I recently stumbled across a list of 120 ways to boost your brain power.

120 seemed rather a lot, however that made me think of the 121st way: cut the wheat from the chaff. So here is the Irontree, reduced and concentrated version.

• Do one thing at a time
• Switch off the TV
• Learn to juggle
• Embrace ambiguity. Learn to enjoy things like paradoxes and optical illusions
• Become a critical thinker. Learn to spot common fallacies
• Laugh!
• Conquer procrastination
• Play ‘brain’ games. Sudoku, crossword puzzles or countless others
• Be childish!
• Create a List of 100
• Learn a foreign language (or sign language)
• Sleep well

If you want to see the full 120 ways to boost your brain power list, check it out here.

Remember when 'aerobics' was all the rage? All that waving and jumping... all that Lycra!

Well, (chiefly thanks to the annoying Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for the DS-Lite), "Brain Training" is the new rock and roll; but you don't need to spend a penny to maintain the health of your brain, and there are two other major plus points too:

• it can actually do you some good;
• no Lycra is involved.

We thought, with Christmas just around the corner, you might be feeling a little brain-swamped and would enjoy a decent (free) Brain Workout. So, here's a smart 20 minute callisthenics work out from Time.com. Enjoy!

These PocketMems offer a quick, effective way to boost your learning.

Follow the Optimum Plan and you will find that by the time the PocketMem is looking worn, you have the information locked permanently in your memory.

PocektMems
Download - Print - Fold (instructions) - Learn. That's it.

Geography Facts

This is a wonderful opportunity to hear of a modern miracle... and one explored by a fantastic personality.

Jill Bolte Taylor is a brain scientist with an extraordinary history.

One morning, a blood vessel in her brain 'exploded'. Jill realized that she had a ringside seat to her own stroke, and that she would be able to watch (and learn) as her brain functions closed down: motion, speech, memory, self-awareness ...

Amazed even to find herself alive, Jill spent the next eight years recovering her ability to think, walk and talk. Her reaction to discovering what was happening to her is both professional/technical, and superbly humorous("I'm a busy woman. I don't have time for a stoke"). Now, she has become a powerful spokesperson for stroke recovery and for the possibility of coming back from brain injury stronger than before.

Photo courtesy of lutherblissett

It may sound a little trite, but that doesn't stop it being true... if the environment around you is 'messy', you will find it harder to concentrate. The business belief that an untidy desk signals an untidy mind, has some basis in fact - although, of course, there is no way to identify which came first!

It could be your office desk, the dining table, kitchen surface, windowsill... wherever; if you have a little corner (or a whole house) of clutter developing, then attacking that debris is a wonderful way of giving yourself a lift.

Yes, there is an amazingly positive feeling that a clear table/kitchen draw (etc...) can bring. It is such a simple thing to do.

Here are the basic (time-tested) steps for clearing and simplifying.

iFlipr has brought the world of Flashcards into the 21st Century

If you have an iPhone, or iPod Touch, this amazing little tool puts learning in the palm of your hand (or on a desktop computer, if you prefer). Check out the iFlipr introductory video:

If you are practising the Peg word (mnemonic), you will be pleased to hear that Irontree have just developed a useful series of 100 Flashcards to aid you. Naturally, we have used iFlipr, you can see the Flashcards here: 100 Peg Words

Quite frankly, we love this software so much, we will be using it to add further 'memory training' tools. So, watch this space!

iFlipr Home

A very simple and elegant Productivity Tool.

When you have a short list of things
- that must be done
- one at a time
- without distraction

Now do this!

We heartily recommend the standard 'Brain Training' notions of the past - by this we mean the time-tested: crosswords, puzzles, wordhunts and the like. They do work! The whole basis of real 'Brain Training' is continued, regular exercise. Not a three week blast of excitement.

However, having said all that, there are some new kids on the block. And of these, online Brain Training from Lumosity, is one of the best. Why? Well, not only are the games and activities in their Brain Fitness Program based on scientific research, there is a small monthly payment, which (surprisingly) is a good thing! Otherwise, after a while, you might find yourself skipping a session, or two... Just like a gym membership, the fee for Lumosity, actually helps hold your attention and thus improves the consistency of your training.

Lumosity Brain Fitness Program.

Researchers from Northumbria University have found that chewing gum improves memory and thinking. Chewing raises your heart rate, delivering more oxygen and glucose to the brain, while saliva triggers a surge of insulin, stimulating learning and memory receptors in the brain.

So, now there is a reason to chew your way through that packet of gum - just dispose of it carefully before starting up a conversation!

Developing a new skill, like juggling, can help older people develop 'new' brain cells!

Scientists in Germany taught a group of people who were age 50 or older to juggle. After three months of learning, scans revealed that the amount of grey matter in the new jugglers’ brains had increased.

However, the study also showed the study participants had to use their new skill or lose it. Without practice, the brain changes quickly began to fade.

US News