Keep Fit Program For The Brain

merryprankster writes "New Scientist is running a feature on 11 steps to a better brain. While becoming a nun might be an extreme way to avoid senility, there are lots of other tricks, techniques and habits, as well as changes to your lifestyle, diet and behaviour that can help you flex your grey matter and get the best out of your brain cells." From the article: "First, go to the top of the class by eating breakfast. The brain is best fuelled by a steady supply of glucose, and many studies have shown that skipping breakfast reduces people's performance at school and at work. But it isn't simply a matter of getting some calories down. According to research published in 2003, kids breakfasting on fizzy drinks and sugary snacks performed at the level of an average 70-year-old in tests of memory and attention."

Comments

The timing couldn't be better

[coupland]

I suspect the folks at Netscape could really benefit from this. (See preceding article...)

11-step program?

[TFGeditor]

What happened to the 12th step?

Oh, wait...

Re:11-step program?

[WormholeFiend]

The 12th step was stamped top secret by the government authorities who don't want people to know to protect their brains from mind control satellites with the help of tinfoil hats.

ouch...

[coop0030]

kids breakfasting on fizzy drinks and sugary snacks performed at the level of an average 70-year-old in tests of memory and attention.

Wow, so that makes me about 90, every day.

Maybe that's why I couldn't remember my girlfriends birthday. This will be my excuse from now on!

"Hun, I don't eat a healthy breakfast, how am I possibly going to remember to do the laundry?!"

12th step...

[Anonymous Coward]

...Profit!

They missed one...

[Xaroth]

#12: Don't read /.!

Oh, wait.

hrm

[grub]

While becoming a nun might be an extreme way to avoid senility,

So most slashdotters will keep their sanity into old age if they only undergo a gender change operation?

Good Habits

[lukewarmfusion]

"While becoming a nun might be an extreme way to avoid senility, there are lots of other tricks, techniques and habits..."

There are non-nun habits?

Re:Breakfast?

[Anonymous Coward]

I eat breakfast and that's why I'm your boss. Get back to work, fucking slacker!

Re:Step 12

[Ford Prefect]

12. Ignore everything you read on Slashdot!

Okay!

Um...

Keep brain fit with Alcohol

[El_Smack]

Alcohol kills brain cells, it's true. But it kills the weakest and most poorly adapted ones, just like Darwin says. That leaves your good brain cells unencumbered by the dead weight cells and they can function at full capacity.
That's why you get so much smarter when you drink.
Stolen and paraphrased from someone much funnier than I am.

Re:Keep brain fit with Alcohol

[cephyn]

um...wouldnt that be 10 kinds of cars in the world?

My personal regimen

[RealProgrammer]

I start the day off with a brisk walk.

For breakfast, I have two eggs, fried in olive oil, with chives or onions.

Then I work a while on my bicycle. It has a fork for extra spice, and a three cheeses for more gondola.

I remember putting together my Heathkit computer, with the round things and the keyboard. We didn't have mice back then, except in the basement. Now they come in everywhere, and I can't seem to trap them.

I think I'll lay down a while.

From TFA....

[gmletzkojr]

YOUR brain is the greediest organ in your body,...

I'm not quite sure if that is correct.....

Re:Step 12

[orasio]

12. Ignore everything you read on Slashdot!


But that would leave me with 11 steps again. And then I would read you, and get 12 steps again. And then I would have 11. Ohh, the paradox.

Since we're sharing, here's my morning routine....

[Rude Turnip]

I'm 28 years old. I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack, I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water activated gel cleanser. Then a honey almond body scrub. And on the face, an exfoliating gel scrub. Then apply an herb mint facial mask, which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an aftershave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion. There is an idea of a Rude Turnip, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me. Only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our life styles are probably comparable, I simply am not there.

The dreadful consequences

[RealProgrammer]

Two older couples are out for a walk. The men are walking behind the women.

Man 1: We ate at a great restaurant last night.

Man 2: Oh really? Which one.

Man 1: The name escapes me right now ... what's the name of that flower, you know, with the thorns?

Man 2: A rose?

Man 1: Yes, that's it. Rose, where did we eat last night?

Re:The dreadful consequences

[iminplaya]

An 80-year-old couple is having trouble remembering things, so they go
to the doctor to make sure there's nothing wrong.
After an exam, the doctor says, "You're physically okay, but you guys
might want to start writing notes to help you remember things."
That night they're watching TV when the old man gets up from his chair.
His wife says, "Where are you going?"
He says, "I'm going to the kitchen to get a glass of water."
She says, "Will you get me some Vanilla ice cream?"
He says, "All right."
She says, "Don't you think you should write it down?"
He says, "I don't have to write it down. Vanilla ice cream."
She says, "And could I have strawberries and whipped cream?"
He says, "All right."
She says, "Don't you think you should write it down?"
He says, "I don't have to write it down.Vanilla ice cream with
strawberries and whipped cream."
Twenty minutes later he walks in and hands her a plate of bacon and
eggs.
She says, "You forgot my fucking toast."

huh?

[justforaday]

You are what you eat, and that includes your brain.

Are they suggesting that I eat my own brain to become really smart?!?

Uh oh...

[Anonymous Coward]

Beans are also a good source of fibre, and other research has shown a link between a high-fibre diet and improved cognition. If you can't stomach beans before midday, wholemeal toast with Marmite makes a great alternative.

My God... That's the alternative? Marmite or beans on toast in the morning? I think I'm better off staying stupid until after lunch.

Re:D'oh

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't abuse yourself. Crap.

Re:Breakfast?

[jebell]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you take geek-ness to a whole new level.

Re:Since we're sharing, here's my morning routine.

[dvdungeon]

And then a nice stress free day of murdering with axes, chainsaws and nailguns...

Re:D'oh

[meeotch]

C'mon - didn't you RTFA? Eat healthy, exercise (your body and your brain), don't abuse yourself, and MASSIVE, MASSIVE DOSES OF MODAFINIL & RITALIN - at least 2,000mg a day.

Friggin' spinach and crossword puzzles aren't going to help you figure out which satellites Major League Baseball is using to spy on you, hippie.

mitch

Re:Okay for the nun part but...

[Concerned Onlooker]

(looking down) I may have a few "hardware" problems. At least nuns don't have to shave.

You know, you're not required to shave down there.

Re:beans?

[M. Baranczak]

It's a British publication - what did you expect?

Re:Breakfast?

[NanoGator]

"Two weeks ago I started attempting the puzzles again. My times have improved by more than 20 percent."

Yeah, they go a lot quicker if you've done them already. ;)

Re:Ways to live to 120

[Anonymous Coward]

1. scratch the instant oatmeal, get the whole oatmeal and wait several hours for it to cook. better yet, just keep a pot of gruel going all the time.

2. stop driving everywhere and walk. ignoring the fact most cities don't have sidewalks. use a machette and blaze a trail to the supermarket.

3. learn how to sleep while walking everywhere.

4. new product -- beer made from red grapes. may also contain cranberries.

5. who needs to know where the latest crime waves are happening? assume it all happens close to home. learn to use machette better.

6. carry a grandfather clock everywhere you go. set it to the wrong time.

7. you're not watching tv, chopping down bushes, carrying a large piece of furniture. who has time to think?

8. carrying all the stuff from the store, you're not running anywhere. and that job to pay for all the stuff, forget it. job's are bad. start foraging for scraps out of your neighbors' garbage cans.

9. since you have no job, carry furniture and a machette around, and generally aren't hip on culture, you're gonna be pretty low on the food chain. living to 120 may be a chore.

Re:Sugary snacks

[pipingguy]

If you still have it handy, check out the nutrition information box on the package. Does one serving contain a measurable amount of fiber?

If you eat the box it does, but you likely won't enjoy the experience.