Four pillars of a ‘brain-boosting’ menu

The links between diet and dementia New York Times By Amelia Nierenberg Walnuts can improve cognitive function. Blueberries can boost memory. Fish oil supplements can lower your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. You may have noticed these buzzy “brain food” claims...

Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids – Are they right for you?

What are OTC hearing aids? Up until recently, a ‘hearing aid’ was an FDA approved medical device sold and programmed by an Audiologist with requirements for an in-office evaluation, customized fitting and mandatory trial period . These devices passed rigorous safety...

COVID-19, Stress and Tinnitus Copy

Are you experiencing tinnitus (ringing, humming  or buzzing in your ears) for the first time? Has your tinnitus has changed or increased recently? This is a stressful time and most of us are worrying more than usual. Many people find that their tinnitus increases...

Daylight Saving Time in the US

Why can an hour’s time change in spring disrupt our body, sleep, and mental health? On March 12, most Americans will observe the start of daylight saving time (DST) and “spring forward” by setting their clocks one hour ahead. (The exceptions are people...

Dr Jian Guan and cGPMAX™ – 35 years in the making.

Age-related memory decline is a by-product of the natural ageing process. While ageing is a part of life that we cannot change, we can control HOW we choose to age. Today, with increased awareness and advances in scientific research, we can make ageing more graceful...

Your Brain Needs Energy

The human brain consumes more energy than any other part of the body: The entire brain weighs three pounds (1.4 kg) and so is only a small percentage of an adult’s total body weight, typically 2%. But it consumes 20% of all the energy the body uses.   Why?...

Tips for Sudoku Beginners

5 Tips for Sudoku Beginners Sudoku, which has gained in popularity in the past dozen or so years, actually originates long before that, and not from where you might expect. Although “Sudoku” is a Japanese word (meaning “digit single”), it got that name only around...

Traffic and Tinnitus – is there a link?

Did you know that your stress levels can rocket without any warning? Because of the environment? For the first time, researchers from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) have found a link between traffic noise exposure and its impact on hearing. The louder the...

Can you grow your hippocampus?

Yes. Here’s how, and why it matters By Dr. Majid Fotuhi A pair of thumb-sized structures deep in the center of the human brain are critical for our ability to learn and remember. Thanks to their shape, each of them is called hippocampus — which means seahorse in...

3 Surprising Ways to Boost your Memory

Occasional forgetfulness can be a normal part of getting older. You know staying active and eating well can help your body remain healthy. And here are three things you can do today to improve your memory. PICK UP A BOOK One of the memory-building tools that is often...

Singing with the Kahui Pakeke

“ Nau mai haere mai” I said, for the first time. It was a privilege to be asked to present Brainfit  to the Tuwharetoa Health Charitable Trust. (Kahui Pakeke, written on their uniforms was given to me as ” a cluster of elders”) The Kaumatua participants...

WITH LOVE – Gifting your stories to Grandchildren

Written by Raewyn Blair HOW THIS ALL CAME ABOUT We were planning a year on the road, in the South Island with our re-vamped caravan, but I was spending a fortnight in Wellington with my friend, Jenn. Dave was with friends who had space for our car and caravan. Jenn...

My Prospective Memory didn’t let me down.

Prospective memory is one of the three affected by ageing so using strategies to keep ‘remembering to remember’ strong, are very important. We emphasize this skill in our Brainfit for Life classes and in the online course, Memory Tune Mary had such an...

Why does my brain get tired?

Chess players exert a lot of cognitive effort. After hours of play, they make more mistakes. It takes them longer to make decisions. The question is, why? Why does your brain get tired? Research suggests the answer lies somewhere in the left lateral prefrontal cortex...

Age vs. Genetics: which matters most in aging?

Age itself plays a bigger role than genetics in gene expression and susceptibility to specific diseases as we age. Amid much speculation and research about how our genetics affect the way we age, a University of California, Berkeley, study now shows that individual...