Some months back I happened to visit my professors at IIT Mumbai as I happened to be in Mumbai from Bangalore for a couple of days on some personal work. I was taken aback to see, Prof. Uday Gaitonde of Mechanical Engineering Department getting adept at using his left hand to move the mouse while he was typing with both his hands. His efficiency at work had drastically improved.When I asked him how come he has changed his working style, he told me how he keeps both hemispheres of the brain active.
Immediately after that visit I had penned this blog (click here..). In the next four to five years humans would have mastered how to tinker with the genes in the human body that ensures longevity of human life. We would live on an average upto 120 years. Though the thought was initially shocking, it is going to be a truth of life, we all need to be preparing for that.
Longevity of life is interesting and beneficial if one is healthy, ie. a healthy mind in a healthy body. A healthy mind is an active and occupied mind, occupied in productive and creative pursuits. Age may tire out the body, but the mind can keep it active and young.
The best way to keep our brain active is to start using both hemispheres of the brain, ie. both our hands for the daily chores. The left hand keeps our right hemisphere of the brain active and the right hand ensures the left hemisphere gets all the stimuli. Excessive use of the right hand puts the left hemisphere of brain to more use and the right hemisphere to disuse, making it a hot candidate for Alzheimer's disease in future.
How many of us know that continuous stress actually shrinks our brain. It is in our best interests to develop healthy habits of life that can help keep our mind active and rejuvenated. I happened to listen to an interesting TED talk by Elizabeth Amini on how to keep one's brain young, the points mentioned are interesting and inspiring too.
2. Engage in mind engaging games and activities like cross word puzzles, Sudoku etc on a daily basis to keep your brain cells active
3. Avoid poisons to the human body like excess alcohol, smoking etc..
4. Be a socially active person engaging in social reunions, social engagements, volunteering activities, catching up with friends etc..
5. Having a purpose / direction / cause in life and working to attain it.
6. Relax / meditation/ yoga / reading books whenever one get time to relax the brain cells
7. Partner with a doctor focusing on whole body health using preventive medicine, exercises etc. than active chemical medication etc.
8. Protect your head - that's the most critical part of your body and possibly the most delicately placed part. Don't text while driving..
9. Follow the Mediterranean diet - 7-10 servings of fruits / vegetables daily, include fish, nuts, beans, legumes etc in your daily diet regularly. Take good natural supplements like cheese, curd etc..
10. Maintain and follow a positive outlook on life. Forgive and forget .. We are just travelers here. Nothing is ours and we are not going to take anything with us. Loss and gain is part of life. Enjoy and experience it, never lose your peace of mind over it.
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Mayo Clinic advice for a young, healthy and active brain ..
Mayo Clinic is one of the most helpful preventive medicine centres of the world which is famous for its numerous medical departments.(click here for an interesting video). They have listed ten points that can help our brians active and young.
1. Socialise more - increase your circle of friends and social contacts and try to meethem more frequently
2. Keep moving - avoid sedentary activities like sitting a a place for more than an hour, keep moving your buttocks..
4. Eat plenty of plants and fruits and healthy fat like Olive oil (cocnut oil is not mentioned)
5. Get enough sleep and rest daily, minimum of 7-8 hours daily to help rejuvenate and revitalise your body for a new day of exciting actions and thoughts..
6. Train the brain to take on new challenges to improve mental sharpness
7. Quit smoking to reduce risk of cognitive diseases like poor learning, perception, memory and problem solving
8. Manage stress by relaxing often to ward off depression, fear, anxiety etc..
9. Protect the head to prevent concussions that can harm later on in life.
10. Keep blood pressure in check, what's bad for heart is equally bad for the brain.
The last and final advice I can give the elders is to move and enjoy the company of youngsters. Mingle with them, it definitely takes years off your life.
Here is a very useful and interesting link to Mayo Clinic's 50 health tips... (click here..)
George..
 | ||
| Creative intellectual activities keep your brain active |
Longevity of life is interesting and beneficial if one is healthy, ie. a healthy mind in a healthy body. A healthy mind is an active and occupied mind, occupied in productive and creative pursuits. Age may tire out the body, but the mind can keep it active and young.
The best way to keep our brain active is to start using both hemispheres of the brain, ie. both our hands for the daily chores. The left hand keeps our right hemisphere of the brain active and the right hand ensures the left hemisphere gets all the stimuli. Excessive use of the right hand puts the left hemisphere of brain to more use and the right hemisphere to disuse, making it a hot candidate for Alzheimer's disease in future.
 |
| Compulsorily engage in some physical activity daily |
1. Walk at least for 30 minutes , 5 times a week. Most of us lead sedentary lives keeping our minds and brains active,
2. Engage in mind engaging games and activities like cross word puzzles, Sudoku etc on a daily basis to keep your brain cells active
3. Avoid poisons to the human body like excess alcohol, smoking etc..
4. Be a socially active person engaging in social reunions, social engagements, volunteering activities, catching up with friends etc..
5. Having a purpose / direction / cause in life and working to attain it.
6. Relax / meditation/ yoga / reading books whenever one get time to relax the brain cells
 |
| Yoga / meditation - medicine for body and soul |
7. Partner with a doctor focusing on whole body health using preventive medicine, exercises etc. than active chemical medication etc.
8. Protect your head - that's the most critical part of your body and possibly the most delicately placed part. Don't text while driving..
9. Follow the Mediterranean diet - 7-10 servings of fruits / vegetables daily, include fish, nuts, beans, legumes etc in your daily diet regularly. Take good natural supplements like cheese, curd etc..
10. Maintain and follow a positive outlook on life. Forgive and forget .. We are just travelers here. Nothing is ours and we are not going to take anything with us. Loss and gain is part of life. Enjoy and experience it, never lose your peace of mind over it.
-----------------
Mayo Clinic advice for a young, healthy and active brain ..
Mayo Clinic is one of the most helpful preventive medicine centres of the world which is famous for its numerous medical departments.(click here for an interesting video). They have listed ten points that can help our brians active and young.
 |
| Catch up with friends, engage in some activity |
2. Keep moving - avoid sedentary activities like sitting a a place for more than an hour, keep moving your buttocks..
3. Take a class to learn something new - it renews brains connections and helps establish new ones
4. Eat plenty of plants and fruits and healthy fat like Olive oil (cocnut oil is not mentioned)
5. Get enough sleep and rest daily, minimum of 7-8 hours daily to help rejuvenate and revitalise your body for a new day of exciting actions and thoughts..
6. Train the brain to take on new challenges to improve mental sharpness
 |
| Play around with young people, care for them .. |
7. Quit smoking to reduce risk of cognitive diseases like poor learning, perception, memory and problem solving
8. Manage stress by relaxing often to ward off depression, fear, anxiety etc..
9. Protect the head to prevent concussions that can harm later on in life.
10. Keep blood pressure in check, what's bad for heart is equally bad for the brain.
The last and final advice I can give the elders is to move and enjoy the company of youngsters. Mingle with them, it definitely takes years off your life.
Here is a very useful and interesting link to Mayo Clinic's 50 health tips... (click here..)
George..
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