Category Archives: Mental Health

7 Ways to Improve Your Level of Happiness

In the most unsophisticated terms, happiness is truly a state of mind. Our level of happiness influences our everyday thoughts and actions. If we feel happy we see the world through a different lens than the lens of those that have a gloomy outlook on life. This week I outline seven easy things you [...]

Mediterranean Diet Might Protect Against Alzheimer’s

It is well documented that a diet rich in antioxidants, leafy greens, nuts and fish benefits the body in a whole host of different ways. Fresh produce, fish – especially the kind rich in omega-3s like mackerel and salmon – and nuts provide lean protein, healthy fats and plenty of fiber, vitamins and minerals to [...]

How Moms Help Our Brain

Being a mom is one of the most important (and often under-appreciated) jobs in the world. We owe our mothers a debt of gratitude. According to data collected by Happy Worker, your mom probably changed your diaper over 7,300 times before your second birthday. As a toddler, chances are you demanded your mom’s attention about [...]

Does Television Rot Your Brain?

I’m sure you have heard the old adage television will rot your brain. There might just be some truth to that. First, there is the obvious. Watching television is a sedentary and passive activity. Watching TV is a choice, and like most choices, there is an opportunity cost. When you watch television you forsake [...]

Alzheimer’s Disease 2010 Facts & Figures

This week the Alzheimer’s Association issued its 2010 Fact and Figures and the numbers show no surprises. That is, we were all expecting the numbers to be on a continual increase year over year and that was pretty evident in the reading. Let’s review the basic numbers:

As the 7th leading cause of death in the [...]

Staying Sharp by Getting Social

brain decline has a profound impact on the life and relationships of people who develop it. “Being socially active, being an intellectually engaged individual, having recreational time, enjoying a good diet, lacking stress – these are all things that tend to help in avoiding dementia,” says Dr. Lawrence Whalley, author of The Aging Brain and [...]

Better tools for Cognitive Remediation Programs

The 5th annual Games for Health Conference was held in Boston.  It was co-sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, from whom HAPPYneuron was a proud award recipient last year. I presented about enabling better tools for professionally guided Cognitive Remediation programs. The slides can be found here…..

Sleep Your Way to a Healthy Brain

Now, according to a study published on April 3 in the journal Science, researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health found more evidence that sleep resets the brain to allow more growth and learning the next day.  Read about their fascinating research here. So get a good night’s sleep – your [...]

Does Brain Health Suffer During Stressful Economic Times?

Does brain health suffer during stressful economic times? How?
Generally speaking, stress does affect your cognitive capacity and ability. Memory performance decrease, it can become increasingly difficult to difficult to focus, etc.. In fact, when you are stressed out, a number of intrusive thoughts affects your working memory performance, and therefore, your ability to concentrate [...]

Sharing the Results of a HAPPYneuron Study

In March 2009 at the American Society on Aging Conference in Las Vegas, I look forward to presenting the results of a recent HAPPYneuron user study.  The study shows the cognitive improvements experienced by users after a playing series of online cognitive exercises over a period of 18 weeks.  Dr. Croisile presented the results the [...]