Keeping Your Brain Healthy: Brain-FX

The Voice/ Brain Connection: Smooth Talking Decreases Cortisol

It's not just an act to manipulate the people you are talking to when you inject smooth sweetness into your voice. Next time you find your mental temperature on the rise, try this:

Speak with a calm voice. This will trigger the avoidance of cortisol, that pesky little hormone that spikes when we get angry or fearful.

Dr. Ellen Weber, the wizardess over at Brain-Based Business blog gave a perfect example of how communications - or miscommunications - can occur even among trusted peers. Her blog post is worth the read.

What's for Dinner? Try the fish...

Dr. Antonio Convit, the medical director for the Center for Brain Health at the New York University School of Medicine, tells us that when it comes to memory, you are what you eat.

This post comes to us by way of Dr. Ellen Weber, Brain-Based Business Blog.

People speak often of feeding their brain and you hear people naming foods like fish as brain food. Dr. Convit illustrates how a healthy diet may help to cultivate and sustain your memory.

So if you’re looking for brain food … what should land on your plate…. Not surprisingly…  most foods we eat to strengthen our bodies are also good for the brain and for your well-being  too. Dr. Convit, described himself as a “modified vegetarian” who practices what he preaches….

His best advice is to stick to leafy greens, fish, and other foods that carry a low glycemic index.

Computer Gaming: Recovery and Treatment for Addicts

I'm a big advocate of computer games for keeping your brain healthy and young. But in spite of Stephen Johnson's book with the intriguing name and subject matter of Everything Bad for You is Good, I know that some people can get addicted to computer games.

As someone who has remained alcohol free for the last 20 years, I am attracted to the addictive qualities of mental pleasures. I can even spend a few hours trying to beat my score at Mahjong Masters. But I get too bored with spending enough time online with simple games.

The Hubby is a big World of Warcraft aficionado. Some might point a finger at him, but he insists he's in control of his gaming.

Here's a story about computer game addiction recovery centers that might interest you, about a detox center in the Netherlands. But if you know someone who might need help, the article also talks about other treatments available in the U.S.