33 replies to this topic

[orangish]

Does no one have any ideas of exercises or books that one could read and practice in order to improve one's mindset? Surely, supplements aren't the only way out, and if you do have focus problems and need something to definitively produce results what sorts of exercises would you pursue? I don't really know particulars as to the types of exercises that might prove useful, I do know at this point something that is very direct and helps to break thoughts down and make them visible would be useful, i.e. Ernest Wood has written a book on concentration and an exercise I've found helpful is sequencing events of a moment. Other than it enables me to process briefly and perhaps subthoroughly days it has been helpful...any other suggestions as to books or exercises to check in to? I tried biking 5 hours a day for a week with hopes that might boost my concentration but that has been to no avail :/. I have no idea what to do and welcome suggestions as I truly am beginning to think my case is hopeless.

[Live Forever]

If you have a Nintendo DS (or even if you don't): Brain Age.

That's all you need to know.

[doug123]

A video game?

Supplements?

I would suggest jogging one mile a day -- or at least every other day.

To improve focus, you might want to try a new medication. I read that you have tried Strattera? Have you ever mixed Provigil with it? Oh, are you on any special diet?

Peace.

[Live Forever]

A video game? 

Supplements?

I would suggest jogging one mile a day -- or at least every other day.

To improve focus, you might want to try a new medication.  I read that you have tried Strattera?  Have you ever mixed Provigil with it?  Oh, are you on any special diet?

Peace. 

Unfortunately, I think he was looking for something beyond physical exercise/drugs that will work his mind out. Mental exercises as far as puzzles and the like is what he was going for I think. Brain Age is far and away the best I have found in this regard.

[doug123]

A video game? 

Supplements?

I would suggest jogging one mile a day -- or at least every other day.

To improve focus, you might want to try a new medication.  I read that you have tried Strattera?  Have you ever mixed Provigil with it?  Oh, are you on any special diet?

Peace. 

Unfortunately, I think he was looking for something beyond physical exercise/drugs that will work his mind out. Mental exercises as far as puzzles and the like is what he was going for I think. Brain Age is far and away the best I have found in this regard.

I shouldn't have said that considering I am unfamiliar with the device and its capabilities. I think orangish is a she. I could be wrong though.

[zoolander]

Best mental exercise IMO is meditation. Sit and meditate. For one moment, remove yourself away from your daily distractions and sit.

"Don't just sit there do nothing"

[scud]

Have you tried soaking in hot water. I find that I can improve my focus and better absorb large amounts of data after about 30 to 45 mins in very hot water(as hot as you can stand it) I know it sounds like bull, but it really works for me.

[Live Forever]

Anyone knows any other games on net/to download except Brain Age? I don't have nintendo

I was into Sudoku's for awhile, and they were fun, but they got almost too repetitious (and easy) after awhile. I think changing up the kinds of puzzles you do is key to keep your brain straining to keep up. (and therefore getting a workout)

[orangish]

Would you say running would benefit more than biking? Because I used to run and noticed some improvement but not significant. The med route is tricky and I may venture along that in the future, though not with my lacking expertise. Yes, if it didn't come across I was looking for exercises. Maybe sudoku or the logic type would help, but I think also exercises along the lines of the meditative type. What has helped me the most has been a pursuit of writing and exploring the exercises different methodical writers use and I suppose I was looking to those to be more specific than meditation. I find that unstructured meditation, setting aside time to think, while somewhat helpful for giving ambling space to my thoughts, really doesn't help me get a rein in on them. So thanks for the replies thus far...what would people suggest for meditation exercises or something similar used to sharpen concentration, or ways of thinking about certain topics--I'll include some examples since I'm having difficulty explaining what I mean:

http://www.theosophi...onEW.htm--found the most useful with its practical intention

[Shepard]

Running vs. biking should not matter, as long as the intensity is similar.

[xanadu]

Exercise is a good thing to take. Certain supplements do help. I'd recommend piracetam and fish oil. As for mental excercises, there are many of them. Crossword puzzles, card games, video and computer games, just to name a few areas. Learn a foreign language, that will stretch your brain. Learn a new skill, improve your old ones, take a class, meet new people. All those help stimulate your brain.

[Athanasios]

"Learn a foreign language"

There was a study a while back, I am too lazy at the moment to look up, that said "twitch" games (like oober fast first person shooter games) gave similar benefits as foreign language. They claimed it was because you have to switch strategies very quickly over and over again.

[Shepard]

I just went back and read your original post. 5 hours per day of biking? Holy hell, no wonder you didn't improve. Overkill...

I didn't see anyone mention juggling in the thread, there is always that.

[Live Forever]

"Learn a foreign language"

There was a study a while back, I am too lazy at the moment to look up, that said "twitch" games (like oober fast first person shooter games) gave similar benefits as foreign language. They claimed it was because you have to switch strategies very quickly over and over again.

There was a discussion on here awhile back about it.

[Athanasios]

cool, thanks for the link.

[doug123]

If you are looking for increases in grey matter, and happen to be bipolar, I have some interesting news for you:

Lancet. 2000 Oct 7;356(9237):1241-2.  Related Articles, Links

Erratum in:
* Lancet 2000 Dec 16;356(9247):2104. Menji HK [corrected to Manji HK].


Lithium-induced increase in human brain grey matter.

Moore GJ, Bebchuk JM, Wilds IB, Chen G, Manji HK.

Rodent studies have shown that lithium exerts neurotrophic or neuroprotective effects. We used three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging and brain segmentation to study pharmacologically-induced increases in grey matter volume with chronic lithium use in patients with bipolar mood disorder. Grey-matter volume increased after 4 weeks of treatment. The increases in grey matter probably occurred because of neurotrophic effects.

Publication Types:

        * Clinical Trial
        * Letter

But note: the results were only applicable to bipolar patients...

[sentrysnipe]

Anyone knows any other games on net/to download except Brain Age? I don't have nintendo

ones i like
http://oos.moxiecode...ing_blocks.html
http://www.neave.com/games/hexxagon/
and the rest here http://oos.moxiecode.com/#Examples
http://www.neave.com/games/
and of course sudoku (too intellectual for my level [ang])

[thumb] [lol]

[stormheller]

NY Times crossword.

[the big b]

I find that unstructured meditation, setting aside time to think, while somewhat helpful for giving ambling space to my thoughts, really doesn't help me get a rein in on them.

You do know your NOT supposed to think during meditation, setting aside time to think inthe form of meditating isn't meditation at all.

[debu]

start playing a musical instrument, use a balance/boogie board.
Do this regime:
http://www.bbc.co.uk...ter/index.shtml

braingle.net

read undoing yourself - hyatt

get a nintendo rom emulator and check out if brain age is something you'd like to buy.

Those should keep you busy

[orangish]

Thank you Debu and others. I actually perhaps have a futile, undirected enough question, but thought I might post in the likelihood hope might prevail. Regardless of pending health problems that may alleviate a fair amt. of focusing difficulties, I am beginning to want to be able to harness my mind independent of whatever positive or negative outcomes may come of health developments. Now, my focus is pretty inconsistent, at times I can agree with what I'm saying, otherwise I'm mostly spewing out sarcastic and funny quips, that I would prefer to have more of a conscious backbone behind, or certainly my tongue and upright mind. While the exercises are all useful, I was hoping some out there might have some very direct and concrete examples to use in order to help one shift between levels of focus. I don't want to be obsessive, just more conscious about who I seem to be and what I seem to say. Meditation helps in the realm of relaxation, but as of yet has not helped me sharpen my mind, and I often find myself getting caught summarizing my day, or analyzing a prior moment. Perhaps another more vivid example to provide, is I find doing close readings of literature incredibly helpful, when I do not get lost, because the pieces challenge me to focus consistently at a level I unfortunately otherwise have difficulty replicating for long. I was looking for ways to alter my closeness to my experience, if you well. Are there exercises any out there has run upon that could help with shifting concentration? I can try to be more explicit if this is too vague.

[resveratrol]

The best thing I've found is Brain Training for the Nintendo DS. You do a quick 5-10 minute quiz every day to determine your "brain age" (as compared to other players of various ages), and if you want, do a bunch of other general brain training exercises (you can unlock new exercised as you do more training). And since it's portable, you can take it anywhere.

http://www.nintendo....tvqGqZ63_CjS_9F

There are a whole bunch of different puzzles to exercise different cognitive capacities, and there's also an included Sudoku game that's easily the best Sudoku game I've seen yet on the DS or the PC.

I've been playing it almost every day for the last 3 months, and have lowered my "brain age" down from the 30s to a consistent 20-21 (20 is the minimum, "ideal" brain age). I'm sure some of the improvement in my score comes from learning how to handle the handwriting recognition system, but I've noticed that I'm definitely better at some cognitive tasks (fewer bugs in my code!), and I've seen a remarkable correlation between my "brain age" score and how sharp I'm feeling on any given day.

Edited by resveratrol, 06 August 2006 - 02:00 AM.

[Live Forever]

Yeah, Brain Age is great, there are some other puzzle games for the DS too, you can get.

[resveratrol]

Yeah, Brain Age is great, there are some other puzzle games for the DS too, you can get.

Yeah, there's also "Big Brain Academy," which has a nice mix of a bunch of different puzzles:

http://www.bigbraina...tml?jumpVideo=0

It seemed to me kind of low-rent compared to Brain Training; some of the puzzles are disappointing, and the game has a bizarre method of scoring you based on "brain weight," which mostly just comes down to how many of the puzzles you've tried and the best score you've gotten on each one at any point in the past. So your "brain weight" only ever goes up over time.

If you can get past the bizarre scoring method, though, some of the puzzles are neat.

[caston]

What can I do to help me increase my focus and concentration span?

I have a lot of wacky ideas and memories of a frustrating past that steal my concentration from what I'm currently working on or listening to.

This is particularly a problem during uni lectures.

Anything like people asking me to do chores or back ground noises such as a television or hair dryer puts me out of my vibe and makes it difficult for me to study.

[Athanasios]

What can I do to help me increase my focus and concentration span?

Anything like people asking me to do chores or back ground noises such as a television or hair dryer puts me out of my vibe and makes it difficult for me to study.

Now I forget where I heard/read it, but I heard it was beneficial to study/write/create in a noisey environment. Not only does it improve your ability to focus, but it also makes you feel more energetic. Practice makes perfect?

[caston]

I had a funny picture of being in a nightclub with my laptop writing an essay

As an aspie I'm particularly put off by background noises. Loud music (esp songs that allude to sex) and commercial radio put me off work. When I go out to a customers site if I am working on a something crucial like their server or really anything that requires a lot of concentration I ask them to turn the music off. It gets me funny looks but usually after I explain it to them they understand.

Perhaps a good set of ear muffs could help out.

I really would like to know how to keep focused in lectures though. Otherwise I'm putting all the work in to catch up in my own time and learn with my own tools.

I've heard perhaps that exercising the cerebellum can increase concentration. Anyone like to comment?

I think there's also different types of concentration. Say if I was working on a PC I'm usually focused for several hours at a time but at a lecture I might drift off in 10-20 minutes then lose about 5 mins before I realise I had drifted off and snap out of it. Unfortunately by then I've missed what the lecturer is talking about and need to try very hard to catch up or I risk drifting off again. I want to remain completely focused for the whole lecture if possible. Some of the lectures I can revise by listening to them on iLecture and with the notes on WebCT but some of the units don't use that.

Edited by caston, 06 August 2006 - 02:11 PM.

[aikikai]

Juggling is great for your brain and mood!

[caston]

Good idea, that and skipping rope. I was never very good at things that required a lot of co-ordination so hopefully I can work on this.