Is Training the Brain Beneficial?

Can playing video games at the end of a dull day really be the start of a better brain?

It seems these days more and more people are flocking to their local gaming store to pick up a copy of the latest game designed to train your brain.  But does all that data add up to increased brain health? A recent study has people second-guessing the benefits of brain-train.

It seems that spending too much money on “brain trainers” to maintain mental agility may not be a very good idea anymore, for a new study suggests that the benefits such gadgets provide are almost the same as can be obtained by doing a crossword or surfing the Internet. 

Experts employed by a consumer group, known as Which?, say that there is no scientific evidence to prove that brain-training devices can help improve memory or stave off the risk of illnesses like dementia. 

Gadgets like the Nintendo DS, which are endorsed by actress Nicole Kidman and singer Cheryl Cole, are very popular these days. However, the experts behind the study insist that much of the evidence supporting the claims is “weak” and that in some cases other activities, such as playing standard computer games, can have the same effect. 

The gadgets whose claims were examined by the scientific experts included Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training, Mindfit, and Lumosity. “If people enjoy using these games, then they should continue to do so – that’s a no-brainer. But if people are under the illusion that these devices are scientifically proven to keep their minds in shape, they need to think again,” the Guardian quoted Martyn Hocking, editor of Which?, as saying. 

The members of the panel were asked to try the brain training products for a month. One of the experts, Dr Adrian Owen, assistant director at the Medical Research Council’s cognition and brain sciences unit in Cambridge, said of the research involving one group: “If they’d been asked to play Space Invaders for a month and improved at it – as surely they would – would we have concluded this was a beneficial form of brain training? Probably not.” 

So what is the final verdict on whether games are good or bad for the brain? Well unfortunately the jury is still out on this one. If you have a current game that you enjoy, that keeps you engaged and excited then by all means continue to play. However, if you think that keeping your Nintendo DS by your bedside might lead to some brain-training by osmosis then you better think again.

You can read the full article at The Times of India by clicking on this link here:

Rewiring Your Brain Can Transform Your Life

Imagination is the gateway to all healing and all manifestation. Here is an excerpt from a recent article that talks about the recent findings stemming from research in brain behaviour.

Imagine that you have an illness that prevents you from being able to hug your own mother. It also prevents you from working, hanging out with your friends, going to church, shopping, talking on a phone or using a computer. Merely walking by someone who is wearing perfume or cologne might cause you to have seizures.

Now imagine what it would be like to become homeless. Not for lack of money, but because you cannot find a space that is healthy for your body. Neither the medical community nor government has any idea how to help you, nor is a hospital a safe place of refuge for you.

The good news here is the brain has an innate ability to rapidly change and heal itself. This is known as neuroplasticity. This extraordinary, internal healing mechanism is discussed in the book The Brain That Changes Itself by Dr. Norman Doidge. Neuroplasticity was also a featured topic recently in David Suzuki’s program The Nature of Things. The discovery that the brain is adaptable and regenerative is the biggest breakthrough in neuroscience in 400 years.

Continue reading the full article: http://www.bclocalnews.com/opinion/38760604.html