Is exercise easy or hard for you? The answer is Dopamine.

Dopamine plays a vital role in why exercise and physical activity feels easy to some, but exhausting to others, a new John Hopkins study reports. What is Dopamine? Dopamine is a chemical released in the brain that makes you feel good. Having the right amount of...

‘I had a slight stroke – can you tell me who you are?’

“The Brainfit for Life course was a turning point in my life.” [Eight years ago, after Bev joined a class in Pukehohe, she wrote the following.]    “15 years ago I had a minor stroke from which I recovered apart from my memory.   When I heard of...

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...

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...

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...

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...