BrainReady

Are you listening……?

Like everyone else, the Brainready team often gets accused of not listening. It’s not that we don’t try; we just have so many thoughts running through our head and can’t focus on everything.

So how can we all avoid distractions, get rid of the brain fog and stop getting lost in our own thoughts?

Attentive listening is not only a skill, but also a process that can actually help focus your thoughts and stop your mind wandering.

…

At BrainReady, we've covered the brain health and longevity-related benefits of just about every natural drink one could think of; from Matcha green tea to cocoa to the differences between espresso and regular coffee, the list of health-fueling natural choices can be almost overwhelming if you're trying to pick the right one for you.

But we'd be remiss if we didn't add Yerba Mate (pronounced "yair-ba mah-tay") to the list, particularly with so…

The BrainReady Guide to the Best Brain Supplements, Part 2: PS 

Our second entry in the BrainReady Best Brain Supplements series (be sure to see our first post on vinpocetine) is Phosphatidylserine, the hard-to-pronounce-and-spell natural supplement more commonly referred to as 'PS'. 

Phosphatidylserine is a naturally occurring molecule known as a phospholipid, and has been shown to be important for the integrity and maintenance of the brain cell…

Will you be working at age 86? Probably. What about 94? 102?

Ah, the mid-life crisis.  

Many of us have experienced them, particularly those in the rapidly expanding baby-boomer age range, yet even those in their late 30's and early 40's are increasingly showing the signs. From "what should I do with the rest of my life?" musings all the way to terrifying realizations that you're nowhere near on track for a retirement, ever, the importance of…

With all of the press coverage about the wonderful health benefits of tea in all its myriad forms, including the many discussions regarding the specific brain health & anti-aging benefits that we've covered here at BrainReady, more and more people around the world are adding some form of tea into their daily diet. 

From black teas to green teas to Matcha green tea powder Ooolong to white teas and the many in between, there's been something of a…

(Before reading the following article, we'd like to introduce Dr. Carl Hansen, Jr., M.D., and his wonderful example: a doctor with a deep passion for and knowledge of brain health, how vitamins and nutrients play a truly vital role in keeping one's brain healthy and even reversing decline, and frustration about the fact that most other supplement products on the market used either cheap versions of key nutrients in forms that our bodies can't…

Whether it's those earnest New Year's resolutions or an upcoming feared birthday that will put you into that next age bracket, many people find themselves reaching the, "Okay, that's it...now I really need to start doing X, stop doing Y, and exercise Z times per week and eat more vegetables in 2008!". 

These personal inflection points are often, if not always, focused on improving one's physical body and health -- the things that people see when…

We wrote about the health benefits of turmeric in our earlier BrainReady Blog piece, "The Ultimate Anti-Aging Spice?", and now there's even more reason to choose that Indian restaurant instead of the steak house.

One of the compounds in turmeric (the yellow spice that gives Indian curry its yellow color), "may help stimulate immune system cells that gobble up the brain-clogging proteins that mark Alzheimer's disease", according to exciting new…

You've seen it on everything from shampoo bottles to skin lotions, teas and throat lozenges, candles, salons and spas, and now even gum: Aromatherapy, a term which has often been associated with helping to treat and heal a variety of human ailments, from mild to severe -- yet for most people conjures vague notions of relaxing in nice-smelling bathtub with candles. 

But Aromatherapy is actually a very serious area of practice, a fusion of holistic…

When Buddhism, neuroscience and brain training collide, wonderful things can happen...to you? 

The ongoing march of scientific progress is commonly viewed as separate, or at least distinct, from such areas as philosophy and religion, particularly in the West. And for many, trying to apply new learning or research findings to our everyday, practical busy lives is difficult at best; we hear a nugget there, we read a snippet there, but seldom do we…

Yes, now there's even more reason to take brain exercise seriously: a new widely-acclaimed study by Rush University Medical Center involving over 700 Americans showed that mental stimulation -- including brain exercises, going to the museum or theater, reading and other mentally stimulating activities -- helps reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

The study participants averaged 80 years of age at the start of the study, and underwent yearly…

Avoid The Dreaded D - Dementia (by BrainReady special guest contributor Dr. Susan Parsons, MD)

Most of us fear the loss of brain function as we get older.  In fact, that may be why you are here at BrainReady.  Maybe Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia have affected your parents, grandparents, or other loved ones. 

Is there anything you can do to prevent or forestall this malady?  I’m happy to report:  Yes, there are things you can do…

The BrainReady Top 5 Brain Health Foods

Many of you have asked us for a simple list of the very best, proven natural foods & drinks for optimum brain (and body) health.

Ah, everyone loves lists these days, it seems. So while there are numerous natural foods, drinks, herbs and supplemental products that possess brain & body-enhancing properties, we've done the research for you and created a list of five all-natural, widely-available foods that we…

CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation

By Dr. Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D (BrainReady Special Guest contributor)

I am presently on a four-week speaking tour in Australia and New Zealand and have been pondering how to put your amazing brain to work on something that has kept the world clothed, fed, housed and entertained since the time we first stood upright.  That would of course be innovation.  And would you believe your brain has a love-hate…

Ah, Acai. You've probably seen that word, proudly listed on many of the newer health-focused juices available, or perhaps appearing in pill form at health food and vitamin stores. Yet how many of us actually know what Acai really is, where it comes from, what form is best to take, and most importantly WHY we should even consider taking it in the first place?

And that's a good thing to ask such questions, as just because a product may say it has…

One of the appeals of brain-boosting foods & supplements is that we can usually manage to squeeze them into our already-busy lives: we already need to eat, we take a multivitamin, we make time for these things. So it's not a stretch to add more foods and supplements that have added benefits.

But when it comes to making brain exercises a routine, daily activity, it can be hard to find the time to fit it in, or even to remember to do it (ah, the…