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Games For Healthy Brains

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I’ll bet everyone has heard that playing games is good for your brain. Any game helps, be it board games, card games, video games, or puzzles. And engaging in a variety of games helps different parts of our brain heal after a brain injury and stay healthy and strong.

There are so many benefits to playing a game. Games reduce stress and, also, reduces blood pressure through the release of endorphins. Playing a game with a loved one or friends is a great way to stay connected and strengthen relationships.

But what about COVID? you ask. You don’t need to be in the same physical space with others to stay connected or play a game together.

Next time you call a friend to catch up suggest a game you can play together or have a friendly competition over. For example, if you both like Sudoku see who can complete the most puzzles by the next phone call. Or if you both enjoy playing chess then text one another your moves (at least one move a day to keep the game going).

It’s so important, especially with the added challenges and change brought on by the COVID pandemic, to make the effort to be engaged with others as best we can. Play can be board games, card games, telling jokes, a rousing round of charades.

Here are some games to develop and support key brain functions:

  • Language – Scrabble, Crosswords, WordSearch, Word Scramble, Therappy
  • Memory – Match Games, Trivia Games, Sudoku, Solitaire, Luminosity
  • Visual/Spactial – jigsaw puzzles, Tetris, Jenga, Pool and Billiards

I love to play games. Some of my favorite video games include Skyrim, River Run, and the old Donkey Kong. Board games? I don’t think I’ve ever sat down to a board game I didn’t like.

A friend recently asked me why BEST didn’t have games on the website. I didn’t have an answer. My mother enjoyed playing games at the AARP website. My partner and I enjoy playing games on our phones. So, why didn’t BEST have games our members and friends could play?

Well, now we do!

We’ve created an all new game page where you can play some fun games for free. You’ll find our game page linked here and on the main menu.

Happy Gaming!

 

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4 Ways To Hear What Your Body Needs

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Last week our #MindfulMonday piece focused on listening. This week we’re sharing exercises to help you listen to yourself. Give them a try and let us know in the comments what worked for you.

Listening Exercise #1

Your body will tell you what it needs to be healthy so long as you listen to its messages; heed the signals. For the next few minutes listen to your body and think of three things you can do that would help you stay healthy.

Listening Exercise #2

How are you feeling right now? Take a moment to listen to your emotions. What are you feeling? Are you anxious? Or are you feeling peaceful? How is your body telling you something about what you are feeling?

Listening Exercise #3

Sit quietly for a moment. Relax and listen to your heart. What is your heart telling you?

Listening Exercise #4

This exercise is a mental station changer to help you identify and control your thoughts.

Step 1 – What are you thinking about right now?

Step 2 – How do those thoughts make you feel?

Step 3 – Can you redirect your thoughts to something else?

Step 4 – Repeat steps 1 through 3

Try changing the stations in your mind several times and pay attention to what you’re thinking and how it makes you feel each time.

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Mindful Listening? It’s Easier Than You Think

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Our second mindfulness feature in our #MindfulMonday series is about listening.

I’ll bet there have been times you felt like the person you were talking to was so busy thinking of their response they didn’t listen to what you were saying. Or you’ve been interrupted mid-sentence. Perhaps you noticed that someone was distracted while you were speaking. 

You’ve probably even missed what someone was saying to you because you were so focused on your response. You’ve probably even interrupted someone mid-sentence with your own thought that may not have even been related to the conversation. Since we’re being honest, your mind has wandered on occasion and you’ve missed all of what someone else was telling you.

These things are common. They’re even more common after a brain injury as we navigate social situations, business meetings, school lectures and more. Listening is difficult. But there are benefits to mindful listening.

Benefits include

Self-awareness – Mindful listening helps you to become aware of your physical and mental presence throughout a conversation and is a critical part of being mindful because it allows you to be present in the moment.

Empathy – When you are practicing mindful listening you increase your ability to best relate to how the person you are speaking with feels. Taking the time and energy to share what the other person is feeling give you a sense of being in someone else’s position and to really listen to what they are saying to you.

Focus – It takes a lot of attention, and intention, to focus on listening to others when they are speaking. Did you know that the habit of focus will affect other aspects of your life, too? As a result you will gradually become able to focus on tasks, learn how to slow down racing thoughts, and even block out distracting noises to pay attention only to what is being said to you.

The exercise for this week is a little “self-listening.” As you learn to listen to your inner voice, the beat of your heart, the thoughts you have at any given moment, you’ll begin to be a better listener when you are in conversations with others.

Step 1 – Sit upright in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the floor and your hands resting in your lap.

Step 2 – Center your attention on your heart beat.

Step 3 – Listen to your heartbeat. What is it saying to you?

This exercise can be done at any time and is a great way to get in touch with how your body feels, what messages it is sending you. You can listen to your heart today, your breathing tomorrow, your stomach on another day, and so on.

 

Gloria's career as an independent nonprofit consultant, trainer, and writer spans over 30 years giving her lots to talk about. She has a deep passion for sustainability, both environmentally and organizationally. Enjoy her perspectives on community, development, and tales from her virtual world travels.

 

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2021 MindfulMonday Challenge

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Best has offered you many #MotivationMonday images, quotes, and other encouragement over the years. Throughout 2020 we continued to offer these messages and learned that the most important topic of conversation has been self-care.

Hand in hand with self-care is the notion of mindfulness. Mindfulness is more than just being aware of what is going on around you at any given moment, but what is, also, going on inside of you. What are you thinking? What are you feeling? What are you doing “right now”?

When you embrace the moment, allow your thoughts to be just what they are – thoughts – and give yourself time to slow down you are taking care of yourself.

Our goal is to help you carve out a moment of self-reflection, a time to ground yourself and reflect on what’s happening in the moment, what’s good in your life, and how you are feeling. Each week for the rest of 2021 we’ll post an image, video, or article to help you on your journey to living a calmer, healthier, more mindful life.

Here is an exercise you can do anytime you like and as often as you like. This exercise takes about 5 minutes:

Step 1 – Sit in your favorite chair or someplace comfortable.

Step 2 – Breathe in. You don’t have to count. It doesn’t have to be deep. Just breathe in. (Remember to breathe out. Don’t hold your breath)

Step 3 – Pay attention to whether you are taking long breaths of air or short breaths. Neither is better than the other. At this moment you are simply paying attention to the breath entering your lungs and releasing.

Step 4 – Feel your breath as you inhale. Notice if the breath fills your lungs or if it is more shallow and mostly in your chest.

Step 5 – Shift your focus and listen to the sounds around you where you are. Notice if there Is there a breeze you can hear. Perhaps it is outside your window. If so you might see a tree swaying or branches rustling.

This is the earth breathing. Feel her breath blend with yours.

The two become one as you breathe in and slowly breathe out.

How do you feel? Do you feel more relaxed than before you did this exercise? If so, bookmark this page and come back often.

 

 

 

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Coloring Isn’t Just For Kids

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Remember when your mom or grandmother use to color with you? Maybe you’ve even shared those moments with your own children or if you’re as old as I am, your grandchildren. And every time I hoped the moment could last forever.

I still love to crack open a brand new coloring book, dump a box of crayons on the table, and enjoy that feeling that life couldn’t get any better.

Not everyone thinks coloring is as fun or relaxing as I do. Some researchers say this is because, as adults, we choose hobbies that we either enjoyed when we were children (like coloring) or are similar to the hobbies we enjoyed as children. I loved to draw, color, build, and race matchbox cars. Along with lots of reading, all of these activities allowed me to enjoy incredible adventures; then and now.

A study done in 2005 examined a 1997 study that looked at a method of decreasing anxiety called “coloring therapy” (not art therapy). The idea is that “when individuals color complex geometric forms, they are provided an opportunity to suspend their inner dialogue and to deeply engage in an activity that removes them from the flow of negative thoughts and emotions that can sometimes dominate their lives.”

Sounds like a form of mediation to me. And that’s exactly what I found in other studies and articles on the subject of coloring. 

Cognitive neuroscientist, Dr Stan Rodski, whose work focuses on issues of stress and how we can best deal with it, says, “We now have technology that can measure brainwaves and heart rhythms that allows us to examine the impact certain things that you do have on the brain and its reactions. The most amazing things occurred—we started seeing changes in heart rate, changes in brainwaves.”

Psychologist Gloria Martinez Ayala says that coloring calms the amygdala, the part of our brain that controls emotions and stress reactions. That means when we color we stop paying attention to the seemingly endless bombardment of media and headlines and give ourselves permission to relax.

There are other benefits to coloring. Some are scientifically proven and others are anecdotal results of experimental research. The benefits to coloring include:

  • Coloring helps spark creativity.
  • Coloring has a positive impact on our wellbeing and overall health.
  • Coloring boosts memory.
  • Coloring increases our ability to focus.

You can purchase coloring books online and in local stores. You can also search the internet for free coloring pages or download one of the collections we put together from various sites. We’ve included three free coloring pages below. Additional collections are available in our resource section. No matter how you do it print a page, grab a box of crayons, and spend a little time coloring.

 

Gloria's career as an independent nonprofit consultant, trainer, and writer spans over 30 years giving her lots to talk about. She has a deep passion for sustainability, both environmentally and organizationally. Enjoy her perspectives on community, development, and tales from her virtual world travels.

 

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