How do you sleep at night?

Sleep is really important to our brain health. If you get adequate daily sleep, the brain is recharged and good thinking skills and memory are maintained. New information gets processed when we sleep and new memories are consolidated during different phases of sleep. If you are cutting your sleep time short, due to going to bed too late or worrying too much then you are not doing your brain any good.

The old adage about counting sheep to fall asleep has probably been around for about 150 years according to some references in literature. It is really a way to distract ourselves from worrying, planning, or problem solving. These activities can lead to the production of the stress hormone cortisol. One you have cortisol running around in your system you are wired and I think we all know what that feels like.

Another way to help you relax and fall asleep is to visualize a pleasant image. I like the image of walking on the beach or on a shady, wooded trail. Sometimes I imagine that I am camping under the stars and a light breeze is blowing across my body. I usually have a fan going all night to help block out any ambient noise and it can help to simulate the breeze blowing. Of course you may like the ambient noises going on in your surroundings and that may help you to sleep.

If counting sheep is too boring and doesn't appeal to you I have some other tricks you can try. If you have a  favorite poem memorized you can go over that in your head or try counting in another language. Whatever strategy you come up with to distract yourself from worrying will help you to prevent the release of cortisol. You can always tackle your problems in the morning and maybe you will even come up with a solution in your dreams.

 Studies show that a good night's sleep improves learning. So if you want to become a better tennis player, ace that math test, or memorize that piano piece, then make sure you are getting enough sleep at night.

Laughter is the best medicine!

Have you ever wondered why you feel so good after sometime tells a joke and you get a really good belly laugh? It's because laughing releases endorphins from the brain. Those chemicals increase overall wellbeing and can even drown out pain. Laughing boosts the immune system, increasing the number of antibody-producing T cells. When our immune system gets a boost, we are less likely to get coughs and cold. Giggling can release stress and make you less tense.

If you are involved in a relationship having a shared sense of humor is a benefit. If you can have good belly laughs together you are less likely to fight over the little things. When I was a kid if my mom wanted to discipline me and my siblings, we always got her to laughing somehow so that she would forget she was mad at us. It worked most of the time and saved us from sore bottoms!

In addition laughter is good for the heart. It benefits the way blood flows around the body. It has been said that 15 minutes a day of laughter is as important for your heart as 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week. Well I won't hang up my running shoes but I will put on a comedy show more frequently and laugh it up.

Want to rev up your workouts?

If you want to make the most of your workouts and your time is limited, then you might try interval training. Interval training is simply alternating bursts of higher intensity work with lower intensity work.   If you are out for a run you might sprint from one utility pole to the next, and then slow it down to a brisk walk for the next interval. Alternating from lower to higher intensity bouts can help you to burn more calories even if you are just increasing the intensity for only a few minutes at a time.

 Interval training will improve your cardiovascular fitness and over time you will be able to exercise longer at higher intensities. It will help to keep your workouts varied and fight boredom. It also requires no equipment but if you own a sports watch you can time your intervals. For instance, run or walk for 30 seconds at high intensity, then rest for 20 to 30 seconds, and repeat the sequence.

If you wondering how you know you are at higher or lower intensity, use the talk test. When you are in the resting phase your heart rate should come down enough so that you can talk. When you are in the all out part of the workout you should only be able to say a few words before you need to take a breath.

Interval training is no longer only the domain of athlete athletes, anyone can use this technique to increase their cardiovascular fitness.

Setting goals helps take care of your brain.

You may not realize this, but setting goals is a great way to take care of your brain. Setting goals activates areas of the brain associated with positive thinking skills. This in turn promotes an improvement in thinking abilities and problem solving skills. For me I find that setting goals, like trying to run a fast 5K race, faster than than my previous year's time, helps to keep me motivated with my running. I like to play games in my head when I run. Some call it interval training. I see how fast I can run from one telephone pole to the next, and when I slow my heart rate down on the interval, I observe how many birds I see sitting on the wires. Anything to help pass the 25 or 30 minutes it takes me to run 3 miles.

Start with a goal that you feel is manageable and not so far out that you won't be able to attain it. Maybe you want to start by committing to taking a walk after dinner every night. You might even catch a really nice sunset as a bonus. While on a walk with my daughter the other evening we observed a flock of Canadian geese on the river, a sure sign that spring is here!

Why have sex? Besides that it is fun?

Sex is a great way to boost your immune system. It is also stress releasing and can lower blood pressure. It can also boost your brain health by improving your self esteem, your confidence and the ability to think positively. When the sex is with someone you care about it also improves our emotional intelligence. It also burns calories and improves sleep. So grab your partner, find a relaxing spot, turn your digital devices off and have some fun while helping your heart out in more ways than one.

Do and don'ts of brain health

Since my interests lie in what we can do to have healthy brains, I should mention some of the things that get in the way of that. It stands to reason that ignoring the health of the brain by consuming excessive amounts of alcohol, drugs, caffeine and cigarettes would be no-brainers, pun intended. Also poor diet, environmental toxins, lack of sleep and all those things that we all do everyday, too much TV, texting, video games, or talking on a cell phone, all contribute to poor brain health.

One thing we can do for ourselves is to have "gratitude" everyday. Being thankful that we awaken in the morning to another beautiful day can go a long way towards helping our brain, believe it or not. The more positive thoughts we can generate, the more we are helping our thinking abilities and problem solving skills. What good does thinking negative thoughts do for us anyway? Would you rather stay down in the dumps or do something to help your brain out? Talking a walk, breathing fresh air, and changing our environment, even by cleaning the house counts. It is hard to have a clearly functioning brain if everything is a hugh clutter around us. So burn some calories while cleaning your house and notice how much better your body and your brain feels.

Ways to boost brain power

We all learned how to play cards as kids, at least I think most of us did. You may even still play some of the games you learned, like rummy or crazy 8's. Maybe you have a group of friends who get together regularly to play hearts or poker. If you really want to keep your brain stimulated, find a new game to learn, and then teach it to all your friends. Cribbage is a great game to practice elementary math skills. If you are one of those who still counts on their fingers, pick up a cribbage board and in no time you will drop that old habit.

Speaking of games, next time you get together with a group of friends, play at mimicing each other's action and talk. Of course, do it in a playful manner. Mimicing another's actions and talk activates several areas of the brain that are inactive. It can improve your brain power and the brain's natural ability to adapt quickly when faced with new situations. Tomorrow I will talk about other ways to change up old routines and get a brain boost.