Brain Fitness Vacations for Baby Boomers: Tips for Staying Sharp

A year ago we wrote a Glossary where we defined Brain
Fitness as "the general state of good, sharp, brain and
mind, especially as the result of mental and physical
exercise and proper nutrition" and a Brain Fitness Program
as a "structured set of brain exercises, usually
computer-based, designed to train specific brain areas and
functions in targeted ways, and measured by brain fitness
assessments."

Now, thanks to a recent ELDR magazine article, we can add
Brain Fitness Vacation to the glossary:

"A brain fitness vacation is like a regular vacation, only
you attend events, do exercises, and arrange for
experiences that address the aspects of good brain health:
physical exercise, mental exercise, good nutrition, and
stress management."

Dave Bunnell, the founder and editor of new magazine ELDR
(and previously editor of PC World, PC Magazine, Upside,
and many other magazines) met Dr. Goldberg and myself after
our speech in San Francisco State University last May. When
he showed an interest in writing a story, and I mentioned
half-jokingly that it would have to wait a few weeks since
my wife and I were about to take a much needed "brain
fitness vacation", he said, well, maybe that's the story!.

Here you have some of the activites mentioned in the
article:

1) Guesstimation. Lisa asks Alvaro a question, "How many
trees are there in San Francisco?" To come up with an
answer, Alvaro first tries to guess how many trees, on
average, there are in a city block. He then calculates
approximately how many blocks there are in a square mile,
followed by how many square miles there are in San
Francisco, and so on.

2) Number Series. Alvaro says, "Two, three," and Lisa
replies, "four, six." Alvaro then says, "Six, nine," and
Lisa replies, "Eight, twelve." He says,"Ten, fifteen," and
the sequence goes on as long and as fast as you can keep
doing it.

3) Haiku. During the entire vacation, Alvaro and Lisa
composed haiku for each other every morning. The rule was
they couldn't write them down. They had to create them in
their heads and remember them.

4) Sensory training. Lisa puts a piece of chocolate into
Alvaro's mouth while his eyes are closed. He lets it melt
completely without chewing and without opening his eyes.
Next, he puts a grape in Lisa's mouth.

5) Visualizations. Alvaro and Lisa sit quietly for about 15
minutes, breathe deeply using their diaphragms, and
visualize special moments from their past, such as the most
beautiful view they've ever seen, or a loving personal
moment.

I hope this gives you some ideas for your next trip with
your partner!

Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of
SharpBrains.com, which provides the latest science-based
information for Brain Health and Brain Exercises, and has
been recognized by Scientific American Mind, MarketWatch,
CBS, Forbes, and more. Alvaro holds MA in Education and MBA
from Stanford University, and teaches The Science of Brain
Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute. You can
learn more at http://www.sharpbrains.com/∞

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