Welcome back, today I would like to explain how we are continually moving forward into the area of working with horses that up to this time, has been completely ignored; and that area is emotional stress management in horses.

But before we can even discuss emotional stress management and how it affects your horse we need to look at how your horse’s brain works and compare it to our own.

To start with horses do not think the same way that we do; their brain is structured in a totally different manner, and how your horse uses their brain along with your input becomes the causes of the various levels of stress that your horse may experience.

When we look at and compare the brain of the horse to that of our own, the most important area to consider is the area of the “frontal lobe”.

In our brain the frontal lobe is extremely large and well-developed, for this is the part of our brain that allows us to be able to process all of the information that we receive daily and that adds to our personalities, as well as our ability to develop cognitively, or reasoning abilities.

The exact opposite is true for your horse when we compare the same area the frontal lobe of your horse’s brain is much more undeveloped and therefore does not give them anything close to the ability to reason through a problem even close to the ability that you or I have.

The majority of the other sections of your horse’s brain that provide movement and overall athleticism have developed in the way that our frontal brain has.

If you put your horse in a situation where they need to reason their way out of it you will most likely end up with a horse in full flight mode which will result in your horse bolting away so that it might protect itself. Not to mention the high levels of stress that can be created within that situation.

In case you might be wondering how all this comes together and interacts; it is accomplished through basically one very small area of the horse’s brain. In fact, the area I am referring to is about the size and shape of an almond. That part of the brain is called the “Amygdala” which more or less is involved with your horse’s emotion control area, which is directly related to your horse’s emotional stress.

The emotion that is referred to here, when looking at the brain of the horse, is based in fear and rage; this emotion is not the feeling of sadness, being proud, or any other points that we might experience. It is an area of what is known as primitive in nature as well as instinctive in how it reacts when stimulated; this is where the “fight or flight” response originates.

This primitive part of the horse’s brain that includes the Amygdala is part of the “limbic system” and it is this system of the brain that leads to many of your horse’s unresolved issues along with where these same issues tend to be retained.

All of the factors that have affected them in the past, the ones that they could not understand or relate to are stored here and can be brought forward from time to time.

The importance of this area is that it is one of the main and controlling areas of emotional stress-production and it is that same stress that produces fear and fear produces a “flight or fight” response; so being able to relate to the true problem helps to both understand the root of the problem and give us a path to follow that will help to maintain the problem created by their emotion area response.

It is the size, development, and the way that your horse uses their frontal lobe that leads to the various levels of stress that can be created within any given situation.

Stress is a condition that develops within your horse’s body and if left unchecked can lead to chronic problems.

Just as in people, when a horse does become stressed, the hormone “cortisol” is released; this hormone is often referred to as “the stress hormone” which is produced by the adrenal glands and settles within the bloodstream and the saliva of your horse.

There is a belief among certain trainer that certain bit used with a horse help to relieve stress and allow the horse to cope better with the situation that they are working through. This group refers to the use of a “Sweet Water” bit to accomplish this result. To explain, a sweet water bit is one that has untreated steel for the centerpiece, (the part that goes in the mouth), it has been shown that the untreated steel allows the horse to create a greater amount of saliva, thus allowing for the release of the stress hormone cortisol and the horse to be much more calm in stressful situations.

The cortisol hormone is picked up by various cells throughout your horse’s entire body and is normally used in a positive manner to regulate your horse’s metabolism, their electrolyte balance, and help to reduce any inflammation.

Although cortisol is very important to help regulate the overall health of your horse it can from time-to-time become unbalanced and that is what often leads to health issues.

When a horse has high levels of cortisol it actually weakens the horse’s natural defense mechanism, their immune system, making them much more open to many problems from bacterial diseases, such as; thrush, abscesses or even rain rot.

It has been our experience that once that a major portion of emotional stress has been released we have seen additional physical problems come to light; such as lameness issues, body soreness, gait problems, as well as many other situations. We tend to believe this is the body’s way of allowing the immune system to start to function at a higher level than it did before.

There are basically two levels of stress that are apparent in horses and they are; long-term stress, which is referred to as Chronic Stress and short-term stress which is referred to as Acute stress.

Understanding the difference between the two categories will help you to manage your horse’s stress.

In order to help you understand the differences between the two types of stress, I will cover some of the indicators for both Acute Stress and Chronic Stress, which are:

Acute Stress Indicators

• Trembling
• Tense Muscles
• Shying
• Bolting
• High Head/Neck Carriage
• Wringing of Tail
• Pacing

Chronic Stress Indicators

• Stall Walking or Weaving
• A Change in Your Horse’s Attitude
• Aggression Type Behavior
• Gastric Ulcers
• Teeth Grinding
• Skin Infections
• Colic
• Dull Coat
• Decreased Performance

Now, these are just a few of the many indicators for both acute and chronic stress levels; every horse is different and every horse reacts differently in the same situation.

Here is where it is important to know what is normal for your horse and what is out of the ordinary.

Just as people hold in indicators of stress, horses too will do the very same thing and this can be very upsetting for horse owners that are suddenly faced with their horse having health issues that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

The area of emotional stress management that we have ventured into is relatively new and we have made great progress with many different horses in many different situations.

In the process of helping horses, their owners, and returning horses to a level of performance that seemed to have fallen by the wayside we have opened the door to many past problems that have seemed to be unreachable in the past.

If you have a horse that you feel would benefit from our services, please contact us and we would greatly appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about your horse and determine how we would be able to help both you and your horse.

Well, that about covers what we wanted to go over today and are always open to you with your feedback and ready to receive your comments; so please do so!

Have you ever wanted to learn about something but didn’t know how? You’re not alone. For every question, there is usually an answer; it’s merely a matter of discovering the most appropriate avenue of access that will lead you to an explanation. Sometimes it’s a short road, other times it can seem like the never-ending highway to bewilderment.

Deciphering conscious thought is a more complex process than you might imagine. For the brain to input new quantities of information, an entire series of biological connections have to occur. Those connections are transmitted via electrical impulses called neurons. Explaining how conscious thoughts arise from electric signals is something numerous scientists are still trying to learn.

Not as simple as it seems, considering the brain is considered “the most complex object in the known universe,” according to Christof Koch, Chief Scientific Officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. Koch is one of many researchers diligently working on uncovering the mystery of how the brain connects its 100 billion neurons to perform the myriad of daily conscious activities we all experience.

Neurological Landscape Of The Brain Constantly Expanding

Science is now trying to explain questions about the brain that analytical thinking has not been able to answer. Koch compares studying the brain to examining the rainforest. With the amount of biological diversity found throughout a tropical jungle, new generations of scientific investigators continually discover new and uncharted territories. And again, the universe expands, presenting new questions and providing new observations.

It is much the same with our brain. As exploratory tools evolve, so too, does our capacity to analyze and understand the complexities within our brain. Neurologists have uncovered possibilities previously unknown, such as humans possessing 1,000 different types of nerve cells, just as there are 1,000 different species of trees in the rainforest.

Understanding how things work, reflecting on why they are, theorizing about possible explanations for unclear experiences, then experimenting to either prove or disprove a theory is referred to as the learning cycle: Experiencing > Reflecting > Theorizing > Experimenting. This scientific interpretation of the learning process may seem overly simplistic, but nonetheless represents the cognitive steps that occur when we learn.

What Learning Style Are You?

Keep in mind these actions happen must faster in the deep unexplored recesses of the brain than in the relative surface-level awareness of the conscious mind. Learning time can vary based on experiential differences; reflections may emerge quicker if the brain recognizes a previous related experience; theorizing can become more efficient if a reflection mirrors a previous action, and experimentation could be minimized given the cycle is familiar.

In other words, we learn as a result of previous learning.

D.A. Kolb, Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University, condenses the learning process into what has become known as the Four Learning Styles: Divergers are people who analyze experiences and think deeply about them; Convergers conceptualize experiences then give them the practicality test; Accomodators like to ‘do’ rather than ‘think’, and Assimilators prefer to think rather than act… they prefer collecting information over excessive experimentation.

Attempting to decipher the mysteries of the brain without reflecting on our past experiences to do so, would be short-changing the very learning process we are seeking to unravel.

The chief commander of our central nervous system is the Brain. It contains billions of neurons each connected to other neurons by synapses. They communicate via axons that carry the messages to our body cells. Our brain has unique capabilities to acquire, perceive, process and store information.

Brain researchers are quite familiar and knowledgeable about the operations of individual brain cells, however, they still do not understand the way brain cells cooperate in groups of millions of cells. Some would consider the brain to be as a biological computer, however this assumption and modeling is far from reality and cannot simulate the complexity of the brain.

The basic brain functions such as breathing, regulating heart beats, controlling movement and other basic skills were known to scientific researchers from fossil records first appeared in worms many million years ago. Since then our brain went through evolution processes of acquiring more and more sophisticated functions and unique abilities. These abilities include among others emotional, sexual and fighting behaviors located in newly evolved brain regions.

The brain needs continuous supply of oxygen and glucose for its function. These needs are supplied by the blood system. Our brain needs its nourishments like the rest of our body. That is why we feel at our best mental function after a healthy meal or slow and tired when we don't eat sufficiently on time or eat unhealthy food.

Our brain's primary energy source is carbo fuel. Our body has the capability to convert carbohydrates from food such as oatmeal or brown rice into glucose. Accordingly, we have to generate a daily supply of about 60% of our calories from carbohydrates.

To build neurotransmitters or chemicals that allow brain cells to communicate, our brain needs protein, such as: egg white, seafood or beans. Our body breaks down the protein into amino-acids which affect our cognition and mood, such as dopamine, which help us to be alert. In addition to protein, our brain needs fatty acids, which are generated from Omega-3 & 6 fatty acids, olive oil and whole grain. Our brain also needs a range of vitamins and minerals such as vitamins B, E, magnesium, calcium and iron. To get those vitamins we have to eat fresh food in various colors.

Brain capacity is unknown. We know that our brain have a lot of storage capacity and processing power, but we don't know how to estimate its actual capacity. A popular assumption is that our brain's capacity is 10 times greater than anybody's estimate.

Our brain consists of trillions of neurons, with a huge number of complex interconnections. What differ from brain-to-brain are the types of neurons and the specific neurochemical interaction among the neurons. It is interesting to note that the structure of clusters of neurons and their specific interconnections may have an effect on one's ability to learn and an influence on speed of understanding and reaction time to intellectual stimulations.

At birth, our brain is very plastic, that is, its capability to process and store sensory information is very high. Neuronal connections are generated, broken and regenerated, which suggests that early educational and environmental stimulations are essential for the child's evolution. This is the critical period of the development of the child's linguistic, cognitive and social abilities. A classical question is whether the infant brain is empty, a tabula rasa, at birth. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (fourth century BCE) was probably the first to introduce the tabula rasa (blank slate) idea. According to the tabula rasa theory, an infant's brain is empty of mental content, which will be acquired later with experience and perception.

Although the 'tools' or the brain cells are already formed at birth, only after gaining experience will we see the generation of neurons' inter-connections. As Aristotle and subsequent supporters of his theory were not privy to recent genetic discoveries, the tabula rasa theory may not be applicable or accepted as a deterministic valid concept. Today it is believed that a child's cerebral cortex is pre-programmed to enable the processing of sensory input, emotions and environmental stimulations.

The author does not support the tabula-rasa theory and he believes that there are genetically transferred data or imprints. Those genetic imprints may have a clear impact and influence on the child's behavior and even on its brain's ability to process and store information.

In future we could experience direct brain-to-brain transmission similar to telepathy. Telepathy derives from the Greek ('distant experience') and it is a kind of mental transfer from one brain to another. As it is not a clearly reproducible phenomenon, the scientific community has not reached consensus. Telepathy is well accepted, however, albeit largely used in science fiction. As many science fiction scenarios became reality in time, however, the author believes that some brain-to-brain communication will be possible in future. Neuro-imaging is one of the scientific areas where this type of communication is being researched and interesting results are anticipated.

The conclusion is that educational methods must correspond and comply with our brain function and its ability to store information and not on a dogmatic rigorous unified system as exemplified in most schools.

We use the word time directly and indirectly very often in our daily conversation and throughout our lifetime: time is money, time of life, time after time, between times, gain / lose time, good / bad time, slow / fast time, right / wrong time, before / after time, present time, past time, real time, on time, in no time, kill time, any time, every time, plenty of time, timeless, time limit, time cycle, time cures and time flies … Time is depicted by artists in various ways, among them the famous 'melting clocks' by Dali. We can distinguish between pure time, relative time and absolute time.

Time measurement is the unit of time to which all time measuring devices ultimate refer.

Time is a point at or a period in which things happen, a repeated instance of anything or a reference to repetition, the state of things at any period.

Space is that part of the boundless four-dimensional continuum in which matter is physically rather than temporally extended.

Relativity recognizes the impossibility of determining absolute motion and leads to the concept of a four-dimensional space-time continuum.

The special theory of relativity, which is limited to the description of events as they appear to observers in a state of uniform motion relative to one another, is developed from two axioms:

1. The law of natural phenomena is the same for all observers.

2. The velocity of light is the same for all observers irrespective of their own velocity.

Space and time in the modern view are welded together in a four-dimensional space-time continuum. There is no clear distinction between a three-dimensional space and an independent time.

Time means different things to different 'observers'. This may not agree with the axioms (on which the special relativity theory is based) described earlier, at least not from a psycho-philosophical point of view. These 'observers' may include: people (humans), animals, plants, clocks and other beings outside our time universe. Time seems to be different for different people: age, education, origin, mental stage and religion may all have an effect.

Time appears 'slow' when we are young and 'fast' as we grow older. Time seems to be passing faster when we are enjoying ourselves or when we are busy, as opposed to when we are bored or idle. The description of time-related events in the history of humankind differs in different cultures. Time is different for animals and plants as we can see from their lifecycles, behavior and responses which are not what we might expect.

Clocks and other similar instruments measure time and tend to be almost identical in terms of information about it. This is to be expected as we designed them all for the purpose of measuring time defined to be consistent within our universe.

Time seems to be continuous, but is it?

We divided our earth year into subsets in different units: months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds. Scientists continued the division into one thousandths of a second or millisecond, a nanosecond, which is one thousand millionths of a second, and a Pico second, which is one million millionth of a second (one and 12 zeros).

Time is continuous with respect to our universe and within it, and it is relative to our observations. When we observe a moving object between two points we 'see' it traveling all the distance between the two points, so we assume that this continuity of observation means that time is continuous. This may not be the case, however, if we perform our observation in another galaxy or in another dimension, where these rules are not necessarily valid. In the digital domain, as opposed to the analogue domain, we may observe the same continuity of moving objects. The time is digitized, however, and between two consecutive time points there is a gap of a certain fraction of a time unit, equivalent to the sampling resolution, where 'anything might happen'.

For other creatures these time gaps may represent their entire lifecycle, or we may be living within our time with another life form, whose time resolution fits with our 'dead times', which are our time gaps. Television is viewed as continuous moving pictures, whereas actually it comprises discrete individual pictures, projected at thirty frames (or more) or pictures per second.

Time can be measured, viewed and evaluated. The observer's tools for the evaluation of time are his / her senses. Unfortunately, senses can be fooled. Strobe light projected onto a rotating disk will generate the illusion of a still disk. Are our other observations wrong or at least inaccurate, then, particularly if we are a small subpart or subspace of a much larger and more complex galaxy?

In the laboratory, we have successfully accelerated and slowed down certain processes, such as chemical or other natural processes. These experiments offered the possibility to control processes which were functions of time. Certain processes were successfully reversed to what they were before, indicating 'pseudo going back in time', which is not really going back in time, but it looks like it.

The introduction of computers generated a revolution in time-related processes and enabled not only the observation of past and present time-related phenomena, but also predictive processes, which are future time-dependent scenarios.

Time affects our entire lifecycle, our birth, our life and death. Our heart beats almost once every second and our inner biological clock operates throughout our life. If we overturn this clock by flying to another time zone, our body suffers a phenomenon known as jet lag and it takes some time to adapt to its new condition. Time affects most of the processes and phenomena on earth, some faster and some slower. If there are time-independent phenomena or a phenomenon that until today has seemed to be unaffected by time, then these scenarios must be classified as 'past, present and probable future'.

According to Einstein, time is more like a river, flowing around stars and galaxies, speeding up and slowing down as it passes massive bodies. One 'second' on the earth is not one second on Mars. All materials, including all known life forms and other mass owned celestial bodies are time-dependent.

The above mentioned time related scientific explanations are somewhat contradicted when we analyze the time related relationship between Brain and I, or more precisely the Brain-Time.

External and internal time measurement in relative to our brain is not the same time. The brain's external time is equivalent to the standard time as mentioned above and it is the same to all. However, the internal time measurement is much more complex, especially because it's individual.

When we sleep and dream, our individual internal perception of time is not correlated to the external time. We all experienced dreams that may be perceived as hours and more while in reality or externally it took minutes or less.

Sleep is essential for our brain. We spend about thirty percent of our life in sleep. Our survival and quality of life depends on adequate and qualitative sleep. Our daily responses and concentration during our diverse activities are dependent on our sleep. When we analyze patients with sleep disorders in sleep-labs, we observe the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) which correspond to brain activities during deep sleep and related to dreams. In general REM sleep starts after about an hour and half after falling asleep. Most of our dreams occur during this phase of sleep. We all dream and it actually takes about two hours per night. For us individually the time may take much more than that. The most vivid and real dreams we experience during the REM sleep.

During our lifetime the brain may be exposed to many diseases. It has been known for years that Alzheimer's starts in a brain region known as the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC). This region of the brain is considered to be a major factor responsible of our long-term memory. Alzheimer may spread from the LEC to other areas of the cerebral cortex, a brain region involved in spatial orientation and navigation.

We humans have not only consciousness, we also have self-awareness. The major difference is that consciousness is awareness of our body and our environment, while self-awareness is the recognition of that consciousness. In other words, not only we understand that we exist, but we comprehend that we are aware of our existence. To be conscious is to think; to be self-aware is to realize that we are thinking. Self-awareness is awareness of me-the "I", my thoughts and feelings.

Now imagine that the brain is not an organ. Imagine that we are two beings one is our original brain and the other is "us" with our self-awareness ability and we are communicating with each other.

I'll switch the previous scientific language into our human common and easy to understand language using metaphors to clarify the issues discussed.

Dialogue recording between the two entities "Brain and I":

Brain: I have needs, feed me with sugar

Brain: Remember that for every action there will be a reaction (remuneration)

I: OK, I will eat chocolate

Brain: Thanks, here is your dopamine (remuneration)

I: Wow! that feels great, I'll eat more.

Brain: Don't exaggerate, I don't need so much.

At this stage and during similar communications between the brain and I, if I will ignore or will not understand the brain's messages, the result may be sickness, such as diabetes.

Brain: If you don't use it you lose it

I: What do you mean?

Brain: Area "A" in your left hemisphere is rarely used. You must start using it otherwise the probability to get Alzheimer is increasing in that area that didn't receive its necessary supply of nourishments.

I: What should I do?

Brain: Start solving crosswords, puzzles and brain teasers

The brain wants I to be cooperative in satisfying its needs, therefore, it releases dopamine during sex as a reward. Sex can act like an antidepressant and even as pain reliever. Time during sex may seem to be different than the real time.

Recent studies using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) brain scans of patients during pain stimuli showed different brain responses between men and women. Several areas of male and female brains responded differently to the same pain stimuli. Female's brain showed more activity in emotion related centers where males responded in the cognitive or analytical regions. Those differences may relate to our evolution process and the different social tasks of males and females.

I (male): She is very sexy

Brain (male): Yes she is, so what are you going to do about it?

I (male): I want to make love to her, all the time, it makes me feel good

Brain (male): OK, but be careful not to get addictive to sex.

I (female): He is nice

Brain (female): He might be a good husband and father.

I (female): Yes, it will make me feel happy.

Brain and I dialogue during certain medication.

Brain: You are sick but I'll take care of you.

I: It's OK, I'll take my medication.

Brain: No need I'll send the troops to cure you.

I: I will take the pill anyway.

Brain: OK, I am instructing the troops to withdraw; it's your responsibility now.

In many occasions we can cure ourselves without the need of medication intervention. In certain cases medication may interfere with our normal immune system or self-healing.

I: I am tired and I want to sleep

Brain: Only after I solve the problem you gave me

I: No, it can wait for tomorrow

Brain: OK

Certain brains will continue "working" and they will disturb us, namely, "I" during sleep, which we both need. Our brain relentlessly will continue to search for problem solving and it may awaken us during the night.

A common phenomenon is that when one half of a couple that has been together for a long time dies, the other also dies shortly afterwards. The usual, romantic, explanation is that they loved each other so much that they could not live without each other. He or she died from a 'broken heart', 'could not live alone', 'was dependent on their spouse'.

Is there a correlation between the death of one spouse and the subsequent death of the other shortly afterwards?

The hypothesis is that the desire to live may have a certain effect on the immune system. The brain that is in control of our body may have a shut-down mechanism, which is activated in certain cases. Those cases are similar to fatal accidents or certain illnesses, where the brain knows that it will not be able to cope. This mechanism may control 'suicide cells'. In recent years, suicide cells or what scientists define as programmed cell death (PCD) has formed the basis for ongoing biogenetic research. PCD is the death of a cell which is mediated by an intracellular program.

There are three major types of PCDs. Type I cell death is called apoptosis. Type II is autophagic and Type III is necrotic cell-death. Cells can be killed by injurious agents or be instructed to commit suicide. If there is a threat to the integrity of an organism by certain cells, PCD is needed to destroy those cells. Typical examples of such cases are: cells that are infected by viruses, DNA damage, cells of the immune system and cancer cells. In certain types of cancer cells apoptosis is triggered by radiation or chemicals used for therapy.

What makes a cell decide to commit suicide?

The author believes that it is the imbalance between positive and negative signals sent by the brain. If there is a lack of the positive signals (no desire to live) needed for survival and / or negative signals are sent meaning 'no desire to continue to live', the shut-down mechanism may be activated.

There have been numerous reports of cases where patients recovered miraculously after clearly being diagnosed with cancer. This phenomenon may be explained by the activation of the PCD mechanism by 'desire to live' positive signals. In some cases, viruses that are associated with cancers may use tricks, like producing a protein that inactivates the apoptosis signal. In such cases the cancer cells will not only continue to live and proliferate, but they will become more resistant to apoptosis. Further understanding of those tricks and decoy molecules generated to protect cancer cells would enable researchers to reactivate and overcome those protective tricks in order to destroy dangerous cancer cells.

The author also believes that future research on destroying and removing cancerous cells might be implemented in two phases. The first phase would be to distinguish, mark and identify cancerous cells. In phase two the target would be to activate suicide cells in the selected area or group of cells and bypass the existing protection of the cancer cells. Strong psychological and family support is essential for such a recovery. In addition, the patient must believe in and hope for a healthy and bright future.

I: There is no sense to continue struggling in this life.

Brain: You must change this negative attitude.

I: I can't do it; actually I don't want to continue living

Brain: Should I activate your self-destruction or PCD procedure?

I: Shut it down …

Our brain is constantly sending signals to our body organs and cells, sometimes the signals are needed for our daily functionality, cell repairs and warnings. If we fail to understand those warning signals or we ignore them, it may lead to certain diseases, addictions and even death.

This schizophrenic / symbiotic individual dialogue between "my brain and I" is essential for our brain's healthy survival. The more "I" understands the brain's requests / messages the higher the probability that the brain will operate properly and simultaneously will satisfy the needs of "I" as well.

Brain: The brain requires a large supply of energy due to it being one of the most metabolically active organs in the body. This is needed for the brain to function optimally.

CoQ10 has been found to benefit the nervous system and protection from several types of diseases.

CoQ10 appears to alleviate oxidative stress, inflammation, and impaired mitochondrial functions when one has a head injury. The brain suffers from ongoing damage even after the initial trauma.

A study with rats with head injuries, CoQ10 protected mitochondria from damage and reduced cell death in the brain. These results show CoQ10 as a promising management strategy for head trauma in humans as well.

There are numerous nutritional supplements that can lend their expertise to support healthy brain function. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a naturally occurring vitamin-like substance found in every cell of the body, but whose levels naturally decrease as we age. CoQ10 is responsible for promoting heart health, increasing energy levels, and aiding the immune system as well as helping to keep blood pressure levels in normal range. CoQ10 comes in various forms, mostly related to absorption levels.

Strokes: Further studies showed that CoQ10 could perhaps lower the risk of a stroke. The patients studied that had had a stroke had significantly lower blood levels of CoQ10.

Heart Health: One recent study shows that 120 mg daily of CoQ10 alone (no statin drugs used) decreased blood pressure, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol.

Studies also show that patients with heart disease and heart failure histories that CoQ10 will protect their conditions. It is known to reduce incidents of serious cardiac events.

Statin drugs are believed to diminish CoQ10 levels in the body. That is why many doctors recommend that their patients increase their intake of CoQ10 if they are taking statins. CoQ10 also helps reduce the severity and occurrence of some of the side effects (most commonly muscle pain) of statin drugs.

By combining 200 mg of CoQ10 and 200 mcg of Selenium daily individuals showed a 41% reduction in cardiovascular-related mortality 12 years later.

CoQ10 is an ideal nutrient for all of us. It affects our energy and longevity, heart health, blood pressure, brain, gums, stomach, immune system, and much more. It is an enzyme found in almost all cells in the body, where it helps with the production of energy within the mitochondria. There is evidence that it can increase the volume of oxygen in the blood by as much as 15%.

Our cells require CoQ10 to function properly and without it, the cells perish. It is a strong anti-oxidant in both mitochondria and lipid membranes. CoQ10 is located exactly where the free-radicals are generated (in the mitochondria) during the oxidation of nutrients and the production of ATP, making it an important factor in slowing the aging process.

CoQ10 was discovered in 1957 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Enzyme Institute by Fred L. Crane and colleagues. Since 1960, universities and researchers have published over 1,600 articles in medical journals demonstrating CoQ10’s benefits and importance. In 1978, Peter D. Mitchell won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of the significance of CoQ10 in energy production.

Here are the studies:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28946820

https://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2019/1/Beyond-Heart-Health/Page-01

We live in a world where everything moves so fast. We are required to work at maximum capacity every day and at the same time, we strive to live our personal lives at maximum capacity without any distractions that may hold us back. With so many agents like social media, television and online shows that can derail us from achieving our goals, strong motivation and focus on the task at hand is a must. Some people get support from family (which ideally should always be existent) and others combine that support with a healthy nutrition plan and lifestyle.

A healthy diet consisting of the rights foods to eat on a daily basis as well as natural brain or focus supplements can do wonders to our well-being and happiness. However, sometimes a healthy nutrition is not the only factor for focusing on our goals. A healthy lifestyle full of activities that can increase dopamine levels (dopamine is the brain chemical directly linked to feelings of happiness, pleasure and mood) and make us feel 'full of life' will provide us with the motivation and concentration we need to live every day at its fullest.

In this article, we shall cover different activities that can improve our mood levels as well as brain supplements that will keep us focused on every task we may want to undertake.

Activities that can improve our Focus, Motivation and Mood Levels

Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise can deliver immense health benefits to both our body and brain. Several studies have shown that exercise can deliver positive results to our brain's neurotransmitter by improving blood flow and oxygen circulation to the brain. Consequently this can aid in the production of new cell growth as well as the promotion of brain health and optimum mental performance. What this ultimately means is that by exercising, not only can we improve our physique and posture but also be able to better focus and concentrate when doing chores, working, reading or even studying.

Add New Experiences to your life's canvas

Doing new activities or taking up on new hobbies cannot only allow us to learn and experience more in life but also promote a happy and healthy lifestyle. Doing new things will allow our brain to fire neurons which will in turn give us feelings of pleasure, joy and achievement. Different examples can be hobbies like learning how to draw, playing the guitar, going hiking and so one. You will see and feel more not only during the process but also afterwards which consequently make you perform and focus better at your work and even personal life.

Follow a Healthy Diet

A healthy nutrition plan is necessary to our brain's well-being and our body's performance. Not only it will allow us to focus better but it can have positive effects to our metabolism and body's looks. When referring to a healthy diet, we actually mean avoiding unnecessary-bad fat and carbs while introducing and holding onto meals full of vegies and green leafy salads. There is a vast amount of posts and articles out there that can help you know all about the right foods to eat as well as how to use this in a delicious recipe.

Brain Supplements that Improve Focus and Brain Performance

L-Tyrosine

There is a big number of brain supplements or nootropics that can improve focus out there. However, the most well researched and promoted supplement for a healthy mental function is L-Tyrosine. L-tyrosine is an essential amino acid which delivers positive effects to our body while improving cognitive performance. There a vast amount of research, and research papers out there that support the fact that L-tyrosine supplements can maintain the healthy function of the brain areas that are specifically used to improve working memory. In addition, research suggests that the positive effects of L-tyrosine include improving focus and reaction speed, which refers to focusing and reacting better to social cues or signals.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR)

Acetyl-L-Carnitine is also at the top of our list and a very popular brain supplement among athletes and professionals. ALCAR is an amino acid with brain enhancing abilities that is naturally produced in the body. Being the essential building block for proteins, ALCAR intake in the form of supplements is associated with fight against mental disorders like Alzheimer's and depression as well as protecting the brain from the degeneration of cells that comes with old age. Put it simple, Acetyl-L-Carnitine is a major factor for producing the energy our brain needs to perform and process information.

As a reminder, focus supplements or supplements in general, should only be taken as an addition to a healthy diet rather than a replacement. Make sure to always consult your doctor prior to taking supplements when already under prescribed medication.

Whether because you have read my other articles in the Early Childhood Education category or because you have researched this topic online, you likely have questions about how the terms "brain friendly" and "learning styles" fit into your work with your preschooler. Certainly the goal of both is to help your child learn, so what's the difference? Is one better than the other?

"Learning styles" is the older concept and represents the results of several research studies trying to determine how we learn. You will find a summary of these findings in my article "Learning Styles-Should I Have my Child Tested?" (The answer is NO.) These concepts were essentially guesses, based on observation of behavior, about how the brain takes in and stores information. Guesses as to how the brain learns.

I recommend that you read that article to familiarize yourself with the terminology because you are likely to encounter some or all of these concepts as you further study early childhood education. You may even encounter teachers in your child's future who still hold onto these concepts. Some of these attempts to explain how we learn have more merit than others; there is some truth in each; but none provided the full answer. The concept of learning styles has lost favor in the field of education. In my research for this article I was surprised at how many articles and videos referred to "debunking" this concept of learning styles.

Having taught in public schools in the '90's when we were encouraged to test our student's learning styles, and students were often placed in classes where their learning style matched the teacher's style, the idea of ​​learning styles being "debunked" initially seemed impossible. However, this change in attitude about education is the result of new developments in brain scan technology, brain surgery, and brain research. We no longer have to guess how the brain learns. We have lots of research and practical verification of techniques that have proven effective for learning to occur.

The field of brain based education and learning is only a couple decades old; and the field is not without its critics; but even Harvard University now offers master's and doctoral programs through its MBE – Mind, Brain, and Education – program. The study of brain based education is about learning what techniques parents and educators should use to best engage the brain in learning.

Now that we know how the brain actually learns, it is important the you use brain friendly techniques as you work with your preschooler. You don't need a teaching degree to use brain friendly techniques. I will now summarize here things you need to consider when you work with your child. The brain needs color, exercise / movement, a variety of activities, novelty, processing time, music, limiting stress, information in small "chunks," plenty of rest, introduction to "the arts" – dance, drama (acting things out ), and art, frequent review, good nutrition, and more. There are many specific techniques that teachers use in their classrooms, but this list will give you a good start for working at home ..

There are a few things you should notice from the list:

1. These activities actually utilize all the different concepts of learning styles, which is why you don't need to test your child, and why I didn't list them. Using brain friendly techniques addresses what you need to know about learning styles.
2. You are already using many of these techniques. You are already working in short periods of time, giving time for processing, lots of review, movement, different kinds of activities, watching your child to avoid stress, etc.
3. Skill & drill worksheets are NOT brain friendly. There are hundreds of sites online offering worksheets for your preschooler. However, unless these worksheets have lots of color, novel and varied activities, are short, are self-checking to avoid practiced mistakes, and you are willing to oversee every moment of their use, you should avoid using them!

If you want more information about brain based learning, I recommend reading Eric Jensen, David Sousa, and / or John Medina.

The answer to the initial question is that "brain friendly" is the learning concept you need to incorporate into your work with your child. Notice that I have not even mentioned math because these techniques are for ALL learning. Remember to always stay positive with your child, be enthusiastic about learning, and avoid boredom in your child. Boredom actually destroys brain cells, and we certainly don't want that!

Recent research on the human brain provides parents with shocking new evidence to possibly explain the sometimes irrational, illogical and impulsive behavior of teenagers. Brain researchers can now scan the live teenage brain to observe and examine why these curious and perplexing creatures make so many impulsive and egocentric decisions, that may even sometimes lead to risky behavior.

As it turns out, brain development during the teenage years is radically more active and dynamic than previously thought. During these years, the part of the brain that requires a person to make responsible decisions, understand consequences, and process problem-solving is under heavy construction, and much of the time dysfunctional. Even though the brain is almost physically mature, the grey matter in the thinking part of the brain (pre-frontal cortex) is still making connections. So teenagers are left with most of the information reaching their brains being processed in the emotional part (limbic system).

Information processed in the limbic system, without benefit of higher level processing in the pre-frontal cortex, may result in impulsive, egocentric, and maybe even risky, behavior. Because of this ongoing construction in the thinking part of the brain, a teenager is, many times, not capable of fully processing information that is necessary to make responsible decisions. Combine this brain challenge with a teen’s temperament, maturity level, developmental stage and environmental impact, and it begins to become understandable why parents may find this time so exhausting and frustrating.

Realizing that major construction is going on inside the pre-frontal cortex of the teenage brain does not excuse inappropriate or irresponsible behavior from the teen. But understanding the teenage brain is crucial to figuring out how to interact with it. For the teenager, this time in his or her life can be a creative and emotional roller coaster ride with plenty of thrills and chills (and maybe some spills), but for parents it can be just nerve-wracking and terrifying. Healthy communication and effective discipline are what a teenager needs to help navigate this important time, especially since the brain is not yet necessarily ready or able to face all of the inevitable challenges, without support.

Each interaction with a teenager will affect development of his or her brain, helping the teen make connections in the pre-frontal cortex. During this time of heavy construction, the teenage brain needs focused and intentional support and teaching to help form and solidify these hopefully healthy connections. Parents can benefit from the understanding that there’s much work that can be done while the teenage brain in still under construction and with proper perspective and effort, a teenager can learn to be less impulsive and egocentric, and make better and more responsible decisions.

As parents decide how to more effectively communicate with the developing teenage brain, it’s vital to also consider who a child actually is, and what kind of parenting styles the child is exposed to. Most of us are the result of an even dose of nature and nurture, and understanding the nature of who a child is, and how his or her surroundings have impacted that child, can help parents formulate more effective techniques when facing challenging situations during the teenage years.

The nature of a teenager is a complex and fascinating combination of temperament, stage of development, personality, maturity level, and social connection. In addition, parents need to consider the teenager’s emotional health (self esteem) and relational health (to what degree have the teen’s closest relationships positively impacted his or her development).

And then there’s parenting styles. Healthy and effective parenting (described as authoritative), can help the positive development of the teenage brain. Using healthy communication tools like active listening, reframing, timing of teaching moments, I-messages, etc. and effective discipline tools like healthy limit setting, consequences, picking and choosing battles, few rules, etc. can greatly help the teenager’s pre-frontal cortex develop solid connections to enable responsible behavior.

For more information on understanding the complex nature of who a teenager is, how his or her brain develops and processes information, and to practice new and easy-to-learn healthy parenting tools, please visit: ResponsibleKids.net

© 2008 Marty Wolner, BA, CPE, ICF, PACA

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The human brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When the brain focuses on fear, that fear grows and grows and ends up paralyzing or blocking us.

Fear comes to us through that little voice in our brain asking us… ‘what if… ?’ (What if I fall? What if that spider, mouse, dog… jumps on me? What if I can’t do this? What if I fail? What if… ?) The little voice asks the first “what if” question. The question triggers doubt and uncertainty. A second “what if” question poses even greater insecurity. We answer our brain trying to reassure it… ‘everything is going to be OK, no problem.’ The brain then starts arguing back. ‘It’s certainly not OK, and something bad is going to happen!’ The fear grows. And grows. The voice becomes more convinced and adamant. Its expression is more and more forceful.

Have you ever experienced anything like that?

The conversation in your brain is like the conversation between a mother and a toddler. When the mother refuses to give the child something he wants, his anger escalates to a full-blown tantrum.

Child: I want some chocolate.
Mother: Sorry, honey. You can't have any chocolate now. We'll soon have dinner.
Child: But I want some chocolate!
Mother: Not now, my love.
Child: I want chocolate!
Mother: Not now.
Child: Give me some chocolate! Now! I want chocolate! (screaming)

Your brain does that too, if you argue with it.

Brain: Look, a spider. What if it jumps on me?
You: Don't worry, it won't.
Brain: oh, yes, it will! That beast is going to jump on me and hurt me!
You: Relax, it's very small, anyway.
Brain: No way, all spiders are bad! Oh, my! What if it really jumps on me? (Fear is growing)
You: Calm down...
Brain: I don't want to calm down! Is it moving? Am I too close? Can it jump on me? (fear controlling you)

What can a mother do to avoid that situation? It’s very hard to calm a toddler in the middle of a tantrum. A brain in the grasp of fear is as difficult to calm down.

Imagine the same situation.

Child: I want some chocolate.
Mother: Sorry, honey. You can't have any chocolate now. We'll soon have dinner.
Child: But I want some chocolate!
Mother: Look, honey. Did you see the cat?
Child: (looking around and talking in a calmer, more focused way) Which cat?

The mother is turning that brain switch off. She’s distracting the child so he can’t focus on his wish anymore. The anger doesn’t grow. The bad feeling isn’t given a chance to accumulate and conquer the kid. She then has the power to handle the child easily.

Your brain can work the same way. The Brain Switch is nothing but a mental tool to distract your line of thought and avoid being dominated by fear, anger or any other negative feeling. How do you turn it off?

Prepare something beforehand. This step is VERY IMPORTANT. Don’t leave it until that moment or it won’t work. Prepare a poem, a song, a prayer, a text of any kind… something you know by heart that is longer than at least four sentences. The chorus of a song can do, for example. Keep that text ready in your mind. Whenever the first fearful thought comes to mind or you face your fear anew, force your brain to focus on that text. Say the words to the song. Don’t sing the song, that’s too easy, but say the words in a poetic way. That will take your brain away from the fear for a few seconds. Time enough to leave the room or do whatever it is you want to do. By focusing on your text, your brain won’t focus on the fear and the fear won’t grow. That switch will give you the time you need to act.

Action is the antidote to fear. If you’re afraid of something and your fear stops or blocks you, the few seconds you get using the Brain Switch will give you the break you need to act: move away, start talking, call somebody… whatever.

And (also very important) once you manage to control your fear like that for a few seconds, celebrate it. You did it! Fear didn’t control you. You controlled it! Celebrate it and feel the power. Enjoy the good feeling.

If you use the Brain Switch several times, the cause of your fear will gradually lose its power over you.

Remember, though, that the brain is very strong. It will try to go back to its old routine. To prevent that, make sure that the text you prepare is long enough to give you a few seconds and hard enough to really need your focusing on it. If you’re only half focused, the brain will sneak in again. The trick is to turn the switch completely off, giving no room to fear. The Brain Switch will only work when your mind is COMPLETELY focused on the text.

Prepare your text and next time fear, anger or despair attempt to block you, turn your Brain Switch off. Free yourself from those bad feelings.

Enjoy life… ALL of it,

Our brains are the seat of all we are. Every thought and action we perform is an output of our brain. So understandably the thought of an affliction striking the brain can be terrifying.

Brain cancer is a rare but devastating form of cancer accounting for 2% of all cancer cases worldwide. Brain cancer refers to the abnormal growth and division of cells within the brain. Brain tumours can be either benign or cancerous and cancerous brain tumours are further split into primary brain tumours that start in the brain and secondary tumours that start elsewhere in the body and spread (metastasize) to the brain.

Whether benign or a malignant tumour can increase the volume of the brain which creates pressure in the tight skull space. The bony skull is extremely hard and rigid. Any encroachment in this tight space increases intracranial pressure which can lead to brain damage, coma, and even death.

Types Of Brain Tumours

The first major classification of types of brain tumours is benign and malignant tumours. Benign brain tumours are the least aggressive and slowest growing tumours. They do not have cancerous cells and have a good prognosis after treatment.

Malignant or cancerous brain tumours arise from brain cells, supportive cells, and other tissue found in and around the brain. These are high-grade tumours. Grading for tumours involves rating a growth on a scale of 1 to 4 with low-grade scores being 1 and 2, and 3 and 4 are high grade. Benign tumours are low grade which is slow growing, contained, less likely to spread, and unlikely to return after removal. On the other hand, malignant or cancerous tumours are high grade which means they are fast growing, spread to surrounding tissues, and are more likely to return after removal.

Cancerous tumours are further divided into primary and secondary tumours.

Primary cancerous tumours originate within the brain itself while secondary tumours are a result of metastasis from tumours in other organ systems, commonly from the lungs.

Primary tumours are rarer and the most common types of primary brain tumours are gliomas and meningiomas. Gliomas affect the glial cells which are supportive cells in the brain that provide nourishment and structural support to neurons. Gliomas account for 50% of all primary brain tumours.

Symptoms Of Brain Tumours

The brain is a large and complicated organ. Symptoms of brain tumours depend on the size, type, and location of a tumour. Some common signs and symptoms are:

• Headaches, typically worse in the morning and progressively worsening over time.
• Persistent nausea
• Persistent vomiting
• Dizziness
• Progressive body weakness
• Fatigue
• Unexplained weight loss
• Behavioural or mood changes
• Vision problems
• Confusion and memory impairment
• Specific symptoms depend on the size of a tumour and its location. Based on this, some of the signs and symptoms that may be noticed are:
• Personality changes, less inhibition, poor judgement, etc. in frontal lobe tumours
• Language difficulties, poor memory, and hearing problems in temporal lobe tumours
• Sensory disturbances, progressive muscle weakness, etc. In parietal lobe tumours
• Visual disturbances or loss of vision in occipital lobe tumours.
• Loss of balance and coordination in cerebellar tumours.
• Changes in respiration, blood pressure, and heartbeat in brain stem tumours

This is a short summary of tumours in the major regions of the brain. As one goes more in depth a variety of symptoms can be found ranging from loss of language comprehension to hallucinations.

Cause Of Brain Tumours

The underlying cause of brain cancer is not well known.

The two major factors implicated in the development of brain tumours is genetics and exposure to radiation. Gene mutations, sequence deletions, and loss of tumour suppressor genes are thought to contribute to the cause of brain tumours. A family history of tumours also increases the risk of developing the conditions. Certain genetic disorders such as neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, and Turner’s syndrome are associated with a higher risk of developing brain tumours.

Exposure to ionising radiation has been linked to brain cancer especially in children. Exposure to Vinyl chloride, an industrial chemical used to manufacture PVC, has also been linked to brain cancer.

Other risk factors for brain cancer are:

Age- risk increases with age, except for some forms of brain cancer that are more common in children

Previous cancer diagnosis- a person who has had cancer elsewhere in the body is more at risk of developing brain cancer, especially childhood cancer and blood cancers such as leukaemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

HIV/AIDS- people with HIV/AIDS are twice as likely to develop brain cancer than the general population.

Treatment Of Brain Tumours

The plan of treatment for brain cancer depends on the size, grade, and location of a tumour as well as overall patient health. Malignant brain tumours are usually surgically removed. However, surgical resection of an entire tumour may not always be feasible due to location or other factors like ease of access.

Radiation therapy is another treatment option that is commonly used to treat brain tumours. Radiation damages the DNA of cancer cells and stops their division and growth.

Chemotherapy or anti-cancer drugs are not always used since the blood-brain barrier prevents the transport of many of these drugs into the brain from the bloodstream.

A number of experimental therapies are also in development.

Early treatment of tumours can prevent further complications. 15% of people with brain cancer will survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis. Despite this, there is still hope. Prognosis depends on a lot of factors. Knowing your risk and following up on suspicious symptoms can help in early diagnosis. Stay alert to stay healthy.