Brain Explorer - StumbleUpon Cool Tool: Six Great Long-Distance Bike Trails Without Cars Many years ago I took a meandering 5,000 mile bike ride across the US, from San Francisco to New York via Idaho and Texas. I rode back roads all the way and it was a highlight of my life. But this long bike ride would have been 100 times better if I did not have to share the road with careless drivers, overloaded pickups, and logging trucks, not to mention suicidal teens in hot rods. Well, there are! Many of these trails did not exist as bike paths even a few years ago. John Wayne Pioneer Trail — 113 miles While this trail officially transects Washington state, only 113 miles of the final 200 mile trail have been developed (by 2007) and are presently open. Cowboy Trail — 195 miles A nice leisurely 5-day trip passing through the small towns every 15 miles on the Nebraska prairie. Katy Trail — 264 miles This bike trail which mostly parallels the Missouri River is a Missouri state park unto itself. Kettle Valley Rail Trail — 280 miles GAP/C&O — 335 miles
How To Boost Brain Power and Memory Until just a few years ago, doctors believed that the brain stopped making new neural connections - meaning that the memory began to get irreversibly worse - when the body stopped developing, usually in the early 20s. And doctors knew that, like any other part of the body, neurons weaken as people age. Loss of brain function due to neural breakdown was assumed to be a normal, unavoidable part of aging. It turns out they were wrong. In the past few years, it has become clear that you can, in fact, make new neurons starting in your 20s and continuing well into old age. You can literally rewire the brain with new parts as the older parts wear out. There are lots of things you can do right now to preserve, protect and enhance your gray matter. 1Physical exercise A healthy body really does mean a healthy mind. Physical exercise may even help prevent Alzheimer's disease. 2Lifelong learning - your brain is a learning machine How can you challenge yourself? 3Mental stimulation 5Sleep & Nap
How to Be Optimistic Bookmark Edit Article Edited by Krystle C., Ben Rubenstein, Brigitta M., Joshua Uebergang and 136 others While being skeptical can be a healthy way to avoid getting taken advantage of, being pessimistic - that is, always assuming the worst - can have major negative consequences on your life. Seeing only the negative aspects of any situation can cause you to miss opportunities, neglect problems that need to be solved, and fail to take action that would otherwise improve your relationships and quality of life. Ad Steps 1Let go of the assumption that the world is against you, or that you were born with a gray cloud over your head. 6Be a balanced optimist. Tips Do not worry about the past or future. Warnings Everyone has their times of weakness.
Neurological Control - Neurotransmitters - StumbleUpon Neurotransmitter Molecules Neurotransmitters can be broadly split into two groups – the ‘classical’, small molecule neurotransmitters and the relatively larger neuropeptide neurotransmitters. Within the category of small molecule neurotransmitters, the biogenic amines (dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin and histamine) are often referred to as a discrete group because of their similarity in terms of their chemical properties. Click on the links in the table above to read more about some of the important neurotransmitters. Serotonin Although the CNS contains less than 2% of the total serotonin in the body, serotonin plays a very important role in a range of brain functions. Within the brain, serotonin is localised mainly in nerve pathways emerging from the raphe nuclei, a group of nuclei at the centre of the reticular formation in the Midbrain, pons and medulla. Noradrenaline Find out more about noradrenaline and serotonin Dopamine Acetylcholine Neurotransmitter Receptors Serotoning receptors
Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life | zen ha “Simplicity is the peak of civilization.” – Jessie Sampter By Leo Babauta A simple life has a different meaning and a different value for every person. For me, it means eliminating all but the essential, eschewing chaos for peace, and spending your time doing what’s important to you. It means getting rid of many of the things you do so you can spend time with people you love and do the things you love. It means getting rid of the clutter so you are left with only that which gives you value. However, getting to simplicity isn’t always a simple process. If you’re interested in simplifying your life, this is a great starter’s guide (if you’re not interested, move on). The Short List For the cynics who say that the list below is too long, there are really only two steps to simplifying: Identify what’s most important to you.Eliminate everything else. Of course, that’s not terribly useful unless you can see how to apply that to different areas of your life, so I present to you the Long List.
Memory strengthened by stimulating key site in brain Ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New UCLA research may one day help you improve your memory. UCLA neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in human patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain. Published in the Feb. 9 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, the finding could lead to a new method for boosting memory in patients with early Alzheimer's disease. The UCLA team focused on a brain site called the entorhinal cortex. "The entorhinal cortex is the golden gate to the brain's memory mainframe," explained senior author Dr. Fried and his colleagues followed seven epilepsy patients who already had electrodes implanted in their brains to pinpoint the origin of their seizures. Using a video game featuring a taxi cab, virtual passengers and a cyber city, the researchers tested whether deep-brain stimulation of the entorhinal cortex or the hippocampus altered recall.
Handbook for Life: 52 Tips for Happiness and Productivity | zen By Leo Babauta This is something I’ve been wanting to write for some time — a Handbook for Life. Now, is there any handbook that can be a guide to every single person? It’ll also become apparent from the links in this handbook that I’ve written about this stuff before. How to use this handbook This handbook is not meant to be a step-by-step guide, nor should you adopt all the tips below. Pick and choose the tips that will be most useful to you. 52 Tips for Happiness and Productivity Try rising early. The Brain-Information about the Brain - StumbleUpon 1 Introduction “I think, therefore I am.” —René Descartes, 17th-century philosopher Few of us question the crucial importance of the brain. It is vital to our existence. The brain makes up only 2 percent of our body weight, but it consumes 20 percent of the oxygen we breathe and 20 percent of the energy we consume. Scientists have worked for many years to unravel the complex workings of the brain. Despite these and other significant advances in the field of brain research, most of the processes responsible for the integrated functioning of billions of brain cells remain a mystery. An essential aspect of any scientific research is communicating results to the public in a way that is easily understood. To correctly interpret the information transmitted through these venues, we need a better understanding of basic concepts related to the brain. 2 Myths and Realities about the Brain Myth: The brain is separate from the nervous system. Myth: The brain is a uniform mass of tissue. Figure 1.