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MYTH: Memory decline is inevitable as we age.
FACT:
Many seniors are as intelligent and quick-witted as ever. To ensure a
healthy brain as you age, try some of the following tips:
- Engage in physical, preferably, aerobic
activities
- Occupy your brain with intellectually
stimulating
recreation
- Eat a healthy brain food diet and consider
supplementing a lacking diet
- Get proper sleep to help manage stress
- Have fun, be creative, dance, start a hobby or
re-kindle an old one
- Be socially active, participate in meaningful
get-togethers
- Play games that challenge your memory
- Learn something new everyday
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MYTH: "We only use about 10%
of our brains"
FACT:
Almost the entire brain is
employed, in one region or another during the course of any given day. This is evidenced
by modern imaging procedures like Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and PET
scans. In fact, the more intricate our undertakings, the more expansive our brain
activity becomes.
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MYTH: "Brain damage is permanent. "
FACT:
Historically, it was theorized that the brain had a fixed
number of cells and could not produce new ones. If cells were damaged, they were forever
lost. Modern science today, reveals that challenging our brain and learning new things can
spur the brain and actually promote new cell growth through neurogenesis.
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MYTH: "The brain is a sponge, but when it's full;
it's full ".
FACT:
In medical circles, experts are asserting that the
brain's potential to learn and develop is infinite; limited only by the imagination and
efforts of the individual.
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MYTH: Subliminal messages can influence you.
FACT:
Although subliminal messages are banned in most countries, scientists are
still not convinced of their capability to alter, for example, our purchasing choices.
Current studies, through the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have
shown that even though the brain may process a subliminal image, it does not necessarily
prompt us to act. Furthermore, if there is a great deal of concurrent stimuli, it is likely
that the brain will not process the message at all.
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MYTH:
Fevers cause brain damage and fevers above
104°F (40°C) are dangerous.
FACT:
Brain damage only occurs when body temperatures exceed
approximately 108°F (42°C). To achieve a fever this high, either environmental
temperatures must be extremely high or there are extraordinary circumstances, such as
central nervous system disorders or heatstroke. |
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MYTH
: Falling asleep with a
concussion may cause you to slip into a coma or die.
FACT:
It's certainly necessary to observe for symptoms of a
brain injury such as double vision, dizziness, nausea or vomiting after a traumatic
injury. If these occur, you should seek immediate medical attention. Nevertheless, the
accepted protocol of health care providers these days, is to allow the individual to
sleep.
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MYTH: Only seniors need to worry about brain exercises.
FACT:
Each and every one of us can benefit from an assortment of routine brain
exercises. A healthy brain food diet in combination with active brain exercise helps us to
manage stress and keeps us sharp-witted.
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 MYTH:
Brain cells die every day and ultimately our
abilities just fade.
FACT:
Although it's true that neural connections
disappear, we now know that new pathways can be built with regular brain exercises.
Exercise and get the proper brain foods, and your brain will reward you with the generation of new cells
and newly created circuitry .
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MYTH: "We either have a "Right"
(creative) or "Left" (analytical) brain dominance."
FACT: It is now known that brain activity travels
harmoniously across the hemispheres. It is this sharing and not the division, that's
important. In fact, scientists today regard the polarity between the right and left
hemisphere to be negligible and insignificant.
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