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Got Brain?

Investing in Our Most Precious Asset in 2013

by Alvaro Fernandez

SharpBrains - December 31, 2012

Open a weekend New York Times or Wall Street Journal, and you'll find a whole section with detailed information and advice for individuals looking to invest wisely. What you will not find, however, is comparable information and advice for investing in your most important asset of all: your brain. Precisely because it (usually) does its job so smoothly and effectively, it's all too easy to forget that your brain is there and that it needs to be invested in just as with anything else we value and want to continue reaping benefits from. And with more than 2 billion people worldwide currently suffering from brain-based health and productivity challenges with a resulting global economic burden of more than $2 trillion, according to our research, it's also an issue of some importance.

We've made a lot of progress over the last century in understanding the brain, but it wasn't until the last few decades that we've come to understand the ways in which our everyday behaviors affect, for better or worse, our brain's health and performance. We now know that certain basic activities, including physical exercise, proper nutrition, stress management, and mental exercise, are integral components of a brain-healthy lifestyle, and people are waking up to the fact that they need to be proactive in monitoring and managing the health and fitness of their brains. As detailed in our new market report on digital brain health, the large majority of respondents to a 2012 SharpBrains survey of 3,000+ decision-makers and early adopters in the field found that the majority believe that brain health should be a health care priority, that adults should take charge of their own "brain fitness," and that digital technologies significantly augment traditional approaches.

As a growing number of consumers, innovators, and decision-makers invest in digital technologies to better monitor and enhance cognition across the lifespan, we are witnessing the rapid growth and development of a new digital brain health marketplace. Right now, the digital brain health market -- which includes both software applications and biometric hardware products designed to monitor, assess, enhance or repair neurocognitive functions such as executive attention working memory and emotional self-regulation -- can be divided into four main customer segments: consumers, health care, senior living, and insurance providers, K12 school systems, and employers. Consumers have become the predominant customer segment, surpassing health care/insurance providers, as the combination of an increase in the diagnosis of learning disabilities, anxiety disorders, an aging baby boomer population with a keen interest in maintaining their mental sharpness, and the trending desire for a healthy lifestyle has consumers looking for healthier, non-invasive alternatives to existing drug-led and therapist-led approaches. Not only that, self-monitoring options for better managing one's cognitive and emotional functioning are already becoming available to consumers at user-friendly prices and packaging, and strong signals suggest the next frontier in the consumer application of biometrics is going to be brain health.

The overall market has kept growing since 2009 despite the overall economic challenges, both in the software and hardware segments. We estimate the global market for brain health applications of software and biometrics to be more than $1 billion in 2012, and we forecast it will reach $6 billion in 2020. The industry is still made up of many small companies, which has been a limitation for the marketplace's maturation given contradictory, controversial marketing claims. That being said, sizable recent investments by strategic and financial investors suggest booming prospects and the increasing professionalization of the sector.

We can expect several drivers to fuel continued growth and innovation. Equipment that used to be expensive and cumbersome is becoming user-friendly and inexpensive, and tablets and mobile phones are becoming a major delivery vehicle for digital brain health solutions. Heavy investment into online platforms are geared to gain consumer market share, with many companies offering free or freemium subscriptions. Over the course of this decade, we will likely see Big Data and cloud-based applications that will enable truly personalized brain health solutions, and a more developed ecosystem built around users and tools.

And while it's unlikely that we'll see people devoting as much time and attention to investing in their brains as in their finances any time soon, digital brain health solutions going mainstream among both consumers and health care providers will be a big step forward.

Because the fact is, we all got a beautiful human brain. We can invest in it to better live, love, work, innovate.

Did You Know?

SIRRI offers these services for both children & adults:

• Neurofeedback & Biofeedback
• QEEG / Brain Mapping
• Cognitive Retraining: memory, processing & problem solving skills
• Attention, Concentration & Focus Training
• Auditory & Visual Processing
• Reading Development: fluency & comprehension
• Balance, Coordination & Motor Planning Development
• Stress & Anxiety Management
• IEP Advocacy

Referral Program Promotion:

Win an iPad Mini!

An iPad Mini will be provided to the client

who refers the most new clients between

November 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013.

*Details: New clients must have an Evaluation or Assessment completed or sign up for a program or package before May 31, 2013.

If an iPad Mini is not available, a comparable substitution will be provided.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Do you believe in these neuromyths? Do we only use 10% of our brain?

By Sanne Dekker et al

SharpBrains - November 16, 2012

Here you have 32 brain-related state­ments. Are they cor­rect or incorrect?

1. We use our brains 24 h a day (C ).
2. Chil­dren must acquire their native lan­guage before a sec­ond lan­guage is learned. If they do not do so nei­ther lan­guage will be fully acquired (I).
3. Boys have big­ger brains than girls (C ).
4. If pupils do not drink suf­fi­cient amounts of water (=6–8 glasses a day) their brains shrink (I).
5. It has been sci­en­tif­i­cally proven that fatty acid sup­ple­ments (omega-3 and omega-6) have a pos­i­tive effect on aca­d­e­mic achieve­ment (I).
6. When a brain region is dam­aged other parts of the brain can take up its func­tion (C ).
7. We only use 10% of our brain (I).
8. The left and right hemi­sphere of the brain always work together (C ).
9. Dif­fer­ences in hemi­spheric dom­i­nance (left brain, right brain) can help explain indi­vid­ual dif­fer­ences amongst learn­ers (I).
10. The brains of boys and girls develop at the same rate (I).
11. Brain devel­op­ment has fin­ished by the time chil­dren reach sec­ondary school (I).
12. There are crit­i­cal peri­ods in child­hood after which cer­tain things can no longer be learned (I).
13. Infor­ma­tion is stored in the brain in a net­work of cells dis­trib­uted through­out the brain (C ).
14. Learn­ing is not due to the addi­tion of new cells to the brain (C ).
15. Indi­vid­u­als learn bet­ter when they receive infor­ma­tion in their pre­ferred learn­ing style (e.g., audi­tory, visual, kines­thetic) (I).
16. Learn­ing occurs through mod­i­fi­ca­tion of the brains’ neural con­nec­tions (C ).
17. Aca­d­e­mic achieve­ment can be affected by skip­ping break­fast (C ).
18. Nor­mal devel­op­ment of the human brain involves the birth and death of brain cells (C ).
19. Men­tal capac­ity is hered­i­tary and can­not be changed by the envi­ron­ment or expe­ri­ence (I).
20. Vig­or­ous exer­cise can improve men­tal func­tion (C ).
21. Envi­ron­ments that are rich in stim­u­lus improve the brains of pre-school chil­dren (I).
22. Chil­dren are less atten­tive after con­sum­ing sug­ary drinks and/or snacks (I).
23. Cir­ca­dian rhythms (“body-clock”) shift dur­ing ado­les­cence, caus­ing pupils to be tired dur­ing the first lessons of the school day (C ).
24. Reg­u­lar drink­ing of caf­feinated drinks reduces alert­ness (C ).
25. Exer­cises that rehearse co-ordination of motor-perception skills can improve lit­er­acy skills (I).
26. Extended rehearsal of some men­tal processes can change the shape and struc­ture of some parts of the brain (C ).
27. Indi­vid­ual learn­ers show pref­er­ences for the mode in which they receive infor­ma­tion (e.g., visual, audi­tory, kines­thetic) (C ).
28. Learn­ing prob­lems asso­ci­ated with devel­op­men­tal dif­fer­ences in brain func­tion can­not be reme­di­ated by edu­ca­tion (I).
29. Pro­duc­tion of new con­nec­tions in the brain can con­tinue into old age (C ).
30. Short bouts of co-ordination exer­cises can improve inte­gra­tion of left and right hemi­spheric brain func­tion (I).
31. There are sen­si­tive peri­ods in child­hood when it’s eas­ier to learn things (C ).
32. When we sleep, the brain shuts down (I).

Neu­romyth asser­tions are pre­sented in italic; C = cor­rect; I = incorrect.

From the Study:

Neu­romyths in edu­ca­tion: Preva­lence and pre­dic­tors of mis­con­cep­tions among teach­ers (Fron­tiers in Edu­ca­tional Psy­chol­ogy).

13 Ways for Your Family to Eat Healthy in 2013

Everyone knows that sweeping self-improvement New Year's resolutions get broken faster than you can say "I'd like the cheesecake for dessert, please." Resolve to ban sugar forever, exercise every day or read every word of the New York Times seven days a week, and you'll be lucky to last a month before you fall off the wagon. The key is to start small. (As they say, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.) In the improve-your-diet department, here are 13 tips from online meal planning service eMeals (www.emeals.com) to move yourself – and your family – in the right direction.

1. Adopt Meatless Mondays – Going meatless just one day a week can reduce your risk of several chronic diseases as well as shrink your carbon footprint. VIPs from Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney to actress Emily Deschanel, The Biggest Loser's Bob Harper and Food Network chef Giada De Laurentiis have endorsed the strategy for both the body and the planet.
2. Try "clean eating" – Replace pizza and processed foods with fresh meats, produce and seasonal items. For help and sample menus created by a foodie mom who feeds her own family of six this way, see http://emeals.com/meal-plans/clean-eating/ - complete with ideas like Greek Chicken Wraps with Spinach Cantaloupe Salad that even a toddler can love.
3. Dump the 'bad' oils – Banish butter and bacon grease and replace them with healthy fats like canola and olive oil. Try making your own salad dressing with oil and your favorite vinegar. Your cholesterol level will thank you.
4. Eat breakfast every day – The old adage is true: breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. It fuels your body and brain with the energy you need to face the day. Whether it's a smoothie, Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal or Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins, you can get quick and healthy breakfast ideas at http://emeals.com/meal-plans/breakfast/
5. Purge your pantry and fridge – Get rid of anything that's expired or unhealthy, then restock with healthy staples like brown rice, dried beans, canned tuna and prepared pasta sauce for quick and nutritious meals.
6. Brown-bag it at least 3 days a week – Pack your lunch for work or school to eat better - and save money too.  You'll find inspiration – and recipes for goodies like Turkey Pepperoni Pasta Salad – at http://emeals.com/meal-plans/lunch/
7. Eat a colorful ROYGBIV diet – Red foods like tomatoes, watermelon, grapefruit, red bell pepper and red cabbage contain lycopene, which may reduce the risk of some cancers. Orange choices are filled with Vitamin A and carotenoids that are good for your eyesight. Blue/purple produce includes anthycyanins that support heart health. And green veggies contain isothyiocyanates that help flush cancer-causing compounds out of the body. Bonus: the Vitamin K in leafy greens helps regulate blood pressure, too.
8. Downsize your plates – We all tend to eat everything we put on our plates – and usually that's way too much. If you start a meal with salad, that helps fill you up so you won't overeat the rest of your dinner. You can also get ideas for portion-controlled meals at http://emeals.com/meal-plans/portion-control/
9. Switch out soda – All of the calories in soda and sugary drinks are empty calories, meaning they contribute no healthy nutrients. Swap soda for calorie-free beverages like water or sparkling water (add a splash of lemon or lime for flavor), or beverages with some nutritional value, like skim milk or small amounts of 100% fruit juice.
10. Add kale, quinoa or both to your plate – Just one cup of kale contains 180% of the daily requirement of Vitamin A, 200% of Vitamin C, and 1,020% of Vitamin K, making it a cancer-fighting superfood. Quinoa is a gluten-free whole grain and a complete protein ideal for gluten-free, vegetarian, or overall healthy diets. Start with the Walnut-Raisin Quinoa recipe at http://blog.emeals.com/quin-what-a-guide-to-quinoa/ - yum!
11. Make half your plate fresh fruit and vegetables –Diets high in fruits and vegetables contribute to a reduced risk of heart disease, some cancers, obesity and Type II Diabetes. They're also high in fiber, so they fill you up with fewer

    calories than other foods.

    1. Take the Paleo plunge – This one is for the more adventurous, but it's not as difficult as it seems.  The 'caveman diet' focuses on meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, fresh produce, tree nuts and seeds, and healthy fats, eliminating processed foods, grains, dairy, sugar, legumes and potatoes.  You'll find a printable shopping list at http://blog.emeals.com/getting-started-on-paleo-meal-planning-a-shopping-guide/ and sample menus at http://emeals.com/meal-plans/paleo/
    2. Try meal planning and avoid the 6 o'clock drive through run – You'll save time and money – and also eat healthier – when you plan ahead. eMeals can help by delivering weekly menus, recipes and grocery lists directly to your email inbox,  saving hours of "What do I make for dinner?" angst as well as ensuring variety and enabling efficient once-a-week food shopping.

     

    eMeals.com – Thu, Dec 27, 2012