Grow Your Brain by Being a Bro

Grow Your Brain by Being a Bro

Brain Awareness Week, a public health initiative by the Neurological Foundation, is back March 15-21, and in addition to the popular daily tasks, tips and puzzles to grow your brain from last year, 2010 is all about getting out with your mates, because socializing is good for your brain.

Formerly, it was thought we are born with all the brain cells we are ever going to have, but research has found that this is not the case. The brain continually grows brain cells and creates new connections throughout our lives and we can help prevent its deterioration and aging by carrying out simple activities, many of which Kiwis already do on a daily basis.

One of these simple activities is also incredibly fun; research shows that spending time with friends can actually improve the health of your brain.

Research has shown that when we form strong friendships, the overall well-being of our brains is also positively impacted.

People with close relationships and well-developed social networks generally live happier, healthier and longer lives, with a lower incidence of dementia and other diseases of ageing. It’s important to make time for friendships, we’re social animals and our brains are designed to help us form relationships.

Scientists have found that chemicals produced by the brain encourage people to bond with others. For example, when women develop close relationships with other women, it increases their levels of the hormone progesterone, which in turn boosts feelings of wellbeing and helps relieve stress.

Social isolation on the other hand, can lend itself to poorer health and lower life expectancy across both sexes.

Following the success of last year’s campaign, the Neurological Foundation challenges Kiwis to log onto www.brainweek.co.nz and take part in the fun and free ‘Grow a bigger brain in 7 days” campaign.

Each day in Brain Awareness Week, participants can compete with friends by taking part in daily puzzles and quizzes and input the activities they have done during that day, for example, a good night’s sleep healthy eating, exercising and socializing, to see who can grow the most brain cells.

All these activities will be rewarded by points and at the end of the week, the number of brain cells grown will be revealed. Results will be compared by region, age and males versus female.

Finding ways to prevent or cure neurological disease is a primary goal of neuroscience research, and the Neurological Foundation is committed to help achieve this by funding neurological research in New Zealand.

Prevention is always better than cure. Brain research increases our understanding of the brain and neuroscientists are constantly discovering that individuals can make a difference to their brain health. A good start is to simply catch up with a friend.

ENDS

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