Mental Workouts To Strengthen Your Brain

Hi ya Gorgeous!
Hope your Sunday is going awesome! Today, as I am perfecting my pitch, packing and preparing for AFM, I have a guest post on mental workouts to strengthen your brain with. Who doesn't need that?
  
Dr. Sanam Hafeez has a great teaching for you.

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A BEAUTIFUL MIND

Mental Workouts To Strengthen Your Brain

www.comprehendthemind.com

Have you ever walked into a room and forgot what you went in there for? Perhaps you lost your train of thought mid conversation after being distracted by a noise. Maybe you forgot a name or a number or to buy milk. We’re human! We forget things. However, the more we multitask, the less we focus and the verdict is out on how this affects our brains long term.

So how do we strengthen our brains? Dr. Sanam Hafeez PsyD a New York City based licensed neuropsychologist and teaching faculty member at the prestigious Columbia University Teacher’s College, shares how we can exercise our minds and master our memory.

How do brain activities play a role in strengthening the brain?

Dr. Hafeez explains that just like physical exercise, brain exercises strengthen and keep the mind agile and active. “You have a cognitive reserve, a finite amount of memory, problem solving and visual motor even verbal reasoning skills that declines over time. The more you engage your brain, the longer you can hold on to your cognitive reserve,” explains Dr. Hafeez. 

What are some brain-boosting activities someone could do before work?

There are a lot of activities one can do to boost your brain. Research shows that any stimulating activity will "boost" circulation and activate areas of the brain. According to Dr. Hafeez things like writing with your left hand, trying to remember phone numbers, doing mental math calculations, the daily crossword, or looking up a new word in the dictionary on a daily basis, helps your mind stretch in ways you can't see but certainly feel. “The frustration that you feel when doing something that’s mentally taxing is when you know your brain is getting a workout. It's good for you,” she says.  

How do brain-boosting exercises help when it comes to work life?

There are a lot of websites and computer generated programs that offer memory training and visual spatial exercises. Dr. Hafeez suggests looking for puzzles, numerical sequences, and recall activities that can help boost processing speed, attention and memory. Just like your body, the more you do, the more your brain can stretch and accommodate.

How does doing these exercises before work enhance our performance?

“Doing something stimulating and challenging, before work, gets your brain geared up for the day. If you run two miles in the morning, walking seems like a stroll. Similarly, if you perform math calculations as you're driving or insist on spelling words backwards for the fun of it will make the stuff you do at work every day seem like a breeze. It'll make you more aware and vigilant not to mention focused and almost raring to keep moving from one task to the next,” Dr. Hafeez explains. 

Can it enhance our performance in other areas of our lives? If so, which areas and why/how?

Mental health practitioners agree that over time, brain boosters such as learning a new language, a sport, a musical instrument, or painting, sewing, arts and crafts, boost the brain in bigger, more long-term ways. “It may even reduce or delay the onset on Alzheimer's and other mental decline, again by strengthening the cognitive reserve. Brain exercises are good for one's overall daily health and may actually protect one from more serious ailments. Daily smaller brain boosters can help with mental agility, daily memory, an active work and even social life, by helping increase attention, focus and creative, problem solving skills,” adds Dr. Hafeez.

About Dr. Sanam Hafeez:

Dr. Sanam Hafeez PsyD is an NYC based licensed neuropsychologist. She is a teaching faculty member at the prestigious Columbia University Teacher’s College and the founder and clinical director of the Comprehend the Mind Institutes in Manhattan and Queens. She was a long time child school psychologist. She specializes in providing neuropsychological, educational and developmental evaluations to both adults and children in her practice.  She works with individuals who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), learning disabilities, autism, attention and memory problems, trauma and brain injury, abuse, childhood development and psychopathology (bipolar, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, etc…) In addition, Dr. Hafeez serves as a medical expert for various news outlets and programs, and as an expert witness providing full evaluations and witness testimony to law firms and courts. Connect with her via twitter @comprehendMind or at www.comprehendthemind.com

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7 Quick Fixes That Reverse the Aging Process

Hi ya Gorgeous!
TGIF! Today I share a quick guest blog post from Maya over at Sebamed for the Moms who are stressed out and finally have a moment to themselves now that the kids are back in school!

Enjoy the post and remember to pick up some of your favorite Sebamed products!
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Many women dread the aging process, panicking as soon as they spot a fine line or a gray hair. While it can be nerve-wracking, especially when it comes to braving the anti-aging products section at the drugstore, there are easy changes you can make to stop aging in its tracks. These seven quick fixes will keep you looking more youthful and vibrant longer, and surprise! They don’t involve any injections or invasive surgeries!
Wash Your Face
Washing your face before bed is a must. Even if you’re past your acne years, aren’t feeling particularly greasy, or haven’t done anything all day, it doesn’t mean that your face is perfectly clean. There’s a possibility that pollutants in the air can become trapped in your pores. If you don’t wash your face often, those harmful chemicals can speed up the aging process. Besides, it’s always nice to feel refreshed before you hit the hay.
Put Your Stunna Shades On
I for one love a good pair of sunglasses. They take my look to the next level all while protecting my eyes. The skin around our eyes is particularly thin, so it’s more prone to fine lines earlier in life. Keep the wrinkles at bay by throwing on your favorite shades in addition to applying sunscreen. The bigger and darker, the better.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Between working, spending time with family, and trying to find the time to take care of ourselves, it’s no wonder that worry lines can find their way onto our foreheads. So, find what makes you happy, whether it’s brunching with the girls, jogs in the park, or a trip to the beach, and do more of it, while wearing sunscreen of course.
Go Strawless
Drinking from a straw is easy, especially at restaurants or coffee shops where your drink already has a straw in it. But, straws cause you to purse your lips repeatedly, which can cause fine lines and wrinkles around your mouth. Instead, opt to drink directly from the glass, cup, or bottle. No repetitive motion, less chance of wrinkles.
Make a Smoothie
We’ve all seen those Instagram pictures of gorgeous smoothies that make us hungry and a little envious. Turns out that jumping on the smoothie bandwagon can have anti-aging benefits. Berries are rich in antioxidants, which help slow the aging process. Smoothies also let you work other superfoods, like leafy greens or nuts seamlessly into your diet. It’s a delicious way to improve your overall health.
Keep Tension Out of Your Neck
While exercising, it’s easy to clench your neck without realizing it. Tightening up your muscles like that can pull your facial features down, making you look saggy and intensifying the appearance of the veins in your neck. So, next time you hit the gym, relax a little. It’s only a workout.
Get Some Zs
Everyone sings the praises of sleep, and for a good reason. Besides helping to decrease the appearance of dark under-eye circles, getting your 8 hours keeps your skin dewy and firm. Bonus points if you opt for a satin pillowcase and sleep on your back to prevent the skin on your face from being pulled in your sleep.
Sebamed offers a variety of face products to help keep your skin soft and firm. If you’re looking for anti-aging products, you can check out our Q10 line here.

Author Maya Rahman-RiosPosted In: Beauty Tips & Tricks, Hello, Healthy!, Sebameducation

Tags:

aging skinanti-agingcaring for skinhealthy skinskin health

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Cosmetic Procedures: Which To Do, Which To Skip : Guest Post with Dr. Papantoniou

Hi ya Gorgeous!

Today I have a guest blog post for you - personally, I've been thinking about getting botox in my forehead and maybe doing a lip injection?

Still thinking on that. Now, here is an expert opinion from Dr. Papantoniou!

Every single one of us, though #flawless, has at some point taken a look in the mirror and found at least one thing we’d like to change. Some of us learn to love the quirks in our looks and some of us think about getting a little fix. From the non-invasive to the surgical, cosmetic procedures are on the rise and there are a hundred ways to nip, tuck, lift and smooth just about any area of our bodies. Not all of it is vain and superficial. Some procedures have amazingly high satisfaction ratings; patients report not just looking better but feeling way more confident. According to the experts, these are the nips and tucks that are worth it and the ones you should skip:

Worth it: Breast Reduction

“By far, breast reductions produce the happiest post-op patients,” says New Bern, North Carolina board certified plastic surgeon and best selling author Dr. John Zannis, “The women (and sometimes men) that come to me for this procedure have usually been uncomfortable with the size of their breasts for years, in many cases since early puberty. You can really see an immediate boost to their confidence.” Overly large breasts have uncomfortable physical effects like chronic back pain and bad posture, but they can also become a huge self-esteem complex, especially for girls. Breast reduction surgeries report an extremely high satisfaction rate of almost 90% according to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Magazine.

Skip: Lip Fillers

Lip fillers can work wonders but they’re tricky. They don’t look the same on everyone; your end result could be Kylie Jenner’s lipstick-empire-building pout or Donatella Versace’s trout mouth. They’re more of a toss up and depend on too many variables, from the natural curve of your lips to the skill of your doctor to the type of filler used.

Worth it: Non-Invasive Face Lifts

“Off the top of my head some of my happiest clients are non-invasive face lift patients,” says Dr. Kally Papantoniou, a board certified dermatologist who specializes in surgical and medical skin procedures at her New York office. “The skin on the neck and chin get a substantial lift and smooth with no cutting or general anesthetics, patients report not only looking younger but constantly say they feel better about themselves. Which is the key word I look for when gauging post-recovery satisfaction!”

Worth it: Rhinoplasty

“A rhinoplasty from a skilled plastic surgeon can completely change a face,” says Zannis. He adds, “The nose is the most protruding facial feature and sits right in the center; any sort of change alters how you look from different angles, how light and shadows hit you and can make the face look more symmetrical.” To become a full believer in the power of rhinoplasty just search “Bella Hadid before and after nose job” on Google. Literally a different person. 

Skip: Cheek Implants

Cheeks have a very prominent position in your face. Like tweaking your nose, tweaking the shape and size of your cheeks changes your whole look, but like any other facial implant or filler; they are not one size fits all. In older individuals cheek implants are just as likely to drag your skin down as smooth it. Good results depend on implant type, technique, original face shape, and considering the natural effects of aging in the future.  

Worth it: Body Contouring

“Body contouring is easily one of my top three highest patient satisfaction procedures” says Dr. Papantoniou who provides the procedure at her practice. “These are non-invasive fat loss techniques and they give truly amazing results after about 3 months of treatments. There is no downtime, no pain. Some patients come in for them during long lunch breaks! Patients lose whole inches. Again, the most telling sign is how they stress feeling good after the procedure.”

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