The Brain

New knowledge about the brain

What do research and other areas of expertise say about how to create sustainable change?
The last 15-20 years of brain research have given 90% of what we know about the brain: "The Decade(s) of the Brain".
With knowledge about the brain and how it affects our way of thinking, feeling and acting, development work is more sustainable. When the whole body is involved with all its senses, an understanding is created throughout the person’s “system”.
In the business world, different seminars and courses appear in “Corporate mindfulness”, “Neuroleadership” and “Brain business”. In the training arena there are the slower forms of exercise such as Yoga, Pilates and Organic Bodywork.
We seem to long for balance, wholeness and sustainability: communicology sees the connection. We need to connect the body and mind together and create a system of wellbeing.

There is knowledge today that the business world should not miss!

Research and Popular Science

A study from the Karolinska Institute shows that a new extensive building up of nerve cells takes place in the hippocampus in the brain of adults, a fact that was open to discussion/ controversial until now. To be able to determine the age of the cells the researchers measured the percentage of carbon 14 in the DNA. 
 “University of Adelaide neuroscientists have discovered that just one session of aerobic exercise is enough to spark positive changes in the brain that could lead to improved memory and coordination of motor skills.” October 2014.

Physical activity and the brain

Below you will find some fields and abilities that we can develop by stimulating the brain through physical activity.

Stress

“When muscles are used, the blood is cleansed from a substance which is harmful to the brain, caused by stress.

Memory

In Ireland a group of young men who exercised regularly was compared with others of the same age who were sedentary, the latter performed worse on memory tests.

Concentration

“Researchers from Harvard University examined nearly 20,000 women and saw that those who got regular exercise not only maintained their memory as they grew older, but also their attentiveness and the ability to concentrate.”

Intelligence

In the tests on 18 year olds for once compulsory military service:
“When we collated the test results from over 1.2 million people, a clear pattern was seen. Those in good physical condition scored higher on the intelligence tests”. Tests were also conducted on pairs of twins and they showed that those who exercised obtained better results on intelligence tests than their untrained siblings.

Creativity

Diagonal movements stimulate communication between the right and the left hemispheres of the brain so that the logical, rational left can be in contact with the creative right.

With physical activity, creativity can be maintained for approximately 2 hours. Monotonous movements are better than any other as they do not demand too much from the brain.

Decision-maker

”Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error?
How do our brains really work-in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?”
”Great decision makers aren’t those who process the most”

Resources

Karolinska institutet, Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide.
Matti Bergström, Neuropedagogik – En skola för hela hjärnan, 1995
Paul Dennison, Brain Gym® – teacher’s edition, 1994
Susanne Wolmesjö, Smarta rörelser – för fysisk och mental balans, 2003
Carla Hannaford, Lär med hela kroppen – inlärning sker inte bara i huvudet, 1995
Anders Hansen & Carl Johan Sundberg, Hälsa på recept, 2014
Anders Hansen, Hjärnstark, 2016

Malcolm Gladwell, Blink, 2005