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good health
Can Changing
your brain
change your life?
Discover how you can rewire anD retrain your brain
to become a sharper, smarter anD happier you
ust imagine if it were possible to Arrowsmith-Young explains how she change, which suggests that, with
turn your greatest weakness into used the principles of neuroplasticity practice, we can even rewire our brains
your greatest strength. If you to overcome her own severe learning to make ourselves happier.
could rewire your brain to reverse disabilities, and describes how she So how does it work? While it is,
ingrained personality traits from now helps others do the same. unfortunately, not yet possible to reverse
J procrastination to pessimism and ‘What I’ve learned by doing this work brain disease, such as Alzheimer’s, for the
improve everything from your memory to for over 30 years is that just as our brain rest of us it simply takes targeted practice.
your grasp of foreign languages. Well, not shapes us, we can shape our brain,’ ‘You need to be working on your brain
only do neuroscientists now believe this is she says. ‘And the really exciting thing for at least 20 minutes, five times a week
possible, but they can show us how. is that it’s never too late – a 74 year and pitching the difficulty level exactly
old makes the same progress as right, so it’s neither too easy, nor
Positive thinking a 15 year old’. too hard,’ says Arrowsmith-
Consider for a moment that everything Brain scans on London Young. ‘And you need to
we think, feel and do is governed by taxi drivers, for example just as our gradually increase that
specific areas of our brain. So, if you – who have to learn and brain shapes us, level of difficulty as
pride yourself on your ambition and retain a detailed mental we can shape our your brain improves.’
focus, you have probably got a strong map of the city – showed –
prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain they not only have brain and it’s Here to stay
that helps us create and stick to goals). a larger posterior never too late The great news is that,
Alternatively, if you struggle to recall hippocampus (the section while it takes continuous
the story of a favourite book a few months of the brain governing work to make a change to
after you’ve read it, this could be down navigation) than is typical, but the brain, once that change has
to a weakness in your left temporal lobe that the area grows larger the longer been made, the gain is permanent –
(the part of the brain that governs they have been in the job. Another with everyday life providing the stimulation.
memory for information). study on Buddhist monks found that ‘I have tracked individuals 30 years after
However, thanks to advancements in during meditation, the monks had they did the Arrowsmith Programme and
neuroscience, we’re no longer stuck with increased activity in their left prefrontal there is no loss of function,’ says Arrowsmith-
the neurological hand we’ve been dealt. cortex (the area of the brain associated Young. ‘The changed brain stays changed.’
By following specially developed exercises, with happiness), which overpowered So whether you want to boost your
we can correct brain weaknesses affecting activity in the right prefrontal cortex memory or your sense of direction, turn
anything from our mathematical ability to (associated with negative moods). the page and get started now with one Forget wearing your
our moods. In her new book, The Woman When the same study was carried out of five exclusive exercises developed by heart on your sleeve,
Who Changed Her Brain, author Barbara on novice monks, there was no such Arrowsmith-Young for Top Santé magazine. Claire’s started wearing
➔ her brain on her head…
TopSanté TopSanté
good health
rewire your
SenSory
brain to… Cortex
parietal Be your own satnav
loBe
the Woman Who pre- If you have a poor sense of direction
frontal
Changed her Brain stop procrastinating Cortex and often lose things, it could be
down to a weakness in the posterior .
Barbara Arrowsmith-Young, 60, This part of the brain is crucial to parietal lobe area and hippocampus, SE
overcame severe learning disabilities success in life. When an individual is which govern spatial reasoning T
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using brain exercises and now described as ambitious, focused or and navigation. A weakness here h
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passes her expertise on to you. driven, they’re likely to have can also make interior design T R
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particular strength in this area of the difficult because of the need to be
Until I was 26, I lived in a dense fog. brain. Someone with a weakness in BroCa able to map out furniture in spaces. BACKBACK
area
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concept of telling time eluded me. In to be disorganised and untidy – not ideal workout to boost these areas of go
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rules of simple games. I was always they have difficulty deciding what’s map-making exercise. The player h
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Shattered World, about a brain- part of the brain firing. Start with the The ability to learn languages is any moves, plot the opponent’s I
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damaged soldier. Reading about his classic river-crossing problem below. largely down to the Broca area of possible counter moves. Increase ox LEA
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disabilities were physical, each one as you think of it, and analyse why it aspect. people with a weakness
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enables focus, I read and re-read Luria’s you hints on how to solve it. once you arguments as they talk. er Those with weak left temporal lobe The somatosensory cortex (part of n o
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book over and over and eventually have mastered a problem, try another exerCiSe To wake up this part of the function struggle to store facts, while the sensory cortex) is responsible for h
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I created my first brain exercise to help one, and increase the complexity brain, you need to practise listening nged those with a strength here may have muscle memory. people who have a You will need to spend at T T
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me tell the time. With nothing to lose, of them as you get better at solving to and speaking another language RR an encyclopedic knowledge and are strength here may take for granted 1 least 20 minutes per day, for WIT
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day, dropping into bed exhausted. you work with don’t contain going to a weekly class won’t be T exerCiSe memorising poems helps typing, playing sports and mastering brain area to see results. E T
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What happened was nothing short of a elements of maths because enough to make the difference MA here. Start with short, simple, musical instruments. But someone You should start to notice T
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miracle: not only did my ability to tell that would be working a – you must do it for 20 minutes on on rhyming verse. Read it through, then with a weakness in this area is more 2some improvement within I T
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the time improve, but so did the different area of your brain. a day, five days a week, ideally The Wo commit it to memory line by line. likely to be naturally clumsy, will often about four months and significant LEAA
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related symptoms governed by this Try this: a farmer must starting with a simpler language, o When you’re able to recite the full veer into the person they are walking improvement within 10. ERn
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impaired part of my brain, such as my transport a fox, a goose and such as Spanish or Italian. R verse correctly the next day, add with and will probably struggle to The workout needs to be just E
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grasp of maths and logic. I was bag of beans across Try interactive Cds and . Fo another verse or move on to a more perfect the use of chopsticks. on the edge of attainability:
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the US, Canada and Australia, and will they’re alone. how can second language E Lucy gray, and, when I crossed the them backwards. To really isolate and then becomes automatic, you’ll hE
hopefully extend to the UK and the he get all three across find it easier to CLAIREmm wild, I chanced to see at break of work your muscle memory, perform need to add some complexity to : Thm.
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rest of the world very soon. the river intact?* grasp more languages. d in day, the solitary child.’ steps with your eyes shut. increase demand on the brain. SWERh h
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