Brain Exercises and Neuroplasticity

Yesterday, I mentioned my use of the website www.lumosity.com in order to do exercises that train the brain to be healthier. The Lumosity exercises help in areas such  as attention span, quick thinking, problem solving and memory. I find it to be a helpful and fun website that also tracks your cognitive progression as well as offers comparisons to other people in your age bracket.

The lumosity website claims to affect physical changes in the brain called neuroplasticity. More and more studies show that neuroplasticity is in fact a truth and not a myth.

I recall watching an episode of David Suzuki's, "The Nature of Things," regarding the brain that showed when a person has damaged a part of their brain that controls a certain aspect of living (such as speech), it was proven that through exercise (as well as other techniques), other parts of their brain can take on the function of the damaged sector. This proves that the brain is malleable, alterable and plastic. Nothing is set. We are able to change the most engrained patterns.

In Shawn Achor's, "The Happiness Advantage", he shows how thinking in a positive manner literally alters the physical and chemical make-up of the brain. Different studies display the changing levels of hormones in the brain, and also show the mapping of different synapse connections into new sectors of the brain, all from altering thinking habits. It is a fascinating book (not to mention helpful), and I highly recommend reading it if one is wondering how to become happier.

It is from this book, that I adopted the habits of daily meditation and daily journalling. It also offers other practical exercises one should do to maintain a healthier, happier mind.

I am hoping that occupying my time with more and more concrete, positive mental exercises will eventually bleed into my daily thinking habits over time and affect my brain and mind in a positive way.

Frankly, it is still a work in progress. I naturally tend to worry and think negatively and anxiously, so it takes great purposeful effort on my part in order to have positive thoughts and positive conversations with myself. However, it is through this effort that I can see definitive progress and am able to feel the positive affects of these exercises, by my ability to be happy and think in a healthy manner at least some of the time. And on good days...most of the time.

This is a big change from the first 30 years of my life where most days, I was thinking when I would die, or "Why was I put here? I'm miserable."

If anyone feels as hopeless as I did, I would like to offer hope. There are people out there with answers that are willing to help.

And if you want to change the way you think, you can. Though I have just started my journey (and  have a long way to go), I am proof. I, like most people, have faced great struggle, but I intend to change and live a very fun, fulfilling, rewarding life.

I hope to help others find answers as well. This is my promise.