Brain Training Blog

Here’s to a Healthier Brain! Bottoms Up!

Flavanols Found in Chocolate Benefit Your Brain!

Apr 23

April 23rd, 2012 | Posted by LearningRx in Brain Health, Brain Science and Health | 2 Comments

 

A recent study proves something you’ve been wishing were true: Chocolate is good for you!

You heard right! Chocolate has been scientifically proven to boost blood flow to certain areas of the brain. It’s the flavanols in chocolate that make it so healthy, and the darker the chocolate the better. Flavanols can also be found in foods like red wine, green tea, and blueberries. But let’s get back to the business of discussing chocolate.

Scientists found that drinking a flavanol-rich cocoa drink increased the flow of blood to the brain for two to three hours. Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), these scientists were able to detect increased activity in specific areas of the brain in individuals who drank just one serving of the chocolaty drink. The activity is linked to dilation of blood vessels which allows more blood–and therefore more oxygen–to reach key areas of the brain. The result?  Better performance at specific cognitive tasks, plus greater alertness.

Scientists are going to continue looking into how this information can be used to enhance brain performance for people battling fatigue (can you say everyone?) and sleep deprivation, and it may even fight the effects of aging!  The study also suggests that chocolate may be helpful in treating vascular impairment (things like strokes and dementia), thereby maintaining cardiovascular health.

So the truth about chocolate is finally out.  Eating (or even drinking!) chocolate can actually make us healthier and smarter. It’s important to choose the right chocolates, meaning those high in flavanols, like dark chocolate.  So the next time you’re tired or unfocused, hit the dark chocolate instead of the coffee pot – your brain will thank you.

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Life Is a Journey. Take Snacks and a Backpack.

Mother Enrolls Three of Her Children in LearningRx Brain Training

Apr 12

April 12th, 2012 | Posted by LearningRx in A Mom's Journal, Attention Skills, Brain Training, Cognitive skills, Confidence | No Comments

“What if I hate it?”

Ten-year-old Luke waved the question like a bright red flag. His mom, Julie, had just told him he’d be starting brain training at LearningRx and he was dubious about the idea, even though his brother and sister were in the same program and loved it!

His first day at the LearningRx Center, Luke frowned as he headed off with his trainer for their first session. Waiting in the reception area, Julie thought about the crazy journey that had led her family to try brain training in the first place.

Two years earlier, Julie’s oldest son Joshua, then 11, had been diagnosed with ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Searching for answers, Julie visited internet bulletin boards and consulted doctors. Once she paid $800 for testing that provided labels but no solutions.

Hearing about LearningRx, Julie was curious. Could targeted mental exercise really stimulate the brain to strengthen neural pathways, to the point of raising a kid’s IQ and giving him better skills for school and for life? If so, could it help Joshua? It was worth a try.

Within weeks of starting the program, Joshua was focusing better than ever. Math tests that used to take 90 minutes were now taking 20 minutes or less. And while Joshua’s oppositional behavior still  flared, Julie realized that LearningRx was removing her son’s frustration with learning so other issues could be isolated and dealt with more effectively.

So when they noticed similar behaviors in their seven-year-old daughter, Julie and her husband didn’t hesitate. They enrolled Danielle at LearningRx, too.

A week into the program, Danielle—who had always struggled with reading and writing—sat down and wrote a beautiful story about a family of horses. She also  performed in a Christmas musical, another first! By now, Joshua was taking more initiative around the house, washing dishes, vacuuming and organizing. Julie realized that brain training was giving her children confidence and motivation they’d never had before. Now she wanted the same for Luke, and then for their third son, Caleb. Julie could see that even she and her husband could benefit from brain training!

Julie’s thoughts were interrupted as Luke, done with his session, approached her. He was wearing a huge grin and carrying his LearningRx backpack filled with brain training times, cards and tools. “Mom!” he said, “I loved it!”

Yes, life is an crazy journey, alright. Julie thanked God she and her husband had found the right partners to help them equip their kids for the trip.

 

Photo credit: Julie Worthy

 

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I Didn’t Let Alzheimer’s Steal My Future

Brain Training Helps 81-Year-Old in Early Stages of Alzheimer’s

Apr 4

April 4th, 2012 | Posted by LearningRx in Brain Training, Memory | No Comments

When my doctor told me I was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, I was devastated.

Not wanting to become a burden to my children, I sold my house, moved to an assisted living center, and waited for Alzheimer’s to finish robbing me of whatever quality of life I had left.

I’d been talking slower and getting confused. I couldn’t even remember my address! But the greatest loss of all had been reading. Before, I’d enjoyed reading books, magazines and my Bible every single day. Now, I could read a paragraph over and over and not understand or remember anything I’d read!

I began to sink into depression. 

That December, someone gave me a book about the brain’s ability to create new neurons at any age. The book mentioned a company—LearningRx—that pairs you up with a brain trainer who takes you through special mental exercises, stimulating your brain to reorganize existing neurons and even create new ones.

I got on the phone and called the LearningRx Brain Training Center in Bossier City, Louisiana where I live.

Could brain training help me? I’d soon know.

The first time I met Maria, my brain trainer, she immediately announced, “Now Virginia, you may be 81 years old, but you can do this, and I’m not cutting you any slack!”

Right away, she had me memorize the names of all the presidents of the United States by linking crazy images to each of their names. The next time my daughter Kenda and son-in-law Randy came to visit, I rattled off the names of all 44 presidents.

Kenda said, “Mom, I can’t even do that!”

Before long there were books and magazines all over my apartment again. I even started playing cards with my friends again.

Randy told me, “I love seeing your zest for life coming back!”

Thinking, reading, talking—even making decisions—got faster and easier. My neurologist tested my brain function and said it had jumped from 77.1 to 95.9!

At my LearningRx graduation Randy told everyone, “We have our wonderful Virginia back.”

I love being able to do the things I enjoy. Best yet, I know I’m not at the end of my life. I may be 81, but I’m not giving up. I still have a future to look forward to.

 

Watch Virginia’s Video

 

Photo credit: Cristie Magnusson

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Concussions from School Sports Were Keeping David from Landing His Dream Career

Overcoming the Impact of Concussions Caused by School Sports

Mar 28

March 28th, 2012 | Posted by LearningRx in Brain Health, Brain Training, LearningRx Videos, Memory | No Comments

 Sometimes David got to the locker room and  couldn’t remember the football game he’d just played.

In junior high, David had been a straight A student. But after a concussion, he began struggling in school, and additional concussions while playing football in high school only made things worse.

Years later, married and with a baby on the way, David graduated from a police academy. But repeatedly his applications for jobs were rejected because his test scores were too low.  After applying to 56 police departments—without a single job offer—David called LearningRx.

He calls what happened next “an awakening” of his brain.

“Shortly after starting brain training, I remembered a dream I’d had the night before,” David says. “That hadn’t happened since… well, since I was a kid! After that, improvements just kept coming.”

One day, driving on a familiar tree-lined street David realized that, in his peripheral vision, he could see houses past the trees. For years, his field of vision had only included the street and the trees. Brain training was even improving his vision!

Things were different at home, too. Now when his wife, Lorelle, asked him to get something from the store, he remembered! But the changes went even deeper. One night David asked his wife, “Do you think brain training has made a difference?” Her answer surprised him.

“I feel closer to you,” she said. “We have more intimate conversations now. I feel like you really hear me.”

David realized it was true. “After brain training,” he says, “I could follow my wife better during conversations, and remember things we talked about. What a difference that made in our relationship!”

After 12 weeks of brain training, David got a call from a department that had rejected his application seven months earlier. They said they had another job opening and asked if David wanted to reapply. That same week, Lorelle gave birth to a baby girl. It seemed the week for new beginnings.

This time, David passed all the exams and landed his dream job.

David had no idea his career was being hindered by those long-ago concussions. “Brain training changed my quality of life in every area of my life,” he says today. “Now I really can dream again.”

Watch David’s Video

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What Was Going on in Logan’s Brain that Was Making Him Struggle?

Once a Struggling Student, Now a Lover of Books!

Mar 19

March 19th, 2012 | Posted by LearningRx in A Mom's Journal, Brain Training, Cognitive skills, Confidence, Reading | No Comments

“Logan, you’re a smart kid. C’mon. Make some sort of effort!”

Laura pleaded with her 13-year-old son as he sulked over the books strewn across the kitchen table.

Every night Laura and her husband, Ted, worked with Logan for hours on reading and homework. Logan was a great kid with a great heart, but he seemed to have given up. Luckily, his parents weren’t willing to do the same.

The first thing that attracted Laura and Ted to brain training was how different it was from tutoring. Laura explains, “The last thing Logan needed was to go to Sylvan® and have them do another three hours of what had just been done in school that hadn’t worked!”

The second thing they loved was the testing. They’d had Logan tested before, but the LearningRx assessment was the first to explain what was actually happening in Logan’s brain and why he was struggling—and then offer a solution!

“When the LearningRx director here in West Des Moines told us Logan had weak skills in auditory processing, everything started making sense,” his mother remembers. “And because auditory processing is foundational for reading, no wonder Logan hated books!”

But the bigger surprise was that Logan actually looked forward to LearningRx brain training. After every session, he couldn’t wait to tell his parents everything he had learned and accomplished.

His grades improved, and when the opportunity arose to transfer to a more academically challenging private school, Logan was actually excited.

Then there were the books. Discovering a new love for words, Logan read Treasure Island with enthusiasm. He talked about insights gleaned from things he’d read. He even asked for books for Christmas. The day Laura walked through the family room and found her son lounging in a chair with his nose buried in a book—for fun!—she knew a transformation had truly taken place.

That was three years ago, and Logan is still benefiting from the changes brought about through LearningRx. “When it comes to thinking and learning for the rest of his life, Logan has tools and motivation now that he didn’t have before,” his mother says. “To this day, my husband and I will watch Logan accomplish something new, look at each other and say, ‘Brain training made that possible.’” 

Sylvan® is a registered trademark of Sylvan Learning, Inc. LearningRx, Inc. is not affiliated in any way with Sylvan Learning Centers or Sylvan Learning, Inc. The use of the servicemarks owned by Sylvan Learning, Inc. is not intended and should not be taken to imply any relationship between LearningRx and Sylvan. The opinion expressed in this quote is merely the opinion of the individual quoted. 

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From “I’m Done” to Number One!

Ten-Year-Old Gymnast Wins National President’s Day Contest

Feb 20

February 20th, 2012 | Posted by LearningRx in A Mom's Journal, Attention Skills, Brain Training, Cognitive skills, Confidence, LearningRx Videos, Memory | No Comments

Ten-year-old Taylor Peterson didn’t want to compete in gymnastics this year. She started gymnastics when she was three, and loved it, but after seven years it was time to start competing, and she just didn’t have the confidence to continue.

“It was so hard,” says her mom Kim Peterson. “You have this little girl that you know is awesome, but she doesn’t know it. She couldn’t see what we could see – all that potential and just how good she really was. She just said she felt horrible and didn’t want to compete.”

Then Taylor started a personalized, one-on-one brain training program at LearningRx to help with her school work. Taylor had always worked incredibly hard in school, yet she always struggled too, even with extra help.

“Her teachers always just told me to be patient – that it would click,” says Kim. “They would tell me that she was the hardest worker in the class, and that eventually she’ll get it because she’s a really smart kid.” But when it still hadn’t clicked by fourth grade, Taylor’s teacher warned the Petersons that they needed to find the problem and fix it soon to avoid a future of escalating struggles and learning problems.

Cognitive skills testing found the problem and confirmed the Petersons’ suspicion that Taylor had never developed the phonemic awareness skills necessary to be a strong reader. Brain training at LearningRx changed all that. Homework is now easier and faster, Taylor’s getting better grades, and for the first time ever she’s performing at grade level.

“LearningRx brain training helped me so much,” says Taylor. “I used to study spelling words so much every single night, and now I just study one night and get good grades. I like school more now that it’s easier.”

At the end of training, testing confirmed impressive improvements in Taylor’s cognitive skills, equating to a general IQ increase of 18 points. But the Petersons didn’t need the test results to confirm the improvements. They noticed the first big change within weeks of starting the program when Taylor’s confidence soared and she came to her Mom and said, “I’m ready to compete!”

Taylors’ newly strengthened attention skills gave her such intense focus under pressure that other moms marveled at it. Her stronger memory skills helped her quickly remember new routines during one practice instead of writing them down and reviewing dozens of times at home. And at the end of the season, Taylor claimed the top spot on the podium – first place at state in the all-around for level four gymnastics.

“It’s so emotional,” says Kim. “She’s there because of LearningRx. You changed her little life. I fear that she would’ve turned into a lost little soul, and now she’s so confident and excelling in so many different areas. It’s such a relief that she’s not struggling in school anymore. It’s just been awesome.”

Taylor demonstrates her improved attention and memory skills and her champion-level gymnastics talent in this winning video for the annual LearningRx President’s Day Video Contest. Taylor recites all 44 U.S. presidents, forward and backward, in the 31-second clip and won an iPad, and another title, for the effort.

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That Pain in Your Heart Isn’t All in Your Head

Heartache and the Brain

Jan 24

January 24th, 2012 | Posted by LearningRx in Brain Research, Brain Science and Health | No Comments

We call breakups “painful” for good reason: When you experience an unwanted breakup, thinking of  your ex-love-interest activates the same parts of your brain that process physical pain.

Researchers measured brain activity while showing love-sick men and women photos of their former-sweethearts, and then photos of platonic friends. They also measured brain activity as they exposed subjects to physical pain with a hot probe on the arm. And guess what? The same parts of the brain lit up when exposed to physical pain and memories of the ex.  

What does this mean for you if you’ve just experienced a painful breakup? For starters, don’t beat yourself up about feeling bad. Researchers believe your brain is wired to help you move on, survive and eventually thrive by lumping memories of your past relationship in the same category as rope burns and root canals.

Another finding from this study and many others shows that, when you’re happy in a relationship, the brain releases the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine which creates a sense of craving, reward and motivation. It’s a hard habit for your brain to break because, after a breakup, thinking of your ex can still release levels of dopamine. Which means, even as your brain is processing your memories as pain, it’s also rewarding you for those same thoughts.

No wonder recovering from a broken heart is such a roller coaster!

The good news is that researchers determined that most of their lovelorn subjects felt a lot better about their breakups after about ten weeks.

When love ends, time is on your side. Your heart needs time to adjust. Apparently, so does your brain. 

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LearningRx Announces Winner of Quarterly Video Contest

Brain Training Helps David Land His Dream Job

Jan 18

January 18th, 2012 | Posted by LearningRx in Uncategorized | No Comments

Like a lot of kids, David played sports in school. But concussions sustained on the wrestling mat and gridiron hurt his ability to perform well in school and even in his career. After graduating from a police academy, David was rejected by 56 police departments because his test scores were too low. The 32-year-old husband and father began to wonder if his dream job would ever turn into reality.

David explains what happened next in a video testimonial that was voted the winning entry in a quarterly contest sponsored by LearningRx.

LearningRx is the largest one-on-one brain training company in the world, with nearly 80 centers across the country. Their clinically proven programs consist of intense mental exercises—done one-on-one with a personal trainer—that stimulate the brain to strengthen existing neural connections and even create new ones. The results?  Kids and adults who go through their programs experience dramatic and measurable improvements in how fast and efficiently they can think, read, learn, focus and remember.

David contacted the LearningRx Brain Training Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He worked with a professional brain trainer for 12 weeks. He calls his improvements after brain training “amazing.”

“At first I looked at my trainer and I’m like, ‘You’re crazy. There’s no way I’m going to be able to do this stuff,” he says of the day he began the program. “But on my last day of training, we went back and repeated the exercises I’d done on that first day, and I just sat back and said, ‘I had a problem with that?’ It’s amazing how fast I progressed and how much I could comprehend at the end. I was amazed.”

Clients of all ages turn to personal brain training, and include kids and adults with learning struggles; people with ADHD, dyslexia and autism; high achieving students and career adults who want even sharper mental performance; senior adults looking to improve memory and stay mentally sharp; and victims of strokes or traumatic brain injuries who need to regain lost brain skills.

In his contest-winning video, David describes the improvements in his memory and mental skills that allowed him to –finally!—land the job of his dreams. In the final week of his 12-week brain training program, David tested with yet another police department. This time he landed the job, and was sworn into service on January 3rd.

Click here to watch the winning video. 

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Blink Patterns of Autistic Toddlers Reveal Fascinating Insights

What Do Blinking Patterns Tell Us?

Jan 16

January 16th, 2012 | Posted by LearningRx in A Mom's Journal, Autism, Brain Research, PDD Autism and Asperger's | No Comments

We don’t think much about blinking. For the most part, it’s an involuntary process that keeps our eyes hydrated. But when we blink, we lose information, even if it’s just for a fraction of a second. In fact, during a typical day, blinking means you spend about 44 minutes with your eyes closed.

This is why, when we’re watching something that interests us, we tend to blink less often. Again, it’s not something we think about, just an involuntary response to not wanting to miss out on whatever has captured our attention.

A recent study of the blink patterns of two-year-olds –some of whom were typically developing children and some of whom had an autism spectrum disorder—revealed fascinating insights on what is actually happening in their brains.  Noticing that children blink less often while watching videos, researchers wondered if toddlers with autism, who have impairments in social communications, would show the same blink patterns as typically developing kids.

They showed 93 toddlers a video featuring two children in a wagon who get into an argument over whether the wagon door should be open or shut.

What they discovered was that typically developing toddlers blink less—indicating increased interest—during the emotional exchange between the two children in the video.

Toddlers with autism, however, blinked less—indicating increased interest—during the parts of the video that showed physical objects in motion, such as the wagon door being slammed.

Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for Autism Speaks, says that if a child is not visually engaged with the social world, it can “impact the development of neural systems that underlie social behavior which rely on social stimulation for development.”

One of the benefits of the study is that it provides a way to measure a child’s interest and engagement with various stimuli, and can even be used to gauge the effectiveness of various therapies. 

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Laughing All the Way, Ha Ha Ha!

The Benefits of Holiday Laughter

Dec 22

December 22nd, 2011 | Posted by LearningRx in Brain Science and Health, Uncategorized | No Comments

Whether you’re riding in a one-horse sleigh, sledding, caroling, baking cookies or chillin’ with family and friends, the holidays brim with opportunities for lots of laughter.

What’s all that joviality doing to your brain?

Laughing stimulates a part of your brain called the nucleus accumbens, which then releases the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine. This creates a brain-chemical chain reaction that elevates your mood, makes you feel connected to those around you, reduces stress & pain, and even boosts your immunity!

 

 

 

 

Here are some other interesting things you may not know about laughter: 

  • When you laugh, you use 15 different facial muscles
  • The average grown up laughs approximately 17 times every day
  • We are 30 times more likely to laugh when we’re with other people than when we are by ourselves
  • Laughing causes the inner lining of blood vessels to relax and expand, increasing blood flow to your entire body.

Finally, a good belly laugh burns 3.5 calories. Which is a good thing to remember as we’re eating all those holiday goodies. 

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