Читать книгу Brain Fitness for Women - Sondra Kornblatt - Страница 8

A brain is a lot like a computer. It will only take so many facts, and then it will go on overload and blow up.

Erma Bombeck, humorist

Women are overloaded.

Need proof? Look at the covers of magazines in the grocery line for the long list of things we “should” attend to.

Lose 11 pounds in 7 days. Exfoliate your skin. Buy the latest fashions. Get a flat stomach. Organize your garage. Six tips to get ahead at work. Save for retirement. Latest smart investments. Five sexy ways to make your man love you. Eat right for your unborn baby. Parenting the terrible twos. Help your children read in just ten minutes a day. Get your teens to church. Find your best new smart phone. Beware of toxins in your furniture. Choose the right Botox doctor. When to bikini wax in the winter. Cook healthy quick meals. Build a compost bin. Care for your mother across the country. Stay fit through all ages.

We’re living in a world so fast paced, with so many expectations, it's really crazy. There's a limit to what the nervous system can handle, and most of us are way over the limit.¹ With demands coming from all sides, we feel like we’re going to lose our minds—and perhaps our brains too.

Your brain is the center of your stormy life, but it is not like the quiet, calm eye of a hurricane. Your brain is more like a boat in a harbor, whipped around in winds and cross currents, banging against the pier, held by ropes that are straining against the stress.

You can hear it in your language: you say you forgot a parent-teacher conference because of brain fog, missed a party because you were brain fried, can't retrieve the name of a book author because of a brain fart, or procrastinate learning a new telephone system at work because your brain is toast.

Poor brain. It has to orchestrate everything: muscles, hormones, digestion, mood, speech, sleep, memory, dreams, compassion, emotions, actions, and stress.

Even though it's doing all that, it's easy to take the brain for granted. You frequently don't give yourself the things your brain needs to function well: good foods, exercise, stimulating challenges, a nontoxic environment, quiet time, nature, bigger perspectives, emotional care, friends to talk with, and respect for what it's doing.

There's only so much you can change outside, but you can change what you do, including how you support the brain.

Taking care of your brain can change your life.

You and your brain need care to stay sane in this crazy world. When you support your brain, it has more resources to handle what's expected of it. You’ll be more relaxed about your overwhelming to-do lists. You’ll also know how to stop blaming yourself and your brain for not handling the impossible. Instead, you’ll support your brain in order to get the best from it—and from your life.

Brain Fitness for Women shows you holistic ways to sustain your brain—more than just clever games that stretch your cognitive ability, like most brain-fitness books focus on. Your cognitive ability is just one part of your brain, and there are many factors that influence our brains every day: toxins, information overload, overwhelming emotions, and hormone changes.

You’ll learn what revives the brain, including exercising, volunteering, socializing, and spending time in nature. Brain Fitness for Women shares the latest on the brain and food choices, learning, memory help, and meditation. You’ll also read about:

 Triggering biophelia (attraction to nature) in your house;

 Myths about male and female brains, and what really makes them different;

 Myths about preventing Alzheimer's and what really helps;

 Toxins in your cosmetics and how to avoid them;

 How both movement and stillness improve your brain.

Some techniques may be new to you; some you may have forgotten. Some may be small steps; some may be big leaps. In all cases, the aim is to help you form a new relationship with your brain—and your life.

This book will help you appreciate and love the miracle under your skull, one that extends via communication systems throughout your body to the tips of your fingers and toes. Treat yourself and your brain in the same way you would a new love on your first dates—good dinner, stimulating activities, long walks, and quiet moments just being together.

When you care for your brain using the tips in this book, you will support how it functions, understand its human limitations, and foster a long and healthy partnership with your unique genius. (And happily, all the ways that support the brain also support the body.) The best part of your brilliant neural phenomenon: despite all the ups and downs, it can be grateful for the blessing of being alive.

So let's turn away from the headlines in those women's magazines and learn how to revive our brains and make them fit for us, in all dimensions.