Brain

Food for thought

Here’s food for thought, for you… Did you know, that eating oily fish is good for you? Yes, of course you did! But, did you know that eating oily fish just once a week can lower your risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 60%? Bet you didn’t know that! Well, [...]

Brain

Do you believe in The Magical Number Seven?

Do you believe in The Magical Number Seven? You should! At least where your memory is concerned. Way back, in 1956 the cognitive psychologist, George Miller, published a paper in which he stated that we have limits on our capacity for processing information. Talk about stating the blinkin’ obvious! He [...]

Brain

Why writing lines really is punishment

Are you, like me, old enough to remember, at school, staying in and writing lines, as some sort of atonement for a misdemeanour? And, if you’re still writing lines, or at least, writing on lines when making revision notes, you’re punishing yourself! It’s so much more effective to use plain paper [...]

Brain, Health

What does cholesterol do to your brain, eggsactly?

So what does cholesterol do to our brains? Your brain is 2-3% of your total body weight – or so it is said… (Hmmm, if I put on weight, would I get brainier?)   🙂 And 25% of your body’s cholesterol is found in your brain. What’s it doing there, [...]

Brain, General

Mastication is good for you!

Mastication is good for you after all! Hey! Mastication doesn’t make you blind, it makes you brainier! Let me explain… When I was at school we learnt that however many brain cells we’re born with – that’s our lot. As we age, we lose them at a rate of knots, [...]

Brain, Emotional intelligence, General

Positive psychology? Are you sure?

Here’s a hilarious talk by Shawn Achor, psychologist, about positive psychology and what it can do for us.   What does positive psychology tell us about optimism and happiness? Here are a few points from “Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change”, by Sonja Lyubomirsky, 2005. You’ll find loads of references [...]

Brain, Emotional intelligence, General, Health

We all stand together

Years ago, when I was teaching, I arranged Paul McCartney’s “We all stand together”, otherwise known as the frog song, for the school steel band. It was a great song to choose, and it bounced along beautifully. And so did the kids. Do you belong? Did you know that feeling [...]

Brain, Emotional intelligence

What does watching a reality show say about you?

Yep – it’s Reality Show Time! The Apprentice, Pop Idol, The X Factor, I’m a Celebrity…, Project Catwalk, Katie & Peter, Big Brother, Life of Grime, Any Dream will Do, Bake Off, First Dates, The Only Way is Essex, Judge Grinder… And what can we say about the people who [...]

Brain, Emotional intelligence, General

Who are you this week?

It might seem like a strange question, except that who we are – changes over time. Not a lot of people know that! The environment continually shapes and changes the neural networks in our brains that make us who we are. And how we process the information reaching our brains [...]

Brain, Emotional intelligence, Health

Who likes a good moan?

We all like a good moan now and again, don’t we? We do like a good moan, don’t we? Well, you just might change your mind after this! When I was at school, which of course was a while ago now, we were taught that the brain stops developing and [...]