Can certain smells boost brain power? Let’s first take a look at what else certain odors can do:

• Stores are now using special odors to make customers buy things and spend more money
• The leathery smell of a new car is an artificial odor sprayed on to enhance buyer satisfaction
• Casinos are using odors to make people gamble more

There is an ever-growing body of scientific evidence indicating omega-3 fats likely play a very significant role in depression. Unfortunately, because drug companies can’t really profit from omega-3 oils (non-patentable), I doubt you’ll currently find many physicians who understand the potential significance of such a simple intervention.

Your mental energy and ability to concentrate depend to a very large extent on the types of food you eat. Unfortunately, most people fall short when it comes to understanding how to best feed the brain. Here’s a short tip you may find helpful:

There are many cognitive benefits to napping some of which I’ll be posting about over the next week or two. An interesting study out of the Harvard School of Public Health, however, indicates that an afternoon nap may also be very healthy for your heart.

Can college students pull an ‘All-Nighter’—staying up the entire night to cram for a test—and have their brains function close to normal the next day? The majority, of course, think so …

But several studies clearly show brain function takes a big hit after an all-nighter. Memory systems and

One of the greatest misunderstandings people have about the brain is their belief in “free energy”.

The neurologic theory of Consolidation states that things you learn during the day are etched more permanently down in memory at night while you sleep. In other words, sleep plays a major role in learning and memorizing.

Snoring can be one of the signs of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a relatively common disease that affects children and adults. There’s been quite a bit of press lately about it- and for good reason: sleep apnea, which tends to be greatly underdiagnosed, can have a tremendous affect on your brain power.

There have been several studies lately that reveal how bad sleep disordered breathing can be for your brain.

Now, a recent article published in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine

Many turn to soft drinks loaded with sugar for energy. These drinks are everywhere; you can’t leave your house without passing a coke or pepsi vending machine. The common belief is that the sugar bolus gives you that extra mental energy boost.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome affects over 1 million Americans. Frequent symptoms include trouble concentrating, poor memory, and of course lack of energy.

The largest study to date on the syndrome was recently released, and interestingly reveals that people who suffer from it tend to have very high levels of physical and/or psychological stress in their lives (April 2006

A recent study out of the University of Michigan School of Medicine showed that 11 out of 22 children were cured of their ADHD when their enlarged tonsils were removed.

Large tonsils are thought to lead to breathing problems during sleep.

The results from this recent study out of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are very unsettling:

After just 3 months of use, Ritalin has been found to significantly damage children’s DNA (Cancer Letters 2005;230:284-91).

Many college student rely on caffeine for accelerated learning. However, contrary to what most people think, caffeine does not simultaneously stimulate all regions of your brain.

New brain imaging technology reveals that it preferentially stimulates the Frontal Lobes and the Anterior Cingulum. These areas are important for:

Children in elementary and middle school typically need 9.5 - 10 hours of sleep per night (probably closer to 10). When they only get 8-9 hours of sleep, their brain function and ability to learn drops markedly. Surprisingly, research studies seem to indicate just this 1 extra hour of sleep a night can make a very large difference.

For years it was thought (and taught!) that the brain can not create and make new brain cells.

This is false. Numerous studies have now conclusively proven otherwise.

What is really interesting, however, is that new studies show that the hippocampus- the memory engine of your mind- can actually

Growing up, kids are tought the difference between concrete and abstract. ‘Anger’, ‘love’, ‘happiness’, ’stress’ are abstract things because you can not touch them. Snow, paper, leather, and copper are concrete things, because you can touch them.