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It’s Brain Awareness Week: Train your brain to keep it sharp!

It’s well known that exercising your body will help keep you healthier longer. In fact, an article at MayoClinic.com says regular physical activity can help prevent chronic health conditions, promote weight loss and better sleep, and improve your mood and energy level.

Now, think about how much better your brain would function if you applied the same theory to mental exercises! Just as we exercise our bodies to keep physically fit, we can exercise our minds to stay mentally fit, or so say the specialists at Posit Science.

Posit Science strives to help people flourish throughout their lives by providing effective, non-invasive tools that engage the brain’s natural plasticity to improve brain health. They’ve got a large and growing global team of more than 50 leading university-based researchers, staff scientists, and other specialists who collaborate on programs that improve the cognitive performance–and change the lives–of everyday people.

Based in San Francisco, Posit Science grew out of the pioneering work of neuroscientist Dr. Michael Merzenich. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and Francis A. Sooy Professor of the Keck Center at the University of California at San Francisco, Dr. Merzenich has a track record of turning neuroscience into practical tools that help people. His discoveries continue to change how scientists and the medical profession look at the brain.

Under the leadership of Dr. Merzenich and CEO Steven Aldrich, a team of scientists, researchers, programmers, and other experts are designing, testing, and refining drug-free programs to address cognitive issues related to healthy aging, as well as a broad range of other conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, and schizophrenia.

Essentially, Posit Science states, our eyes, ears, and other sensory organs are constantly sending information to our brain. Our brain then uses this information to construct experiences and memories, from the magnificent (a loved one’s face, a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, or a wedding proposal) to the mundane (an acquaintance’s name, a grocery list, or a routine drive to a nearby store).

The better we absorb this information, the better we can respond to it and store it, so that we can remember it and use it later. According to Posit Science, that’s what mental sharpness is all about: having strong brain function that supports a variety of cognitive skills. Their programs have been lauded in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Time Magazine; additionally, the company partners with PBS, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Allstate Insurance, and Alzheimer’s Australia to spread the news about brain fitness or help their communities gain access to the informative programs.

Posit Science offers an assortment of auditory and visual training exercises you can perform on your computer to enhance your brain’s ability to process information. Posit Science claims these exercises can help you remember more, feel sharper, focus better, and notice more details in your day-to-day routine. Their products run from $395 for the Brain Fitness or Insight programs which improve memory and speed up thinking and memory processes, to $89 for the Drive Sharp program designed to help aging drivers feel more confident when driving at night or in stressful situations.

Not convinced that playing a few computer games can make you think faster, focus better, and remember more? Here’s a chance to play some of their free and fun memory games that utilize some of the design principles found in Posit Science’s validated brain fitness products. They’ve even got a free iPhone application called iKnowYou that will train your brain to better remember the names of both famous and your own familiar faces!

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You don’t have to exercise your brain to remember to be eco-minded!
You can help the environment by recycling your used printer cartridges and cell phones. Your inkjets, toners, and cell phones are worth more than you think!
Why not recycle them at eCycleGroup.com?