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Welcome to Week 16! Let's play a game
Looking for the link to your Zoom Classroom? At the top of this page is a tab, The Zoom Classroom. Click on it, and then scroll down to the second row with the list of classes with days and times. Click on the name of the instructor and you will be taken directly into the Zoom class.
If you were unable to attend our zoom lessons, you can watch a recorded lesson by clicking HERE
Why is it Important to Challenge Your Brain?
Why is it Important to Challenge Your Brain?
Are you the kind of person who loves to learn and challenge yourself? If so, you are already firmly on the path of doing one of the things it takes to keep your brain healthy. If you are not a person who likes mental challenges, hopefully this lesson will encourage you to think a little differently about the importance of keeping your brain active and challenged during your retirement years.
Many people believe that their everyday activities are enough to keep their brains fit and sharp. After all, most of us deal with complex stimuli on a daily basis as we plan various tasks or activities and constantly make decisions. Why wouldn’t these routine activities be enough to keep our brains fit?
Let’s consider a comparison with physical exercise. Do our daily movements suffice to keep us physically fit? After all, we walk around the house, walk to and from our cars or to the bus, we climb stairs, we shop, we clean, and we perform a hundred other small routines. These are all good. Nevertheless, these normal, routine movements are not enough to keep our bodies physically fit. We need more strenuous challenges, like aerobic walking or other exercises that raise our heart rate.
Just as normal daily physical movements are not sufficient to keep our bodies fit, neither are normal daily cognitive tasks sufficient to keep our brains fit. For our brains, we need targeted, challenging tasks that will keep them working and constantly improving.
How can we break out of our daily routines?
Routines & Cognitive Fitness
Routines & Cognitive Fitness
As older adults, we know a lot, thanks to our long experience in life, and much of what we know has become habit or routine. As we gain experience, even highly complex intellectual activities may become routine. Routines are good in a sense, as they make things easier to do. But routine tasks lose their ability to challenge our brains adequately. When all we do is routine tasks, we lose the ability to keep our brains in top shape.
Our brains are basically lazy! When we face a problem, the brain does one of two things: 1) It analyzes the situation, any alternative actions that are available, and the consequences of each alternative. This type of thinking requires significant attention, time, and effort or 2) It goes with what it already knows, resulting in a quick, automatic response that requires very little time and effort.
Not surprisingly, our brains usually prefer the second option--the automatic mode. This is why we need to make a conscious choice to deliberately exercise our brain on a daily basis.
Three Principles for Challenging the Brain
Three Principles for Challenging the Brain
There are three key principles that guide exercising or challenging the brain—these should apply no matter what activity you may choose. These principles are:
Novelty. This means you should engage your brain in an activity that is different, or new to you. That could include reading a new book, visiting a new place, trying a new food, learning to play a new instrument, singing a new song, or learning a new language.
Variety. The things you challenge your brain with should offer variety so they hold your interest and you avoid boredom. Try rotating your pursuit of different interests to keep them fresh and interesting.
Constant challenge. Activities you use to challenge your brain should always present a challenge to you. Think about the brain fitness exercises you do and how the program keeps raising the bar to keep your brain challenged. In principle, once you become good at something or master it, you should move on to a different challenge or level at which your brain is required to work to achieve. Charles Krauthammer, former news commentator, shared his approach to staying mentally challenged: “Everything I’ve gotten good at, I quit the next day to go on to do something else” (McArdle, 2018).
Engaging daily in activities that are novel, offer variety, and challenge your brain are the things that brain fitness is made of! George Rebok, professor at Johns Hopkins University, said, “Even a modest investment in cognitive training pays dividends up to a decade later. And you can impact everyday functions” (Gustke, 2016).
How Learning Changes Your Brain
How Learning Changes Your Brain
As we learned about brain plasticity in an earlier lesson, we learned that though the brain is often labeled “plastic,” it does not mean it is made of plastic! That term refers to the brain’s ability to change throughout life. Thanks to the principle of plasticity, our remarkable human brain can reorganize itself, form new synaptic connections, strengthen existing connections, and even grow new brain cells in response to stimuli (Michelon, 2016). This is liberating knowledge, because for a long time, it was believed that the brain was fixed and could not change.
Many things play a role in plasticity, including genetic factors, the environment in which a person lives, and the actions of that person (Michelon, 2008). There is a powerful example of how the brain can reorganize itself and relearn functions it has lost. In the book “The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science,” Norman Doidge tells of a surgeon in his 50s who suffered a stroke, which left his left arm paralyzed. During his rehabilitation, his good right arm and hand were immobilized, and he was set to cleaning tables. The task was, of course, impossible at first. Then slowly, and with persistence, the paralyzed arm “remembered” how to move. The surgeon learned to write again, and even to play tennis again. The functions of this man’s brain that were destroyed in the stroke had transferred themselves to healthy regions (Michelon, 2008).
There is tremendous variability in how well people age. It is known that our choices, actions, and lifestyle can influence the rate of brain improvement or cognitive decline we may experience. It follows that individuals who lead mentally stimulating lives, through their level of educational achievement, their current involvement in education, jobs, volunteer work, stimulating hobbies, etc., can build a stronger cognitive reserve. The earlier we begin building our cognitive reserve (or brain bank account), the better off we will be in older age. A strong cognitive reserve is thought to help prevent the manifestation of dementia, even if the pathology (disease) is present in our brains. It is never too late to build or add to our cognitive reserve. That is one of the underlying principles of lifelong learning.
According to Dr. Pascale Michelon, neuroplasticity occurs in the brain at the beginning of life, when the immature brain organizes itself; after brain injury, to compensate for lost functions or to maximize remaining functions; and through adulthood, whenever something new is learned and memorized (Michelon, 2008).
Because of plasticity, the brain can continue learning throughout our lives and change in a positive way. Speaking of the brain’s ability to learn, Paul Nussbaum, president of the Brain Health Center, said, “Your brain doesn’t know how old it is . . . And what it wants to do is learn . . . We have the ability to shape our brains for health” (Gustke, 2016). Wendy Suzuki, professor of neural science and psychology said, “Every time you learn something new, the brain changes” (Gustke, 2016).
And Keith L. Black, M.D. and chair of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center said, “Learning spurs the growth of new brain cells . . . When you challenge the brain, you increase the number of brain cells and the number of connections between those cells” (Kahn, 2013). In other words, when you become an expert in a specific domain, the areas in your brain that deal with this type of skill will grow (Michelon, 2008).
Research on Exercising the Brain
Research on Exercising the Brain
Researchers gathered information from over 1,200 chess grandmasters and over 15,000 Olympic medalists from 28 countries. With this data, they calculated the average yearly survival rate, adjusting for region, age, and sex. When the data was compared between the Olympic medalists and the chess grandmasters, there was no difference found in the average life expectancy. However, both groups did show an increased life span when compared to the general population (Mercola, 2018). This suggests that mental exercise or challenge can be at least as important in life expectancy as physical exercise.
Recent research on the brain has also suggested that brain speed, improved through targeted brain training exercises, matters more than lower limb strength in preventing falls in older adults. This is another strong benefit of keeping our brains challenged and sharp. Among older Americans, falls are the number one cause of injuries and death from injury (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). Avoiding falling requires the ability to quickly withhold, or inhibit, a planned movement, so the ability to think quickly is required for good complex reaction accuracy—the ability to respond to something quickly while walking. Researchers found that simple and complex reaction times (brain speed) largely determine if an older adult can recover from a stumble or trip. Four hundred milliseconds (about half a second) is about the length of time the foot is in the air before landing while walking, and about the time available to recover from a stumble or trip. The faster your brain can move between the external stimuli and the clutter of your own thoughts, the better off you are (Urban, 2016).
In 17 imaging studies that looked inside the brains of people who use Posit Science’s BrainHQ exercises, actual differences--profound changes—were seen in the deep structures of their brains, including the thalamus and brain stem, previously thought to be inflexible in adults. Read more about these imaging studies on the BrainHQ website.
More research will be cited as we review some of the variety of ways we can exercise and challenge our brains.
Reading
Reading
Do you like to read?
Reading is a pleasurable activity for many people. It is also beneficial to brain health, as reading activates the language-processing areas of the brain and tends to create structure as the reader processes the sequence of the information or events in the material being read. Reading can also stimulate the emotional centers of the brain, as well as other senses. For example, if you read about food, your sensory cortex is stimulated; if you read about motion, your motor cortex is stimulated. Reading can make the brain come alive with visual imagery, which draws on most of the same neural machinery as visual perception (Ganis, Thompson, & Kosslyn, 2004).
A benefit of reading is to help us feel empathy for other people. Just by reading about characters in a story, we learn to feel what they are feeling as the story progresses. Research has found that when you read about someone else’s experience, the same neurological regions of the brain are stimulated as if you had experienced it yourself (Beaton, 2015).
Another advantage if you can read in a foreign language —it can grow the hippocampus and cerebral cortex in your brain. So try reading in a different language occasionally to stimulate your brain.
Another benefit of reading is that readers are likely to be less depressed. A survey of 4,164 adults in the U.K. showed that adults who read for just 20 minutes a week were 20% more likely to feel satisfied with their lives, whereas non-readers were 28% more likely to report feelings of depression. Joe Billington, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director of the Centre for Research into Reading, University of Liverpool, explained, “Reading not only helps to introduce or reconnect readers to wider life systems and more broadly shared meanings. It can also remind people of activities or occupations they once pursued, or knowledge and skills they still possess, helping to restore their sense of having a place and purpose in the world” (Hallett, 2016).
Perhaps best of all, a study by Yale University found that reading books was positively correlated with increased lifespan. They found that people who read books lived for around two years longer than those who didn’t (Hallett, 2016). That alone should make you want to pick up a book! And if you’re a book lover, you may have two additional years to enjoy reading! To be clear, the study pointed out that it is not clear why there is such a strong association between reading and longevity, though other studies have yielded the same results. It could be that people who read books tend to be healthier, richer, and better educated, all of which could contribute to a longer life (Hallett, 2016).
A research study published in 2017 compared brain scans of illiterate women before and after learning to read. The women, all 30, and all from villages in northern India, were taught to read. The results were significant. Changes were observed in the deep structures of the women’s brains--areas that were previously thought to be inflexible, including the thalamus and brain stem. Information exchange between the thalamus and cortices became more efficient after learning to read (Pultarova, 2017).
What we Read
What we Read
Does reading different material provide different benefits for the brain? Stanford University researchers say yes. Reading for pleasure increases blood flow to different areas of the brain, while reading for literary study gives your brain a workout across multiple complex cognitive functions (Beaton, 2015). But University of Pennsylvania research warns that reading literary fiction fails to boost cognition or social ability (ScienceDaily, 2016b). Further, researchers found that though people who read books show stronger cognitive abilities overall, reading magazines or newspapers doesn’t seem to have the same effect, unless readers spend seven hours or more per week doing that (Hallett, 2016).
So, you can decide for yourself. If you love to read, keep reading. If you are a fiction or magazine lover, try reading an occasional book for literary study, as this may be a more effective brain exercise than simply pleasure reading alone. But don’t give up on your pleasure reading—this is very rewarding to your brain!
Language
Language
How many languages can you speak?
What does research say about people who speak two or more languages (multilinguals)? The experience of speaking another language changes the structure of the brain and how it functions (ScienceDaily, 2016). Researchers found that the left inferior parietal cortex is larger in multilingual brains than in monolingual brains (Michelon, 2008). This ability fine-tunes the auditory nervous system that helps juggle linguistic input (Leopold, 2012), and helps the multilingual person process information more efficiently and easily than someone who speaks only one language (Deardorff, 2014). Multilinguals possess enhanced attention and concentration abilities (ScienceDaily, 2016) and are twice as likely to have normal cognitive function after a stroke (American Heart Association, 2015).
Research from the University of Montreal showed that multilingual people became expert at selecting relevant information and ignoring other things that could distract them from a task. They had higher connectivity between the visual processing areas located at the back of their brains. Additionally, their brains were more efficient and economical, as they recruited fewer regions to perform a task.
This research suggested that multilinguals have two cognitive benefits: 1) More centralized and specialized functional connections, which save resources, compared to the multiple and more diverse brain areas allocated by monolinguals to accomplish the same task, and 2) The ability to achieve the same task by not using the brain’s frontal regions, which are vulnerable to aging. This may explain why multilinguals seem to be better equipped to stave off cognitive aging or dementia (ScienceDaily, 2017).
So many advantages!
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published a study in 2015 that look at English-speaking students who were about to begin learning Mandarin. It was found that the students who had more spatially aligned neuron fibers (white matter) in their right brain hemisphere had higher test scores after four weeks of classes. The researchers compared this finding about white matter to a freeway express lane, hypothesizing that highly aligned fibers may speed the transfer of information within the brain. This study suggests that the ease with which a person can learn a new language might be influenced by “brain wiring” (Greenwood, 2017).
It's not too late to learn a new language!
A great challenge for your brain would be to study a new language, and work to master it at conversational level. To achieve this, you could work on accurately receiving and producing word sounds between 10 and 30 minutes daily. Try putting language learning on a schedule. Several of our Brain Fitness students have done this and dedicate time daily to learning a new language, using an app on their smart phone called “Duolingo.”
If you don’t want to learn a different language, you can work at improving any of your existing general language skills. To improve your language listening and language usage skills, try increasing your vocabulary by learning and using new words daily, or signing up for a class. Become a careful listener and take notes. Focus with intensity on discussions with others.
Humor
Humor
Humor activates many areas of the brain, including regions associated with reward and emotion like the substantia nigra, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and insular cortex. It engages the lower level sensory areas and regions in the frontal cortex associated with attention and executive function. It activates the ventral tegmentum and the ventral striatum, as well as regions associated with emotion, such as the amygdala and insular cortex (Watson, Matthews, & Allman, 2007).
In order to “get” a joke (understand it), the brain must process the incongruities or conflicts presented in the joke to understand what they mean (Watson, Matthews, & Allman, 2007). To illustrate, look at this pun: “I was struggling to figure out how lightening works, and then it struck me.” Puns are words or phrases that have multiple, ambiguous meanings. So, when you hear a pun, your brain needs to consider the context of the pun in order to interpret the words—this is a left hemisphere function in the brain. At the same time, your right hemisphere clues the brain in to the unanticipated meaning of the pun. So both sides of the brain have to engage in teamwork! (Romm, 2016)
And what brain does not like a good joke?
For a little humor and laughter, watch this video clip (Note: Do not try this at home! )
Another funny video (5:09 min) featuring Mark Gungor: Men’s brains and Women’s brains. Prepare to laugh!
Music
Music
Is music a part of your life? In what way? The use of music to affect both the body and the spirit goes back centuries in history. It been extensively used in a variety of forms. It helps to define many cultures. But the scientific study of music, and understanding how it affects the brain, is in the early stages.
Listening to Music
Listening to Music
Just listening to music can bring back certain memories, put us in a relaxing mood, motivate us to exercise or perform a certain task, or just make us happy. Importantly, research says listening to music also tends to reduce a person’s blood pressure. Of course, it must be music that one enjoys! Research has also found that music can enhance the growth of preemies (babies that are born prematurely), enhance a person’s learning of vocabulary, and activate multiple areas of the brain.
If you are a person who listens to and appreciates music, but would like to step up your game and challenge your brain, try listening to it more carefully. Get into the details of the music and try to discern which instruments are playing and when. Test yourself after hearing a piece of music to see how much detail you can remember about it. Being aware at this higher level helps workout your brain’s attention, focus, and memory.
Musical Training
Musical Training
More than just listening to music, actually participating in training on a musical instrument has been found to have a profound impact on several brain regions, including speech and language, and memory and attention. The speech and language areas are improved with music training because it tones the brain for auditory fitness, enhances a person’s vocabulary, and helps with speech comprehension in a noisy background.
Learning to play music enhances a person’s neuroplasticity in a positive way—it can even add new neural connections. Music training has been found to help children with learning disabilities be able to read better, and has even been found to prime the brain for other forms of human communication, including the ability to convey emotions. Musical performance exercises reading, listening, fine and high-speed manual control, oral skills, and engages the emotion center of the brain.
What instrument(s) do you play?
So if you would like to challenge your brain at a higher level, learn to play a musical instrument. If you already play an instrument, consider updating your skills or improving them to reach a higher skill level. Perhaps you used to play an instrument when you were younger—you can revisit and revamp those forgotten skills.
Research
Research
Researchers Gaser and Schlaug (2003) compared levels of musicality in people. They observed several brain areas involved in playing music: motor regions, anterior superior parietal areas, and inferior temporal areas. Here is what they discovered:
Professional/Intermediate Musicians: Those who practice at least one hour per day have the highest volume of gray matter in the brain (cerebral cortex).
Non-Musicians: Those who don’t practice have the lowest volume of gray matter.
Watch this fun Ted Ed video (4:44 min): “How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain."
Dance
Dance
Now, how does that step go?
Why do we include dance in a lesson on mental exercise? Because dance is now being studied as a pathway to enhanced learning. It has been recognized that the brain coordinates (or choreographs) the body to perform complex, precise movements that express emotion and convey meaning (Hanna, 2016).
Studies using PET imaging have identified regions of the brain that contribute to dance learning and performance (Edwards, n.d.):
Motor cortex (responsible for planning, control, and execution of voluntary movement)
Somatosensory cortex (responsible for motor control and eye-hand coordination)
Basal ganglia (responsible for smooth coordination of movement)
Cerebellum (responsible for integrating input from the brain and spinal cord; helps plan fine and complex motor actions)
Over 400 neuroscientific studies underscore the value of dance. It stimulates the growth, maintenance, and plasticity of neurons necessary for learning and memory. A dancer’s brain has been found to have broader connections in many areas, including the sensory regions, motor regions, fiber bundles, and between both hemispheres (ScienceDaily, 2016c). Dancing strengthens neuronal connections, sensory and motor circuits, and the memory. It also reduces stress and increases a person’s levels of serotonin (a feel-good hormone). It helps develop new neural connections (especially in executive function, long-term memory, and spatial recognition). Dance has even been found to be very therapeutic for Parkinson’s patients (Edwards. n.d.).
Lifelong Learning
Lifelong Learning
Lifelong learning is very important for the continuous growth and stimulation of our brains, as well as for our overall well-being. Think about what you are currently doing to challenge yourself. Are you learning something new every day? How do you feel when you are actively learning and challenging your brain? If you don’t feel you are challenging your brain enough on a daily basis, there are many things you can consider adding to your routine. Let’s look at a few:
Adult education. Taking classes in any subject can boost your mental and physical health (SharpBrains, 2016). You are currently enrolled in a Brain Fitness class—a San Diego Continuing Education course designed especially for older adults. This is a wonderful way to challenge your brain on a regular basis, especially with the added component of brain training exercises.
OLLI. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, operated locally by San Diego State University’s College of Extended Studies, is a learning community for adults 50+. It offers intellectually stimulating, university-quality courses. Membership in the local organization (one of 119 Institutes) requires registration and course fees, but offers many benefits like discounts to local venues and privileges to use academic and cultural resources on the SDSU campus.
Oasis. Oasis is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to promote healthy aging through lifelong learning, active lifestyles, and volunteer engagement. Their new venue at Grossmont Mall consists of two centers—a Wellness Center, which hosts exercise, dance, and mind-body classes, and a Lifelong Learning Center, where educational classes are held. Registration is required and fees are charged for some courses, though some are free.
Brain Fitness/BrainHQ. These brain training programs by Posit Science are excellent at providing targeted training that stimulates your brain processes and increases cognitive sharpness.
Hobbies
There are many hobbies that can bring joy to our life. For example, hand crafts. Look at this beautiful flower arrangement one of our students shared with us!
Other Activities for Good Brain Health
Other Activities for Good Brain Health
We’ve talked about how reading, learning a new language, using humor, learning music, and dancing can contribute to keeping your brain fit. Below we briefly list a few more ideas that can also help:
Become a careful conversational listener. Learn to remember exactly what you hear with progressively greater accuracy, in detail, over longer spans of time. Test how much you remember about every conversation by discussing the information with another person soon after, or a few hours later.
Do mental math calculations instead of reaching for a calculator.
When driving, take a new route.
Eat and/or write with the opposite hand.
Volunteer somewhere you can use your language skills to interact with others.
Play games (board, computer, sports).
Use a computer, laptop, or tablet. Surf the Internet to learn something new.
Pursue new crafts or hobbies (use your imagination and creativity). Read this great article called, "4 Ways to Find a Hobby" for ideas: https://experiencelife.com/article/4-ways-to-find-a-hobby/
Go to the movies. Be sure to pay close attention and learn something as you enjoy the movie.
Socialize with family, friends, and others. Incorporate a social component in all your activities.
Play with your dog or cat—try to outsmart them!
BrainHQ Connection
BrainHQ Connection
What is the difference between brain training and brain games? Brain games can be fun to play like Suduko, crossword puzzles, word or math problems. However brain training requires more effort much like lifting weights at a gym. And not all brain training are created equal. Some brain games are fun to play, but they do not provide the positive effects on mental health nor memory. For example, do the exercises prove to improve your performance and memory in real life? Are the brain exercises designed and evaluated by scientists? And are clinical evidence evaluated by experts outside the company?
In addition to mental exercises, you may want to look over Science Posit's list of Everyday Brain Fitness activities to include in your daily routine and change it up.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We have learned about the importance of keeping our brains challenged in order to keep them healthy—in essence, to use our brains, so we don’t lose them. The key to brain change is close, serious, highly attentive engagement at a level on which you are continuously challenging yourself. There are so many ways to accomplish that. We have reviewed many of those in this lesson. Your goal should be to challenge yourself to keep learning for the rest of your life. And remember, whatever you learn should be:
Something new, novel, or surprising
Challenging
Progressive
Engaging your brain processing systems
Rewarding
The best brain food is mental stimulation!
An interesting video (4:22 min) “Aging 101: Pt. 10—Lifelong Learning" for a review of the importance of lifelong learning for brain health.
Further Readings
Further Readings
Enjoy these Posit Science Podcasts involving learning, intelligence, and exercising your brain:
“The Online Brain Training System That Could Save Your Life”: https://www.brainhq.com/brain-resources/podcasts/the-online-brain-training-system-that-could-save-your-life/
“Make Your Brain Smarter At Any Age”: https://www.brainhq.com/brain-resources/podcasts/make-your-brain-smarter-at-any-age/
“Dr. Michael Merzenich & Dr. Norman Doidge”: https://www.brainhq.com/brain-resources/podcasts/dr-michael-merzenich-dr-norman-doidge
Additional Resources: Handouts
Additional Resources: Handouts
Works Cited
Works Cited
American Heart Association. (2015). Speaking multiple languages linked to better cognitive functions after stroke. Retrieved from: https://newsroom.heart.org/news/speaking-multiple-languages-linked-to-better-cognitive-functions-after-stroke
Beaton, P. (March 3, 2015). What happens to your brain when you read more? Expertrain. [Website]. Retrieved from: https://www.expertrain.com/blog/happiness/how-does-reading-affect-your-brain.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Take a Stand on Falls. [Website]. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/features/older-adult-falls/index.html
Deardorff, J. (November 7, 2014). Bilingual brains better equipped to process information. Northwestern Now. Northwestern University. [Website].
Retrieved from: https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2014/11/bilingual-brains-better-equipped-to-process-information
Edwards, S. (n.d.). Dancing and the brain. Harvard Medical School: Department of Neurobiology. [Website]. Retrieved from: http://neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-brain-series/dancing-and-brain
Gannis, G., Thompson, W. L., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2004). Brain areas underlying visual mental imagery and visual perception: An fMRI study. [Abstract]. NCBI; US National Library of Medicine; National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15183394
Gaser & Schlaug (2003) compared levels of musicality in people.
http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/02/26/brain-plasticity-how-learning-changes-your-brain/
Greenwood, V. (January 1, 2017). Some people’s brains are wired for languages. Scientific American. [Online magazine]. Retrieved from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/some-people-rsquo-s-brains-are-wired-for-languages/
Gustke, C. (July 9, 2016). For effective brain fitness, do more than play simple games. The New York Times, Personal Business Section. [Article].
Hallett, R. (October 12, 2016). Want to live longer? Read a book. World Economic Forum. [Online article]. Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/10/want-to-live-longer-read-a-book/
Hanna, J. (January 22, 2016). What educators and parents should know about neuroplasticity, learning, and dance? SharpBrains. [Online article]. Retrieved from: https://sharpbrains.com/blog/2016/01/22/what-educators-and-parents-should-know-about-neuroplasticity-learning-and-dance/
Kahn, L. (2013). I dare me: How I rebooted and recharged my life by doing something new every day. New York, NY: Perigree.
Leopold, W. (April 30, 2012). Bilingualism fine-tunes hearing, enhances attention. Northwestern Now. Northwestern University. [Website].
Retrieved from: https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2012/04/kraus-bilingualism-music
McArdle, M. (June 21, 2018). Charles Krauthammer dies at 68. National Review. Retrieved from: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/charles-krauthammer-dies-conservative-commentator-pulitzer-prize-winner/
Mercola, J. (2018). Chess grandmasters enjoy same longevity advantage as elite athletes. Peak Fitness. [Online article]. Retrieved from: https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2018/06/15/chess-grandmasters-longevity.aspx
Michelon, P. (February 26, 2008). Brain plasticity: How learning changes your brain. SharpBrains. [Online article]. Retrieved from: https://sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/02/26/brain-plasticity-how-learning-changes-your-brain/
Pultarova, T. (June 1, 2017). How learning to read rewrites the brain. Live Science. [Online magazine]. Retrieved from: https://www.livescience.com/59335-adults-who-learn-to-read-show-profound-brain-plasticity.html
Romm, C. (December 6, 2016). Here’s what happens in your brain when you hear a pun. The Cut. [Online Magazine]. Retrieved from: https://www.thecut.com/2016/12/heres-what-happens-in-your-brain-when-you-hear-a-pun.html
ScienceDaily. (2016). Bilinguals have an improved attentional control, study suggests. University of Birmingham. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160909112256.htm
ScienceDaily. (2016b). Failed replication shows literary fiction doesn’t boost social cognition. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161004140502.htm
ScienceDaily. (2016c). How the performing arts can set the stage for more developed brain pathways. Concordia University. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161005112119.htm
ScienceDaily. (2017). Bilingualism may save brain resources as you age. University of Montreal. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170109092604.htm
SharpBrains. (September 29, 2016). Study: Adult education classes, in any subject, can boost mental and physical health. [Online article]. Retrieved from: https://sharpbrains.com/blog/2016/09/29/study-adult-education-classes-in-any-subject-can-boost-mental-and-physical-health/
Urban, K. (December 20, 2016). For geriatric falls, ‘brain speed’ may matter more than lower limb strength. Health Lab. [Online article]. University of Michigan. Retrieved from: https://labblog.uofmhealth.org/health-tech/for-geriatric-falls-brain-speed-may-matter-more-than-lower-limb-strength
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