Aging and Technology Newsletter (June 2011): Work Your Brain
Easy Ways to Improve Your Brain
This may be the most important
fact you learn today – you can improve your brain by using your
non-dominant hand. When you shelve books, check out clients, empty
boxes, or enter data into your system, use your left hand (right if your
left is dominant). At home, comb your hair, brush your teeth, vacuum
the floor, or fill out your crossword puzzles
with the non-dominant hand. At work and at home, use your non-dominant
hand to operate your computer mouse/mouse pad. Not just once, but for
days on end until the left hand works as well as the right when you do
these particular tasks. Why? Because you want to give your brain a
workout; you want it to begin forming new networks.
A typical human brain
has the ability to continually change shape and rewire itself. It has
over 100 billion neurons, which form and reform one thousand trillion
connections (networks). New research has shown this process continues
into our 70’s, assuming we continue to challenge our brains. This
amazing plasticity is enhanced whenever something “novel” becomes a part
of our routine – at least until it becomes routine, then it is time to
look for something else. In addition, improving fine motor skills
that necessitate hand/eye coordination improves our brains’ cognitive
processes. By combining the two (new experiences and enhancing fine
motor skills) we give our brains a great workout, and our brains reward
us by creating new neurons and network connections that improve brain
health.
We’ve heard, again and again, what we should do:
- Avoid stress, learn how to meditate, how to visualize happy events/places, and breathe deeply.
- Select nutritious meals, eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, cut down on the volume of food we consume, keep a record of the food we eat, reduce fat intake, etc.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week.
- Expand social networks, talk to family/friends daily, join a book club for social interaction, etc.
- Take on new hobbies – learn a new language, learn how to paint or play a musical instrument, learn to dance, take up gardening, enroll in cooking or writing classes, etc.
- Sleep well, at least 6-8 hours a day.
Mostly, we choose not to follow this advice. Because we are too busy,
or it’s too hard, or we simply don’t want to commit to something “new,”
or are satisfied with ourselves, we ignore that advice and continue to
lead routine lives with set, comfortable patterns. However, it appears
that doing more of a “routine” good thing, even when it make us “expert”
in a field, at best keeps our brains at status quo, at worst
precipitates cognitive decline.
The time and inconvenience required to enrich our brains by
using our non-dominant hand in “new” “novel” ways are relatively minor.
It’s actually fascinating to see that our bodies are so engrained in
habits that making even small changes become a challenge. Begin
vacuuming with your left hand and note how unintentionally you revert to
the right. Toss a ball to your child or grandchild with your left hand
and then try catching with that same hand and note how your brain
automatically encourages you to reach with the dominant hand. Use your
non-dominant hand to color with your child or grandchild and share the
joy of staying within the lines.
Do avoid beginning with action that may put you at risk – this
is not the time to learn to cut vegetables with your non-dominant hand
or to shave or to drive with it.
Second best tip of the day: Bring out the inner child -- laugh
often.
To switch buttons on your mouse to a left-handed configuration,
go to Start>Control Panel , “Printers and Other Hardware” (in
category view), then select Mouse . Go to “Button Actions” and choose
the Left button action to “Right Click” and the Right button action to
“Left Click“.