet new people that share a common interest.

The Summer National Senior Games website gives excellent advice about preparation, training, and workout, all need to do is click on your sport -  whether you wish to try out for the 2011 Senior Olympics or  just for fun of keeping fit!

Of course, there are many excellent types of food and ingredients for your brain. But which ones are totally natural and easily available?

Let’s cover  five of the brain healthiest foods, starting with… wild salmon! We all know the benefits of salmon, especially wild as opposed to farm-raised salmon. It is a great source of essential fatty acids like omega-3 and is low in saturated fat. It can help you improve your mood, your brain matter, your synaptic connections, your arteries and reduce your risk of stroke and dementia.

At number 2, … Cacao beans! No, sorry, we didn’t say chocolate, just minimally processed cacao beans which can be found in 100% organic non-alkalized cocoa powder or high cacao percentage dark chocolate bars with at least 75% cacao content or even better: 85% and more. Cacao beans help you shape up your brain power, greatly improve your mood and generally make you feel happy!

Now, ever heard of Matcha? Well, if you haven’t, it is a type of finely-powdered Gyokuru green tea, which has absolutely nothing to do with your supermarket tea bags! Drinking Matcha is like consuming the green tea leaf itself and all its health benefits: antioxidants, catechins, vitamins, Fluoride and L-Theanine.

Also discover the acai berry and all the health benefits of blueberries a.k.a. the brain berry! The acai is a South American berry that is high in protein, contains essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins and is generally highly benefiting for the brain!

Last but not least… coffee beans! You may have read that coffee has been shown to reduce the risk of mental decline and diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Coffee beans are very rich with antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals and freshly-ground roasted coffee bean powder has many brain and body health benefits. Just like cacao beans, however, coffee is best consumed in a pure form like pure espresso.

That’s the brain food roundup for today. Eat well and keep up with your brain workouts!

Source: Brain Ready.com

July 4th is almost here and there are likely to be BBQs, family gatherings, community events, fireworks and more on the agenda over the next few days.  Is this good for your brain? “Absolutely”, says the scientific community who have studied the positive effects of socializing on the brain - specifically delaying brain decline and reducing stress.  To give you a little incentive to get out there and mingle, here are a few articles to consider:

• Socializing Appears to Delay Memory Problems
  
• Multiple Benefits of Socializing for Older Women
  
• How important is socialization?

Convinced?  So get together with family and friends and have a great 4th of July weekend. Your brain will thank you!

Do you have trouble remembering things? Of course, working on memory strategies can help a lot. But what if you even forget to do your memory workout? Now, with the new “Workout Reminders” feature, you can tell the HAPPYneuron Coach to email your personalized workout on a schedule that suits you.  You may never forget your brain workout again!

To schedule your workout reminder, Login and click “My Workout Reminders”. You can select as many days a week as you like and any type of workout. Of course, to be sure you receive your reminders, you may need to make coach@happy-neuron.com a ’safe recipient’ in your email program. The FAQ can tell you how for your particular email program.

As always, to see sustainable cognitive improvements, workouts are recommended up to 45 minutes, 3 times per week and continue for 10+ weeks. Staying on track with your cognitive workout program just got little easier.

Don’t forget to tell us if you like the feature.

The 5th annual Games for Health Conference was held in Boston.  It was co-sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, from whom HAPPYneuron was a proud award recipient last year. I presented about enabling better tools for professionally guided Cognitive Remediation programs. The slides can be found here…..