Category Archives: Attention Skills

Music exercises increase gray matter in the brain

Last week, on June 21, France celebrated World Music Day, a day that has been important for the past 30 years and has also been adopted by several other countries and states in the United States… Street performers, free concerts and all sorts of music related events! So why are we talking about music now? [...]

New tip to understand how attention skills work

As surprising as it could be, some of our brain cells have to be deactivated in order to become concentrated in a more efficient way! This observation was made by a team of French neuroscientists who studied different neuron networks. This study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, demonstrated that the default-mode network seems to [...]

Changing Your (Cognitive) Fitness Habits

So we’ve read it in many studies: Physical exercise is important and contributes to a healthy life style. It has also been shown to be essential for cognitive health, helping us not only to remain physically fit but also to maintain mental sharpness. Today, however, researchers find that it is not enough to inform people. [...]

How Our Attention Works

Last week we gave a summarizing overview of what is currently known about memory. This week we take a look at attention. Attention is generally defined as our ability to selectively focus on one thing, idea, or task while filtering out other distractions. Another way to describe attention is selective concentration. Attention is the function [...]

7 Ways to Improve Your Energy and Mental Focus

This Brain Fitness for Life blog  has delivered several articles on ways to keep your memory sharp. Many of you have also inquired about ways to keep your natural energy up throughout the day to help you concentrate better. There are some simple, scientifically proven, things you can do during the course of the day [...]

Can Cooking Dinner Help Your Brain?

Cooking is an activity that takes a person through a variety of brain functions. When we take to our kitchens to prepare our favorite dinner recipes, we are also honing many of our cognitive skills.

101 New Year’s Resolutions

It’s the time  to reflect on the past year 2009 and set new personal goals for the coming year 2010. We have a few ideas for you – some simple, some bigger. The important thing is to resolve to change something. Consider the positive effects on your brain. You’ll be all the better for it…. [...]

Key Cognitive Skills for Sports Performance

Did you manage to match the right sports with the right skills? Here are the answers from the prior blog post: Sports Skills Hockey: – Depth perception – Reaction speed Racquetball: – Visual trajectory analysis – Visuo-spatial exploration – Anticipation Rowing: – Team coordination – Planning/strategic skills Hiking: – Visuo-spatial awareness – Depth perception Sailing: [...]

Test Your Sports Knowledge

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? Sports Skills Hockey Horseshoes Racquetball Tai Chi Rowing Hiking Sailing Snooker/Pool Basketball Archery Anticipation Depth perception Concentration Strategic [...]

Your Brain at Work

Learning on the job isn’t a luxury these days; it’s absolutely necessary. And that is where your brain at work comes in. The Dana Foundation has launched a new website – Your Brain at Work