Meditation and Memory Loss
An article on the CBS News website makes interesting for anyone concerned about memory loss.
Researchers have found that meditation can stimulate blood flow in the brain which leads to improved memory.
The participants studied a form of yoga called Kirtan Kriya and practiced for 12 minutes each day. CBS says ”The participants learned the Kirtan Kriya technique. It involves the repetition of four sounds — SA, TA, NA, MA. While saying the sounds, the person meditating also touches their thumb to their index finger, and middle, fourth, and fifth fingers. They perform it out loud for two minutes, in a whisper for two minutes, in silence for four minutes, a whisper for two more minutes, and out loud for two minutes.”
This is yet more evidence to support the role that meditation can have in managing the brain. You may have read our earlier article on Shaping the Brain which talked about the results of meditation of Tibetam monks.
At the very least meditation will help to relieve the stresses of daily life and that has a beneficial effect on brain function. Perhaps it is time to try meditation for yourself?
Raise funds with puzzles.
If you are on a school or club committee, one of the most difficult parts of the fundraising challenge is to find something that is different to what other groups are doing. After all, one lamington drive per year is quite enough! The trouble with doing the same old fundraisers is that you ruin it for everyone. No one makes any real money.
Why not raise funds with crosswords? That is something that no-one else will have thought about. It has the added benefit that it is educational and won’t result in dental bills!
Crosswords for Fun offers you a seamless, effective fundraising solution, which will involve minimal time input from your members, and give you a great return of funds for your important projects.
Sign your group up as an affiliate of the Crosswords for Fun and for every membership sold to someone you have referred, we will give your group a 20% commission towards your fundraiser.
Here is an example of your potential earnings:
A school of 400 students sell 2 yearly memberships per student @ $29.95 each
20% of $29.95 = $5.99
800 (memberships) x $5.99 = $4792 $4792 towards your special project!
It really is that simple. Won’t it be nice to have something new to offer your community?
If you have any questions at all about how this works please contact us.
Learn a Language with Puzzles
We have talked before about the use of puzzles when learing a second language. They are a fun way to learn your new vocbulary and spelling. At Fishpond I found a book called “Your First 100 Words in German” which is based on that same principle.
“Your First 100 Words in German” will help you learn German in the same effective way that children first learn to speak their own language. The blurb says: “Learning German can be scary to you as a beginner, especially if you have attempted once before and failed. The reasons are many: too fast a pace, an overwhelming amount of vocabulary, or problematic memorization. “Your First 100 Words in German” eliminates these obstacles by presenting the meanings and pronunciations of 100 basic words in a simple workbook format, each illustrated and transliterated so you can grasp the word without struggling.”
We know that learning a new language exercises a part of the brain that we don’t use every day so it is a great thing to do. This book combines the best brain exercise techniques all in one. Grab yourself a copy.
Chess for Beginners
Chess is the ultimate strategy game and it exercises a part of the brain that word and number puzzles don’t touch.
This is a video for beginners and it teaches you a little about chess, what the pieces are, how they move and what you are trying to do. If you don’t play chess you might like to watch this and then find someone to play against. Good luck!
Food for Mental Health
We have written before about the link between food, healthy lifestyle and mental health. Today I found this list at the UK organisation called Mental Health.
Anxiety
Anxiety has been linked to a lack Folic Acid
Depression
Depression has been linked to a lack of Vitamin B3, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Magnesium, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Selenium, Tryptophan and Zinc.
Irritability
Irritability has been linked to a lack of Vitamin B6, Magnesium, Selenium
Lethargy
Lethargy has been linked to a lack of Zinc
Insomnia
Insomnia has been linked to a lack of Magnesium
Poor Memory
Poor memory has been linked to a lack of Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12
Stress
Stress has been linked to a lack of Vitamin B6
Poor Concentration or Confusion
Poor Concentration or Confusion has been linked to a lack of Vitamin B1. Vitamin B12. Zinc
Where do you get all these things? Fresh fruit and vegetables and a healthy diet will give you all that you need. If you feel that you are not getting as much goodness as you need then try to refine your diet. You can visit Mental Health which will show you which foods carry which specific minerals and vitamins so that you can increase them in your diet.
Meet Mr Puzzles
Sometimes you need to give someone a gift and it can’t be really hard to think of something that is ‘different’, can’t it?
Obviously, you could buy a subscription to our great new printed puzzle books which would make them very happy. You could also go to Mr Puzzles and have a look at the clever puzzles they have in stock.
Mr Puzzles stocks wooden puzzles, kids puzzles and lots of interesting puzzles for all ages.
Have a look at this one. You might like to give your mate a few cans of beer for his birthday. Why not make him work for it? This clever puzzle requires you to figure out how to release the cans bfore you can drink them. I have seen this one and I can tell you that it isn’t easy. Luckily it comes with a solution sheet so you don’t have to call for the axe!
There are lots of puzzles including kids, desk sets, sports and Australiana themed ones to choose from. When you want to give a gift that helps the mind then Mr Puzzles is a great place to shop.
Use your logic
Here is a quick puzzle from Brain-Fun.com for you to work through. How logical are you?
On top of Mount Dilemma sits the monastery of Grand Enigma. Seven of the monks are on a diet of bread and water. Each of them has confessed to a different pair of deadly sins. And each sin has claimed a pair of victims; each pair is different.
Cornelius, Edmund and Ferdinand have no sin which is common to any two of them. (There are no repeated sins among them.)
You will find all seven sins among Bartholomew, Demetrius, Edmund and Geoffrey.
Augustus and Geoffrey have admitted to sloth.
Demetrius and Edmund have admitted to lust.
Pride is not a sin of Augustus.
Avarice is not a sin of Bartholomew.
Neither pride nor intemperance is a sin of Ferdinand.
Anger is not a sin of Demetrius.
Cornelius admits to anger. He has a different sin in common with Demetrius.
The seventh sin is envy.
List the two sins of each monk.
(Thanks to Martin Hollis)
Worked it out? No? Click here for the answer.
Brain Games
Well the link in yesterdays post no longer works. Overnight the site has moved! The new address is http://www.positscience.com/braingames/ and you will find a range of brain testing games there to test out.
Good luck!
Rapid Naming
We humans have a name for everything. We can identify a can no matter what size, shape or colour it is because we have learnt to recognise specific properties. We know what a dog is no matter what breed it is and the fact that it has whiskers, four legs and a tail does not trick us into thinking it is a cat or a rat.
The use of names is a big part of our language skills. It is very hard to get the message across to someone if you can’t identify the subject. How often have you been talking with someone and the conversation goes something like this….?
“Where is it?”
“Where is what?”
“That thingy that I need.”
“What thingy would that be?”
“You know. The brown one.”
“So you are looking for a brown thingy. What do you do with it?”
….And so it goes on. Forgetting a word is hard enough but when it is a key word , like the name of an item, it can really halt a conversation.
With practice we learn to recognise things quickly and use their correct name. Brain Connection says “The ability to name items rapidly and automatically means that we can focus our efforts on higher-level skills. To express a thought about cats, you must say “cat” without thinking too hard. Similarly, to recognize a printed word or solve a math problem, you must identify letters and digits almost instantaneously. The failure to make these skills quick and automatic can make subsequent learning very difficult…….”
Would you like to test out your rapid naming skills? Brain Connection has a simple but testing puzzle that you can try out. It sees how quickly you recognise colours, numbers, objects and letters. Give it a go and see how good you are. Remember, practice makes perfect.
Play free puzzles online
How long is it since you visited Crosswords for Fun? Did you realize that you can play our puzzles online for free?
Our free puzzles section includes Codewords, Sudoku, Word Finds and Crosswords. We even have a special section full of kids puzzles. Puzzles are added to the free puzzle area frequently. If you haven’t visited us in a while you will be surprised at what you find!
While you are there why not have a look at our new subscriptions? Yes, you can buy our puzzles in hard copy book form now. Isn’t that great news? Even better, our subscription prices are still dirt cheap!
Come on in and have a look around.
