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Brain Awareness

Brain Awareness. Fun Facts From Comfort Keepers. What is a Brain?. “If you look at the anatomy, the structure, the function, there's nothing in the universe that's more beautiful, that's more complex, than the human brain.” Keith Black, Discover magazine, April, 2004. The Brain.

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Brain Awareness

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  1. Brain Awareness Fun Facts From Comfort Keepers

  2. What is a Brain? “If you look at the anatomy, the structure, the function, there's nothing in the universe that's more beautiful, that's more complex, than the human brain.” Keith Black, Discover magazine, April, 2004

  3. The Brain • The adult human brain usually weighs between 1 and 1.5 kg (three pounds) • The brain consumes about 20% of the energy used by the body (in infants, it consumes 60%)

  4. The Brain • Each part of your brain had a different job to do – all the brain cells are connected up to form a huge network • If you count the seconds since the dinosaurs were alive – that’s how many brain connections you have!

  5. The Brain • Brain basics: • The forebrain carries out the highest intellectual functions, such as thinking, planning, and problem solving • The midbrain is much smaller, and mainly relays sensory information from sense organs to other brain areas • The hindbrain relays information from the spinal cord to other parts of the brain – controls movement coordination, and equilibrium

  6. The Brain • The largest part of the brain is the cerebrum: • It is located in the forebrain • It controls behavior, emotions, language, vision and other important functions of the body. • Resembles a giant wrinkled walnut – it makes up 7/10ths of the entire nervous system • If the surface layer of the cerebrum was smooth rather than wrinkled, the brain would inflate to the size of a basketball!

  7. Einstein’s Brain • Einstein’s brain was smaller than average • His huge intelligence came from the number of connections he had between his brain cells • Every time you learn something new, you are making a new connection between two brain cells

  8. Fascinating Facts about the Brain • You have 15 times more neurons in your head than there are people on the planet • If each of your brain cells was as big as a pin head your brain would measure 5 metres across • There is no sense of pain in the brain itself – this allows neurosurgeons to probe areas of the brain while the patient is awake

  9. Male – Female Brain Differences • The male brain has approximately 4% more brain cells and 100 more grams of brain tissue than the female brain • Women have more “connections” between brain cells • Women can transfer data between their left and right hemispheres faster than men – they have greater access to both sides, while men tend to be more left brained

  10. Male – Female Brain Differences

  11. Enhance Your Brain Anonymous (from A. Nonny Mouse Writes Again! by J. Prelutsky, 1993): Ashes to ashes Dust to dust Oil those brains Before they rust.

  12. Enhance Your Brain • Protect Your Brain • Protecting your brain from injury, pollution, sleep deprivation, and stress is the first step to optimizing its function • Many chemicals are toxic to brain function – alcohol, drugs of abuse, nicotine, much caffeine, and many medications decrease blood flow to the brain

  13. Enhance Your Brain • Feed Your Brain – the right food can make your brain work better: • Brain cells need chemicals called neurotransmitters to communicate effectively with each other • Neurotransmitters are made from amino acids found in protein foods e.g., meat, fish and cheese.

  14. Enhance Your Brain • Feed Your Brain • Carbohydrates provide the brain with energy • Brain-friendly carbs include: • fruit, cereals and grains, vegetables and legumes, dairy products like yogurt

  15. Brain Foods • The Right Fats • The brain is more than 60% fat • The health of your brain depends on how much and what type of fat you consume • Omega 3 fatty acids are essential to the optimum performance of your brain. • Omega 3 fats are found in cold water oily fish like salmon, sardines, trout, tuna, herring, mackerel and anchovies

  16. Brain Foods • Vitamins and minerals are essential for the growth and functioning of the brain.  • The 'B' complex vitamins are particularly important for the brain and play a vital role in producing energy. Vitamins A, C and E are powerful antioxidants and promote and preserve memory in the elderly.  • Minerals are also critical to mental functioning and performance. Magnesium and manganese are needed for brain energy. Sodium, potassium and calcium are important in the thinking process.

  17. Enhance Your Brain 3. Keep Your Brain Stimulated and Challenged • Every time you learn something new your brain makes a new connection – learning enhances blood flow and activity in the brain • If you go for long periods without learning something new you start to lose some of the connections in the brain and you begin to struggle more with memory and learning

  18. Enhance Your Brain 4. Be Physically Active • Moderate physical activity promotes brain health • It increases the supply of blood and nutrients to the brain and may even encourage the development of new cells

  19. Enhance Your Brain 5. Kill the Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTS) that invade your brain • The thoughts that go through your mind have a significant impact on how your brain works • Happy, hopeful thoughts have an overall calming effect on the brain, while negative thoughts inflame brain areas often involved in depression and anxiety • Your thoughts matter!

  20. The Brain - Memory • Your memory is like a muscle – the more you use it, the better it gets • Try a daily exercise – think of every single detail of something you did today, or try to sum up every new thing you have learned today – faces, names, smells, places etc.

  21. Teach Yourself Memory Tricks • Make associations between something you are trying to remember and something you already know. For example, if you meet someone named Rose associate her name with the flower • Use visual imagery – make a mental picture of something you are trying to remember • Repeat new information – at multiple, spaced time points – repeating it over and over without a break won’t help • Chunk information – instead of trying to remember a phone number, break it down into chunks

  22. Brain Teasers Each of these stories may seem impossible at first – Can you figure out the solution?

  23. Brain Teasers Three kids went for a walk. About a mile or so into the walk, they came to a deep, wide, river. There was no bridge. They didn’t have a boat or a raft, or any materials to make one. None of them could swim. How did they cross the river?

  24. Brain Teasers Two girls are born to the same mother, on the same day, at the same time, in the same month and year and yet they're not twins. How can this be?

  25. Brain Teasers I am looking at somebody's photo. Who is it I am looking at, if I don't have any brothers or sisters and the father of that man on the photo is the son of my father?

  26. Teaser Break – Optical Illusion:Old or Young Woman?

  27. Teaser Break – Optical Illusion Sigmund Freud and what’s really on his mind:

  28. Brain Teasers That attorney is my brother, testified the accountant. But the attorney testified he didn't have a brother. Who is lying?

  29. Brain Teasers The captain of a big ship was telling this interesting story: "Once I saw two marines standing on the opposite sides of the ship. One was looking to the west and the other one to the east. And they saw each other very well."How can that be possible?

  30. Teaser Break - Dancing Elephant Optical Illusion Try and count the number of legs:

  31. Optical Illusion - Movement

  32. Optical Illusion - Movement

  33. Brain Do’s • Drink lots of water + eat healthy • Think positive thoughts • Get rid of Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTS) • Everyday focus on the things you are grateful for in your life • Exercise • Eat foods that will enhance your brain

  34. Brain Do’s • Wear a helmet in high risk situations • Enhance your memory skills • Sing and hum whenever you can – make beautiful music a part of your life • Take head injuries seriously, even minor ones

  35. Brain Don’ts • Lie around the house and never exercise • Drink too much caffeine, alcohol, or smoke • Drive without wearing a seatbelt • Think in words like always, never, every time, every one • Predict the worse • Isolate yourself when you feel worried, depressed, or panicky

  36. Brain Don’ts • Refuse to take medications when needed • Refuse to listen to the people you love who may be trying to get you help • Focus on the negative things in life • Allow your life to happen without directing or planning it

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