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Week 1: Belief in ourselves is the first step to success—we have what it takes!
Quick Links
Course website: bfclass.com
BrainHQ site: https://v4.brainhq.com/
Student site with schedule and more: sdcestudent55.com
Site to enroll in classes: myportal.sdccd.edu
Official SDCCE site: sdcce.edu
Click here for the class zoom link
Handout
Handout
BrainHQ Site
BrainHQ Site
Frustration: A Natural Part of Growth
Frustration is a normal response to challenges, especially when starting something new.
It’s important to acknowledge frustration without letting it derail your progress.
Learning to manage frustration makes sticking to habits easier and strengthens your brain.
Strategies for Managing Frustration:
Break tasks into smaller, achievable steps.
Take a pause when you feel stuck—breathe, reset, and try again later.
Use frustration as feedback. Ask: What’s not working? How can I adjust?
Motivation: Finding Your Why
Motivation isn’t about constant excitement; it’s about finding a meaningful reason to keep going.
Intrinsic motivation—doing something because it aligns with your values—is more sustainable than external rewards.
Celebrating small wins keeps the momentum alive.
Strategies to Stay Motivated:
Tie brain fitness habits to something important to you—your family, hobbies, or future goals.
Keep track of progress, no matter how small.
Surround yourself with reminders of why you started (e.g., photos, quotes, or a note to yourself).
Resilience: Bouncing Back from Challenges (20 minutes)
Resilience is what keeps you going when things don’t go as planned. It’s a skill you can build.
Every time you recover from a setback, you strengthen your ability to persevere.
Self-compassion is critical—no one is perfect, and slip-ups are part of the process.
Strategies to Build Resilience:
Reflect on past challenges and what helped you get through them.
Reframe setbacks as opportunities to learn and adjust.
Practice gratitude to focus on progress, not just problems.
Exercising My Attention This week will focus on attention exercises and strategies. You'll learn how to improve your focus, concentration, and multitasking skills through BrainHQ activities.
Focus as a Trainable Skill:
Huberman emphasizes that focus is like a muscle—you can strengthen it through intentional effort and practice. It’s not just about willpower; it involves biological and mental processes that can be optimized.
2. The Role of Breathing:
One of the quickest ways to enhance focus is through physiological sighs. This involves two quick inhales through the nose, followed by a slow, extended exhale through the mouth. This method lowers stress, balances the nervous system, and primes the brain for better concentratio
3. Reducing Mental Clutter:
Modern distractions, like smartphones and multitasking, fragment attention. Huberman advises setting dedicated blocks of time to work on a single task without interruptions. Over time, this builds neural circuits for sustained attention.
4. Dopamine’s Role in Focus:
Dopamine, a neurotransmitter, plays a crucial role in motivation and focus. To prevent dependency on external stimulants (like caffeine or music), Huberman suggests finding intrinsic value in your work. Achieving this trains the brain to maintain focus without needing constant rewards.
5. Visual Focus Training:
Huberman explains that focus in the mind is closely tied to visual focus. Practicing convergent focus, like staring at a specific object or point, trains your neural circuits for concentration. This helps reduce "mental noise" and creates clarity for deeper work.
6. Timing and Circadian Rhythms:
Your ability to focus is influenced by the time of day. Huberman suggests leveraging peak focus times, typically mid-morning and early afternoon, to tackle cognitively demanding tasks.
7. The Importance of Recovery:
High levels of focus need to be balanced with periods of relaxation to avoid burnout. Engaging in restorative activities like non-sleep deep rest (NSDR), yoga nidra, or meditation can help reset the mind and prepare it for the next session of intense focus.
Technology & Brain Health
Tech can boost or harm brain health.
Mindful use is essential. Prompt: How can you balance screen time?
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment with non-judgmental awareness.
Regular mindfulness practice can:
Reduce stress and anxiety by lowering cortisol levels.
Improve focus and attention by strengthening the prefrontal cortex.
Enhance memory and learning by supporting hippocampal growth.
Promote emotional regulation by calming the amygdala.
Foster resilience by building neuroplasticity.
Chunking Information
Break large pieces of information into smaller, manageable chunks (e.g., phone numbers: 555-123-4567).
Use Associations
Link new information to something you already know to make it easier to remember.
Create Mnemonics
Use acronyms, rhymes, or songs (e.g., "ROYGBIV" for the colors of the rainbow).
Practice Visualization
Form mental images of what you’re trying to remember. The more vivid and detailed, the better.
Repeat and Rehearse
Repetition strengthens neural connections. Say or write the information multiple times.
Teach What You’ve Learned
Explaining a concept to someone else helps consolidate it in your memory.
Stay Physically Active
Exercise boosts blood flow and oxygen to the brain, improving memory and overall cognition.
Get Quality Sleep
Memory consolidation happens during deep sleep. Aim for 7–9 hours per night.
Use Spaced Repetition
Review information at increasing intervals over time to reinforce long-term memory.
Focus on One Thing at a Time
Multitasking splits your attention, reducing the chance of storing information properly.
Meditate Regularly
Mindfulness meditation reduces stress and improves focus, both of which enhance memory.
Play Brain Games
Engage in puzzles, memory games, or strategy games to challenge and stimulate your brain.
Write Things Down
The act of writing reinforces memory by engaging multiple senses.
Use the Method of Loci (Memory Palace)
Associate items you want to remember with locations in a familiar place, like your home.
Stay Organized
Keep a calendar, planner, or to-do list to reduce cognitive overload.
Stay Socially Active
Conversations and social interactions help keep your brain engaged and sharp.
Learn Something New
Whether it’s a language, instrument, or hobby, new learning stimulates memory-forming areas of the brain.
Eat a Brain-Healthy Diet
Include omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins found in foods like fish, nuts, berries, and leafy greens.
Limit Stress
Chronic stress damages the hippocampus, the brain's memory center. Practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing.
Challenge Your Memory
Test yourself regularly by recalling information without looking it up (e.g., phone numbers, shopping lists).
Enhances Emotional Resilience: Purpose provides a buffer against stress and depression.
Promotes Cognitive Health: Studies show that individuals with a strong sense of purpose experience better memory retention and reduced risk of dementia.
Increases Neuroplasticity: A meaningful life encourages learning, growth, and adaptability, keeping the brain active.
Boosts Longevity: People with purpose often live longer and healthier lives.
Writing your Memoars with Tara Gilboy
Habit Formation & Neuroplasticity
Habit Formation & Neuroplasticity
Repetition strengthens neural pathways 🧠: By consistently performing the same action (e.g., eating fruit after lunch), the brain strengthens the associated neural connections, making the behavior automatic.
Cue-based learning 🔄: Associating the action with a specific time and place (e.g., “After lunch at home, I will eat a piece of fruit”) creates a trigger, reinforcing the habit.
Gradual automation ⚡: Over time (about 10 weeks), the habit becomes second nature, showing how repeated behaviors rewire the brain for efficiency.
Brain-Healthy Activities are lifestyle habits and exercises that support cognitive function, mental agility, and overall brain health. These activities help keep the brain sharp, reduce the risk of cognitive decline, and improve emotional well-being. They fall into three key categories:
Physical Activity – Boosts blood flow to the brain, reduces inflammation, and promotes neuroplasticity.
Social Engagement – Strengthens neural connections, reduces stress, and lowers the risk of dementia.
Cognitive Stimulation – Encourages learning, memory, and problem-solving to keep the brain active.
Music is a fundamental part of human culture. Every civilization, past and present, has developed music. But why is it so deeply ingrained in our nature?
Research suggests that music is linked to:
Survival and evolution – Early humans used rhythm and melodies for communication before language.
Social bonding – Group music-making enhances cooperation and unity (Levitin, 2006).
Emotional expression – Music can evoke complex emotions, from joy to nostalgia.
Brain engagement – Unlike other activities, music activates multiple brain areas, including those involved in memory, motor skills, and emotions (Patel, 2008).
Why is it important for Brain Health?
Reduces chronic stress: Chronic SNS activation can shrink the hippocampus (memory center) and impair cognitive function.
Enhances neuroplasticity: PNS activation supports the brain’s ability to rewire and adapt to new learning experiences.
Improves emotional regulation: A well-regulated PNS leads to better emotional stability and resilience.
The brain is a social organ. Connection is not a luxury—it’s a biological necessity.
Loneliness is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (based on a study by Holt-Lunstad, 2010).
Being socially active is linked with a lower risk of dementia.
Social interaction increases neuroplasticity and stimulates cognitive processes like language, memory, and decision-making.
Benefits of Gratitude:
Mental Health: Reduces depression, anxiety, and stress. Improves life satisfaction.
Physical Health: Fewer aches/pains, healthier behaviors, more self-care.
Better Sleep: Faster, longer, and more refreshing sleep.
Stronger Relationships: Builds connection and reduces resentment.
More Empathy/Less Aggression: Increases kindness and compassion.
Higher Self-Esteem: Reduces envy; boosts self-worth.
Greater Resilience: Helps cope with stress and bounce back from adversity.
These strategies are supported by peer-reviewed research:
Lifelong learning (e.g., classes, workshops)
→ Enhances neuroplasticity and cognitive resilience.
(Stern, 2009; Cabeza et al., 2018)Reading regularly
→ Stimulates language, memory, and analytical processing.Learning new languages
→ Strengthens cognitive flexibility and executive function.Art, music, and creative writing
→ Enhances emotional regulation and brain connectivity.Physical activity (especially aerobic exercise)
→ Increases brain volume and memory performance.
(Erickson et al., 2011, PNAS)Strategy games (chess, puzzles, sudoku)
→ Promote problem-solving and working memory.Social interaction
→ Protects against dementia and supports emotional well-being.Mindfulness and meditation
→ Improves attention, memory, and emotional regulation.
(Tang, Hölzel, & Posner, 2015)Volunteering or mentoring
→ Adds purpose and cognitive stimulation.Travel and new experiences
→ Engages sensory processing, adaptability, and novelty learning.
Class Goals:
Class Goals:
Understand how engaging in local cultural and physical activities supports brain health.
Explore real opportunities in San Diego to participate in enriching, multisensory experiences.
Identify a personal cultural or physical goal to pursue this month.
Next Project: Call to Action
Next Project: Call to Action
Creating Your Personal Brain Health Action Plan
Think about how each topic relates to your life and well-being. Then, answer the questions below to help guide your personal brain health project:
Which topic made the biggest impact on you—and why?
(Was it mindfulness, movement, memory, music, or something else?)What is one small action you could take in your daily life to apply this topic?
(Think simple and realistic—something you could do consistently.)What feels both meaningful and manageable for you right now?
(Choose a goal that supports your health and fits your lifestyle.)
Beyond
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