Tips for Improving Your Vocabulary–Part 2

In our January 16 blog post, we posted the first part of some great tips for improving your vocabulary. Here we present five more great tips to help you strengthen and polish your vocabulary. Most importantly, you should pick the methods that YOU enjoy the most, and use them regularly as you take your vocabulary to new levels of success. 

Five More Tips for a Better Vocabulary

•  Circle or highlight words in your dictionary. The next time you happen to visit that page, you’ll be unconsciously reviewing the word you learned last time.
•  Subscribe to a word of the day service. Be sure to use your new word the same day. Share it with a friend whenever you can.
•  Try out new word games, and find friends to play them with regularly.
• Be goal-oriented; have specific targets to hit as you build your vocabulary, and be sure to reward yourself when you achieve them.
• Use your imagination when you learn a new word; play with it and bring it to life in your mind. This is how children learn and you can do the same. It will help you remember your new words almost effortlessly.

Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping to improve the study, reading and cognitive skills of clients of all ages. Find out more about Optiminds brain fitness programs and cognitive skills training by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

Tips for Improving Your Vocabulary–Part 1

Have you ever been in a conversation with a peer or boss and didn’t understand what they said due to a deficiency in vocabulary? For most of us, it can be a bit embarrassing to have to ask what a word means in every day conversation. A good vocabulary can serve you well throughout life—whether writing a paper for school or dealing with your boss or coworkers.  

We now know that the brain continues to grow and regenerate throughout adulthood, so there is nothing stopping any of us creating a killer vocabulary at any age. And there are a number of easy things you can do without resorting to trying to memorize the dictionary! Whether you’re a student taking graduation exams or just an ordinary person trying to improve your vocabulary, you can slowly build the necessary skills and increase your word usage during everyday conversations.  

When you start to work on building your vocabulary, it’s really important to have fun. Having a great vocabulary, and constantly building it, is something that can be a very beneficial habit rather than a chore.  

Following are the first five of the top ten suggestions for ways to build your vocabulary enjoyably. The remaining five suggestions will be posted in our January 26 blog post. 

Five Suggestions for Improving Your Vocabulary

 Find things you enjoy reading. Read widely, perhaps trying out reading material that is in a different style than you would normally pick. But don’t force yourself to read material that genuinely bores you. 

• Look out for new words as you read. Make a game of guessing at their meaning, then looking them up to see if you were right. You can learn a lot about a word from the context in which it is used, but it’s important to make sure you get the correct definition as well. 
• Listen for new words when people speak. Remember them and look them up later. Or better still, ask when you don’t know what they mean. Most people will love to share their knowledge and will think better of you for wanting to learn than if you just pretend to understand. 
• Use one of the powerful software products available today to train yourself in important vocabulary power words in a fraction of the time it would take you by more old-fashioned means.
• When you learn a new word, find an opportunity to practice it as soon as possible. If you don’t find a conversation to use it in, how about using it in an email to a friend? Or you could even just use it when you talk to yourself!

 Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping to improve the study, reading and cognitive skills of clients of all ages. Find out more about Optiminds brain fitness programs and cognitive skills training by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

About Our Attention and Multitasking

Have you ever wondered why you feel the urge to turn down the car radio when you are lost or looking for an address? The evidence we have right now strongly suggests that attention is strictly limited. When attention is deployed to one modality—talking on a cell phone, for example—it necessarily extracts a cost on another modality, such as the visual task of driving. 

We’re talking about divided attention, or the ability to multitask and pay attention to two things at once. It’s generally much harder than selective, or focused, attention. The factors that come into play are your attentional capacity and the processing requirements—essentially how much of which areas of your brain are needed to process the input. 

Your attentional capacity can be taken up by inhibiting (tuning out) distractions, dividing your attention across multiple things, or even sustaining your attention on one thing (vigilance). Fatigue takes a big toll on attention. If you’re tired, it’s harder to concentrate. Depression has a similar effect. In fact, many memory complaints may actually be depression- or fatigue-related reduced attentional capacity. And guess what? Getting older both reduces your attentional capacity and increases your processing requirements. Basically, it takes more and more inhibition skill to tune out distractions and stay focused. But all is not lost; there are steps you can take to multitask better! 

Tips on How to Divide Your Attention More Effectively 

• Do very different tasks. It’s much harder to do two very similar tasks (read and talk) at the same time than it is to do two very different tasks (run and talk). If you can use separate areas of the brain, that will help, but warning: the brain doesn’t always segregate perceptual information as clearly as you might think.
• Practice. If you’re better at each task independently, you’ll be better at doing them at the same time (even if you don’t do them as well simultaneously as when you do each one separately).
• Keep it simple. If you have to multitask, multitasking simple tasks will be more successful than trying to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem in your head while simultaneously writing a novel.
• Train your brain. Researchers have shown that working memory can be improved by training and that such training helps people with attention deficits and it also improves reasoning ability overall.

 Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping people of all ages improve their cognitive, reading and memory skills. Find out more about Optiminds programs by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

 

Optiminds Programs Make Great Gifts

When you are making up your Christmas list, why not consider giving an Optiminds program to a friend or loved one? We offer cognitive training programs for all ages—from Math Strategies for kindergarteners to Brain Fitness for seniors.

So if you know someone who needs a little help with test taking, memory improvement, reading or math, we can create a customized Optiminds program to get their year off to a great start. Here are just some of the targeted areas for which we can create a customized Optiminds program:

• Boomers Brain Fitness
• Study Skills
• Test Prep
• Problem Solving
• ACT and SAT test help
• Speed Reading
• Time Management
• Critical Thinking
• Tutoring
• Home School
• Initiation
• Abstract Reasoning
• Improve Cognitive Skills
• Faster & Easier Information Processing

We’ll identify problem issues and design a variety of tasks that incorporate Mental Exercises, Visualization Techniques and Computerized Drills—plus recommendations on diet and physical exercise. We also develop Life Strategies programs for individuals of all ages.

Give us a call today for more information! Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping people of all ages improve their cognitive and memory skills. Find out more about Optiminds programs by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

Holiday Tips for Alzheimer’s Families

For families living with Alzheimer’s, a little planning and some adjusted expectations can help make the holidays more enjoyable–for those with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers alike. Following are some suggestions that might prove helpful this holiday season:

Suggestions for families and caregivers:

• Give yourself permission to do only what you can reasonably manage
• Choose holiday activities and traditions that are most important to you
• Host a small family dinner instead of a throwing a big holiday party
• Consider serving a catered or takeout holiday meal. Many grocery stores and restaurants offer meals to go.
• Start a new tradition. Have a potluck dinner where family or friends each bring a dish

Activities you can do with the person with Alzheimer’s:

• Wrap gifts
• Bake favorite holiday recipes together. The person can stir batter or decorate cookies.
• Set the table. Avoid centerpieces with candles and artificial fruits and berries that could be mistaken for edible snacks.
• Talk about events to include in a holiday letter
• Prepare simple foods such as appetizers
• Read cards you receive together
• Look through photo albums or scrapbooks. Reminisce about people in the pictures and past events.
• Watch a favorite holiday movie
• Sing favorite carols or read biblical passages

When the person lives in a care facility:

• Consider joining your loved one in any facility-planned holiday activities
• Bring a favorite holiday food to share
• Sing holiday songs. Ask if other residents can join in.
• Read a favorite holiday story or poem out loud

Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping people of all ages improve their cognitive and memory skills. Find out more about Optiminds programs by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

Heart-Healthy Diet Also Best for Your Brain

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the same conditions that damage the heart or blood vessels—high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high cholesterol—also appear to increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia. Researchers speculate that dietary patterns that have demonstrated cardiovascular benefits may also help prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Two examples are the so-called “Mediterranean diet” (relatively little red meat, with an emphasis on whole grains, fruits and vegetables, fish and shellfish, nuts, olive oil and other healthy fats) and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan.

And some studies have found that the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids found in fish could also have benefits for your brain.

In addition, foods rich in vitamin E may help stave off mental decline with aging. In results from one study tracing 5,395 people ages 55 and up for nearly a decade, researchers reported that those with the highest dietary intake of vitamin E from food were less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s than those consuming the least. The polyunsaturated fats found in liquid vegetable oils and some spreads (not those containing partially hydrogenated fats) are one healthy way to get dietary vitamin E.

Another study found a link between blood levels of vitamin D in 858 older Italian adults and risk of cognitive decline. Vitamin D may help prevent the degeneration of brain tissue, researchers speculated.

Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping to improve the cognitive skills of clients of all ages. Find out more about Optiminds brain fitness programs and cognitive skills training by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

Short-term Versus Long-term Memory

Experts believe that there are three ways we store memories once they are created—the sensory stage; short-term memory; and long-term memory. These different stages of human memory function as a sort of filter to protect us from the flood of information we are bombarded with every day.

Sensory Stage—When we perceive something, the information is registered in a brief sensory stage lasting only a fraction of a second. This sensory memory allows a perception such as a visual pattern, a sound, or a touch to linger for a brief moment after the stimulation is over.

Short-term Storage–After that first flicker, the sensation is stored in short-term memory. Short-term memory has a fairly limited capacity—it can hold about seven items for no more than 20 or 30 seconds at a time. You may be able to increase this capacity somewhat by using various memory strategies. For example, a ten-digit number such as 8005840392 may be too much for your short-term memory to hold. But divided into chunks, as in a telephone number, 800-584-0392 may actually stay in your short-term memory long enough for you to dial the telephone. Likewise, by repeating the number to yourself, you can keep resetting the short-term memory clock.

Long-term Memory–Important information is gradually transferred from short-term memory into long-term memory. The more the information is repeated or used, the more likely it is to eventually end up in long-term memory, or to be “retained.” (That’s why studying helps people to perform better on tests.) Unlike sensory and short-term memory, which are limited and decay rapidly, long-term memory can store unlimited amounts of information indefinitely.

Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping to improve the cognitive skills of clients of all ages. Find out more about Optiminds customized brain fitness programs and cognitive skills training by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

Time Management and Study Tips for College Students—Part 2

We never stop being students. Whether you are just starting your college experience or consider yourself a lifelong student, it’s never too late to improve your study habits. Here are more practical tips from Dr. Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D. and ADD expert:

• Introduce yourself to your professors and go to their office hours. Professors really like it when someone is interested in their classes.
• Use the college’s career resource center – not just when you are going to graduate, but when you are figuring out what you want to do with your life. It’s a free service.
• Use flashcards to quiz yourself when studying. And get someone else to quiz you with them. If you always quiz yourself with your own flashcards, you may skip over some that you don’t know the answer to.
• You may not know what you want to do for a major. It’s okay. There are people much older than you that still aren’t sure what they want to do with their lives. That’s okay. See your academic adviser for help. Pay attention to which classes you really look forward to – that can be a clue as to what you might want to major in.
• Study groups can be helpful – but keep it to between 3 and 5 members (including you). More than that, and it turns into a social event.
• If you have ADHD or a learning disability, apply for accommodations as soon as possible – even right after you find out you’ve been accepted to school.
• Sleep. Get it. Get enough. You may be laughing at this, being a college student and all…but you need to get enough sleep.
• Enjoy your college experience – it’s one most rewarding experiences of your life, academically and socially.

Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping to improve the study skills of clients of all ages. Find out more about Optiminds college brain fitness programs and cognitive skills training by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

Time Management and Study Tips for College Students—Part 1

Whether you are just starting your college experience or consider yourself a seasoned pro, it’s never too late to improve your study habits. Here are some practical tips from Dr. Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D. and ADD expert:

• Always attend the “real” class, and use the Internet one for review.
• If you are not a morning person, don’t schedule classes for 7 a.m. You will not go.
• Get involved on campus. All work and no “productive” socializing is boring.
• Too much socializing equals bad grades. Everything in moderation.
• If you are feeling overwhelmed, are having problems sleeping, or are experiencing emotional problems, visit your college’s counseling or crisis center.
• Many colleges have free tutoring centers on campus. Take advantage of them.
• Sit near the front of class.
• Attend the whole class. Even if you feel like you will just die if you sit there any longer. Even if you feel your brain start to ooze out the side of your ear. Professors sometimes give really important info at the end of class.
• Recopy your notes after class. Or if you’ve typed them (which is recommended), do a quick read-through after class.
• See how your first semester goes before you consider getting a job. See how heavy your course load is first.

Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping to improve the study skills of clients of all ages. Find out more about Optiminds college brain fitness programs and cognitive skills training by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.

Eating Breakfast May Improve Cognitive Functions

Eating a nutritious breakfast can have positive effects on your child’s learning and overall health and well-being.

According to researchers, evidence shows that breakfast consumption may improve cognitive function related to memory, test scores and school attendance. Breakfast eaters also tend to behave better, get along with peers, and are more attentive—all of which can positively effect academic performance.

Breakfast literally “breaks” the overnight “fast.” It replenishes needed nutrients and provides kids with energy to start their day. Choosing the right breakfast not only fuels body and brain, it contributes to the overall nutrient content of your child’s diet. In addition, breakfast eaters tend to consume more calcium, dietary fiber, zinc, riboflavin, iron and vitamins A and C, which are all essential for healthy growth and development.

Ideally, a nutritious breakfast will include a variety of foods from different food groups. Start with whole grain breads and cereals. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber, which increases feelings of fullness and helps prevent hunger pains throughout the morning. High-fiber, low-sugar, fortified and ready-to-eat cereal is a simple and easy choice. Other smart and economical breakfast selections include English muffins, toast or oatmeal.

Protein is an essential nutrient for growing bodies and helps children stay focused throughout the morning. Simple and versatile selections include reduced or low fat milk, an egg, a slice of cheese, cottage cheese, peanut butter, or low fat yogurt. For a lean meat choice try Canadian bacon or deli meat, like chicken or turkey. Continue to add variety by tossing in a fruit or vegetable serving. Top cereal with strawberries, blueberries, or a banana or serve a glass of 100% fruit juice. Mix chopped bell peppers, mushrooms or onions into an omelet, breakfast burrito or stuffed pita.

Take steps to make the morning rush less hectic. Keep simple breakfast items stocked and easily accessible. Prepare some items the evening before or pack a breakfast to go. Even a simple and quick breakfast can be healthy. And remember: Parents are important role models; so if you sit down for breakfast, your children are more likely to do the same.

Dr. Jane Stewart at Optiminds has been helping people of all ages improve their cognitive and memory skills. Find out more about Optiminds programs by calling us today at (248) 496-0150 or email us at: jstewart@optimindsct.com. And be sure to visit our website at www.optimindsct.com.