Frontal Lobe Is Crucial

The frontal lobe is the director in our brain. Wow, if that's true, then it's important to know how I can strengthen or weaken it!!

Frontal lobe - the largest part of our brain

Example - Phineas Gage

The frontal lobe was 'discovered' on the occasion of Phineas Gage's famous accident (see BLOG). Phineas was no longer the same person after that, although he was completely physically, intellectually and motorically intact. Before the accident that punctured his frontal lobe, he was an exemplary, responsible, quiet man. After that he was a moody, disrespectful guy who swore a lot, was impulsive and unreliable. He repeatedly suffered from epileptic seizures and fever attacks until he died in 1860 at the early age of 36 (see BLOG).

Research

In the last 175 years, research has made great methodological advances, which is why we now have a large amount of information, particularly about the frontal lobe.

The frontal lobe, also known as the frontal lobe, is one of four lobes of the cerebrum. The front area, the so-called prefrontal cortex, is considered the seat of our personality. So what we are is what our frontal lobe stands for!!

Above all, the mechanisms that control and coordinate our thoughts and feelings are controlled here. Neuropsychology uses the collective term <executive functions> for this

Executive functions

A 6-year-old child can't manage himself yet, but a 19-year-old teenager is much more capable of it. This means that the prefrontal cortex matures particularly during adolescence.

Setting goals - planning and implementing strategies - recognizing obstacles - deciding on priorities - remembering rules - completing tasks independently - these are some important functions of the frontal lobe.

Dealing with rules is an important learning process for working memory, especially for children. Children can act out great anger to get their parents to do what they want for them. “Think first, act later” is an important impulse control that occurs naturally in the frontal lobe. (BLOG)

Children are in a big learning process. Their frontal lobe will later determine what personality and quality of life they will have. By the way, dogs have a larger frontal lobe than cats.

….

Man lernt nie aus

Auch bei Autofahrern kann man manchmal fehlende Impulskontrolle erkennen. Wie reagierst du, wenn Dir die Vorfahrt genommen wird? Wie leicht können wir dem Stress, der Müdigkeit und der Überforderung anheim fallen, die dann Einfluss auf unsere Aktionen und Reaktionen haben können.

Multitasking - also nebst Autofahren noch eine Unterhaltung führen - hat ihre Grenzen. Unser Gehirn ist für die Konzentration und Fokussierung auf wesentliche Lebensaspekte spezialisiert.

In unserer modernen Zeit - der Zeit der Sozialen Medien (BLOG)- werden wir oft von diesen ‘gefangen’ gehalten und können uns kaum mehr losreissen. Schnell sind zwei Stunden vergangen, in denen wir oft Informationen erhalten haben, die wir gar nicht gesucht haben und kaum einen Gewinn darstellen. Hier gilt es, die Kontrollfunktion des Frontallappens zu sensibilisieren, damit wir nicht ein Opfer unserer Zeit werden.

Der empfehlenswerte Lebensstil im Sinne von NEWSTART PLUS (BLOG) ist das grossartigste System, das ich kenne, das uns Menschen eine gute Lebensqualität sichert.

Wie wäre es jetzt mit einem Spaziergang ???

Wherever you live, nature always has something special to offer. And that’s really good for the frontal lobe!!

Do You Also Want to Be Healthy in Old Age? - 5 Tips

Feeling young and vital, like children, at least sometimes - that's it. Age research has some good suggestions for people who want quality of life in old age.

Do you know healthy older people? If so, what is your secret to your quality of life?

Research Results

Medicine professor Thomas Perls * is one of the world's leading researchers in the field of longevity. He acquired his findings in a study on 150 people who have turned 110 and over. He found these people in USA, Canada, Japan and other countries. There are currently around 350 people worldwide who are over 110 years of age. In his opinion, these are extremely few.

The medical professor speaks about his “centenarian” research at universities and congresses. Which people will be 100 or even 110 years old, and why? Perls, 58, has been asking this question since his youth.

He likes to open his presentations at congresses with a little quiz: "Do you smoke? Okay, subtract 15 years. Are you good at coping with stress? Good, then add 5 years."

It is known that the following risk factors played a decisive role in the death of these old people: 1. Smoking 2. Obesity 3. High blood pressure 4. Diabetes 5. Lack of exercise

In the German-speaking countries we have a life expectancy (2015) of

• Germany: 82 for women and 77 for men

• Austria: 84 for women and 79 for men

• Switzerland: 84 for women and 80 for men

One could be of the opinion that if we are already around 80 years old according to statistics, then we would like to experience it healthy. Makes sense right? And when we grow old healthy, why shouldn't life go on a little longer?

Mr. Perls suspects that there would actually be a lot more in our latitude and state of development. He is thinking of 89 for women and 86 for men. The question is whether we want to make use of our genes or fight against them! He followed up on the oldest people in the world and found them primarily among the Seventh-day Adventists.

Seventh-Day Adventists (SDA) and Health

The STAs have the highest life expectancy in the United States. They are very ethnically diverse and spread across America. They tend to lead healthy lives, that is, they do not smoke or drink alcohol, are vegetarians and exercise a lot.

SDAs have many health programs (see NEWSTART blog) and have a science center in California that is responsible for the latest knowledge. They also tend to have hospitals and health centers that are strong in the use of natural healing methods. They are professionals in cures for diabetes II and other lifestyle diseases.

The Landhaus Die Arche (DE - above) and the mountain pension Sonnmatt (CH - below) are the best-known spa houses in German-speaking countries. (Terri and I live close by helping our daughter and son-in-law - wonderful area!!)

Mr. Perls discovered that genes are only responsible for 30 percent of our age. More important is our behavior, our lifestyle. That's the good news:

We are largely in control of how healthy we want to be in old age and how old we want to become.

Alzheimer's problem

About half of people over 85 get Alzheimer's. That should be avoided. How ? Research tries to get at the genes. Drinking water regularly is sure to have a positive effect. Those who take their 2-2.5 liters of water in their old age have an advantage, because around 85% of the brain consists of water. In addition, thirst disappears with age, so that one has to consciously take care of drinking. Many elderly people in retirement homes 'forget' this and then suffer from many signs of aging that would not be necessary if the blood had a better quality thanks to the water.

Problem Stress

How older people have learned to deal with stress appears to be an equally important health factor. It is not so important how much stress people have, but how they have learned to deal with it. Eustress, i.e. positive stress, also makes older people flourish and motivates them.

In affluent countries, insufficient management of stress is more damaging to life expectancy than smoking and alcohol! (BLOG).

Most people know how to reduce stress, namely with exercise, meditation, prayer, enough sleep or individual recipes.

It is important that you do your best not to let the stress get to you. Research shows that otherwise the risk of heart disease, but also cancer and Alzheimer's, increases.

Mr. Perls reports that you have observed these very old people to have low scores for neuroticism and high scores for extroversion. To put it simply: you don't eat it all up, you can process worries and let go. They are also exceptionally good at building and maintaining social bonds. How far this trait is genetically present or learned, he cannot say.

He recommends that you have your high blood pressure and cholesterol level checked regularly so that you can react in good time and without medication.

Why do Women get older than Men?

Thanks to the reduced number of men who smoke, they will come closer to the age of women. Since increased smoking has been observed in women, it can be assumed that their age expectancy will be somewhat reduced. What hardly changes is that extremely old age is almost only reached by women. It is genetic. Men have the advantage that when they reach 90 years or more, they are healthy more often. Women often live on for a long time even with chronic diseases - they are more resilient.

Sounds good: women are more resilient! In a family you are usually responsible for their health and thus develop more knowledge.

Anyone who has a lot of exercise in old age and drinks enough water to do so has decisive advantages.

Anti Aging Industry

The pharmaceutical industry and also Silicon Valley companies are researching drugs that are supposed to make us grow older. Most of what is being advertised is charlatanism. Allegedly life-extending substances, snake oil and the like have been a business since ancient times.

Nothing against marketing healthy foods. But nobody makes big money with it. But, for example, with senseless hormone therapies that cost 11,000 to 20,000 dollars a year and can even have dangerous side effects. The antiaging industry seems legitimate to have very little faith.

There is also serious research that works towards extending life. The research is still very theoretical. The big problem is that any treatment has side effects. What is supposed to prolong life in theory can in practice increase the risk of cancer.

5 Tips

Getting old healthy largely depends on our lifestyle. Genetic advantages may also contribute.

The following 5 tips can be used advantageously:

1. WATER - Start drinking 2 - 2.5 liters of water (no beer or coffee !!) early enough. With this you clean the blood and supply one of your most important organs, the brain, with the necessary functionality. (BLOG)

2. EXERCISE - Create an exercise plan that will allow you to take up to 6-10,000 steps a day. Exercise nourishes muscles and improves blood circulation, and allows better stress management. Sometimes it helps if you pursue this goal together with someone. (BLOG)

3. NUTRITION - The more plant-based diets you indulge in and the fewer animal products like meat and dairy products, the more beneficial it will affect your body and mind. (BLOG)

4. GOOD THOUGHTS - We know from research that positive thoughts can have a corresponding impact on the whole body. Find joyful literature, pleasant people and positive experiences! (BLOG)

5. DEALING WITH STRESS - As soon as you identify a stressor, remind yourself: I don't want any unnecessary stress! Push it away, replace it with good thoughts, and shelve it. This takes some practice. But if you do all the other points, then this last point will also be within reach. (BLOG)

Ref: Tagblatt (Swiss Newspaper)

* Thomas Perls
Age researcher Thomas Perls, born in 1960, is a professor of medicine at Boston University in the United States of America and a doctor at Boston Medical Center. He studied at the renowned Harvard University, among others. His specialty is age research. Perls founded the “New England Centenarian Study”, a project that he still leads today and that researches people around the world who are 100 years or older. He is one of the most prominent critics of hormone therapies, which should extend the life span. He considers most anti-aging products to be bawdy and useless. Perls is the initiator of the “Living to 100” web calculator, on which you can use dozen of questions to calculate how high your life expectancy is. Link to the calculator.

Praiseworthy Praise (Part 2)

Who would have thought it possible to make a mistake in giving a compliment? I always thought words of affirmation were important for building self-confidence and raising achievement levels! That’s what I was taught, anyway.  Besides that, praise and words of affirmation are accepted ingredients in the recipe called the Five Love Languages (BLOG)! So, what is the truth?

Praise as Interaction

In order to really understand today’s blog in its context, I would encourage you to first read Praiseworthy Praise Part 1 from last week's BLOG.

Praise is understood as an action between individuals, but that's not all. A healthy lifestyle or a successful professional life can also create an inner sense of praise and recognition (self-worth) in us.

For the moment, let us turn our attention to our children, the important people of the future. Special care and attention, wisdom and farsightedness are needed in their education and training. This is a huge challenge for us as adults. Let us begin deep inside the heart of a child, where self-worth begins.

Feelings of Self-Worth Make a Difference

We used to believe there was a simple relationship between praise and feelings of self-worth: the more praise, the greater the feeling of self-worth. However, when a child is praised for acts that should be normal, like finishing his or her homework or drying the dishes at the age of 12, it can have the opposite effect.

This type of misplaced praise can lead children to set low goals. They think of themselves as brilliant and feel no need to develop further. These children don’t learn how to struggle and strive to achieve their goals. This attitude also makes life difficult for teachers. An overdeveloped sense of self-worth can not only destroy a child’s desire and ability to learn, it can also increase the tendency toward substance abuse and violence.

There are unfortunately more and more neglected children who spend their days in front of the TV or with their Smartphones (often like their parents) oblivious of any feelings of responsibility. We can assume the fan club mentality manifested by their parents and grandparents left its mark, continually applauding them for actions they had mastered more than a year earlier. A growing sense of complacency replaced their natural inclination to strive for more.

Fortunately, there are also parents who communicate with their children in a thoughtful and controlled tone: sensible, soft and loving.

Cats Never Bark

Some parents are so ambitious and have such high expectations in raising their children that enormous pressure is created for the child. Many parents praise their children in order to increase their performance. Their motivation is really their own pride: they only feel proud of their child and of themselves when their child is successful. They are not thinking of how to help the child to be happy, but how to achieve success. Many children who are trained to be perfectionists suffer with these expectations later in life.

Therefore, it is important to accept each child as he or she is and not try to remake him or her into a model for our desired list of achievements. A cat will never learn to bark!

Do children come into the world to meet their parents’ needs, or is it the other way around?

As parents and educators, we are challenged to analyze our expectations. In our efforts to help our children develop, we must always be aware of their developmental stage. When defeat comes, we should not let them feel our disappointment, but continue to motivate them with goal-oriented encouragement.

Children are always happy with themselves when they have accomplished something that matches their abilities, that is, when they are not over or under challenged. In this process, it is important that the educator concentrate more on the child’s strengths, giving less attention to weaknesses.

More important than speaking the right words at the right time is having the right attitude toward one’s child, spouse, life and self.

So, if a parent or another person in authority notices his or her communication consists mostly of prohibitions and commands, or trying to keep a semblance of order through power struggles, then it’s high time to take a look in the mirror.

Dangerous Discipline

Obedience at any cost is a risky rule. Although children who learn to live within limits and rules that are based on sensible principles are generally much happier than those who don’t, this obedience must never be achieved at the cost of relationship. Love must always be the undisputed basis for every act of discipline. If love is missing, or if a child does not FEEL unconditionally loved, praise and rewards can be just as devastating as punishment, just more subtle. They can actually be a form of abuse and manipulation disguised as goodness and generosity. The message conveyed says, “You are loved when you obey.” See conditional love - BLOG.

Today we know that many children who grow up without discipline, in the laissez faire – style, report having big problems in relationships as adults. On the other hand, children who learned that NO meant NO and experienced the presence of defined boundaries were able to enjoy happy relationships as adults. Loving authority is still an absolute necessity that children highly appreciate.

Perilous Pride

Praise can cause many different feelings and reactions. This becomes clear when we see how hard it is, even for adults, to deal with sincere compliments. In such situations, we see embarrassment, speechlessness and blushing. For this reason, it would be a good idea for children to be taught how to deal with praise at a young age. Being able to recognize and express one’s own feelings is an important foundation for other skills needed later in life. Parents can encourage these basic skills in children by implementing praise properly.

Wise King Solomon once said, "Pride causes problems." Can praise cultivate pride? Certainly. Praise that is aimed directly at a person has a direct influence on his or her ego, for example saying, “YOU’re so beautiful, strong, or nice!” or “YOU’re such a good cook, driver or artist.” When these kinds of compliments are often repeated, pride is nurtured.

Consequently, it is better to leave the word “you” out and compliment actions and products rather than the person who did or produced them. So, instead of, “You can draw so nicely!” we would better say, “I really like that drawing!” In this way, attention is drawn to the object, the product or the accomplishment, rather than to the person directly.

Some temperaments, especially melancholies (BLOG), react quite adversely to compliments directed at them personally. With them, it is especially recommended to stay at the objective level and avoid “you” compliments. This will make communication easier for all concerned.

Learning how to handle both successes and failures can be very challenging. Having good role models for how to deal with winning and losing games can be very helpful in learning those skills.

Performance Panic

If a child tends to give up in the face of difficulty, we can strengthen his or her will to keep trying by showing approval as partial successes are achieved. "I’m glad you tried again.” “It’s good you kept at it, in spite of the difficulties.” “Congratulations for not giving up too easily.”

The critical point is when we praise children for their talents and intelligence. That is dangerous business. A child should not be put up on a pedestal and learn to think his or her skills and talents are hereditary. “Either you have it, or you don’t.” This line of thought can create a fear of performance in children. It is actually a fear of making mistakes, because a mistake would indicate a lack of intelligence or a defect in them as a person.

7 Points on Praising People (Children)

We all need praise and appreciation, especially children! Parents reinforce positive behavior in their children through praise, and children learn through it. Praise is simply part and parcel of educating children well. Giving each other compliments and motivating children with positive input strengthens self-awareness and family life in general.

1. Prudent Praise

We all need praise and appreciation, especially children! Parents reinforce positive behavior in their children through praise, and children learn through it. Praise is simply part and parcel of educating children. Giving each other compliments and motivating children with positive input strengthens self-awareness and family life in general.

2. Precise Praise

A blanket statement like “Great!” or “Well done!” often holds little meaning for children.

• Clearly formulated praise helps a child to get his or her bearings on “Mount Achievement” and recognize what he or she actually did well. For example, “The colors were well chosen,” for the picture he or she is drawing.
• In this way, one can adapt praise to the achievement at hand to make it varied and stimulating.
• General verbalizations can demotivate children when followed by specific critique, whether by the same person or someone else. Since they understood the general compliment personally, they will also take the critique personally. The safest course is to stick with the facts. 

3. Praise for Production

Try not to compliment the personality, skills and talents of a child (“You’re so artistic!”), but rather the effort and dedication he or she demonstrated ("The lines in this picture are very straight and carefully done!”). By praising the effort and energy the child put into a task, we can strengthen his or her self-awareness. It’s important to not only recognize the finished product, but also to show appreciation for the work and process that produced it. These are the aspects the child can influence.

4. No Praise

Praising banalities and things that should be a matter of course communicate a low standard of expectation: the child will think you are content with low achievements and that you don’t believe he or she can do much better. They are also not motivated to give their best. It’s good to set goals and praise efforts made toward reaching them.

5. Perfect Pattern for Praise

There is actually no hard and fast basic rule for the perfect amount of praise. Complimenting too little and too seldom produces discontent: people who don’t get compliments for special achievements can eventually lose their motivation. On the other hand, constant praise can becomes tedious. Its effect is weakened, and the credibility of the one who gives it may be called into question. Too much praise can also create dependence, in which people only produce when persuaded by praise. In such cases, their natural, intrinsic motivation has been weakened or completely eradicated. (BLOG)

6. Punctual Praise

Words of affirmation and praise should be given promptly on the heels of positive behavior: a compliment given an hour after the fact is significantly less effective. Because the brain stores information in different areas sequentially, an immediate compliment will be coupled with the action, and the good feelings will always be associated with it. If the positive reinforcement occurs an hour later, the words of praise will be saved in another file in the brain and will not be as effective for motivational purposes. Dog owners are well acquainted with the truth of this principle. The opposite is also true.

7. Praise for Premiers

When a child is learning a new skill or behavior, it is a good idea to give them a little more incentive at the outset. We as adults also appreciate encouragement when we are trying to learn something new and difficult. Later, when the learned behavior is beginning to jell, a well-placed compliment now and then will help ensure a permanent place in the person’s practical experience.

Remember the important role of appreciation and recognition in the process of enhancing performance in adults as well as children. A team that works together, wins together! (BLOG)

Links:

• www.mit-kindern-lernen.ch/motivation-1-loben
• www.swissmom.ch/kind/erziehung/foerdern-und-unterstuetzen/kinder-richtig-loben

Praiseworthy Praise (Part 1)

It’s quite a challenging thought: Is it really possible to make a mistake when showing appreciation and giving compliments and praise? I’ve been doing it all my life, and nobody has ever died as a consequence! What could go wrong? Well, you just might be surprised. And by the way, words of praise and appreciation are one of the five love languages (BLOG). So it would certainly be valuable for couples to understand it better.

Praise – a Matter of Culture

Dear Reader, I’m glad to see you are interested in this topic. You have no doubt had many practical experiences with it: you have often been praised and have complimented others, whether children, students, friends or strangers. Words of appreciation are often spoken spontaneously, without giving them much thought.

Every culture has its unique characteristics. In German speaking cultures, praise is given spontaneously, without thinking about the reasons for or against it. On the other hand, in Japan giving compliments is sensitive business. If you say, “Your presentation was great!” to a Japanese person, your well-meant comment could cause him or her great bewilderment, leaving them wondering about your intentions. To praise there you often point out your own deficiencies rather than the amazing feat of the praised. The best compliments are given by asking for counsel or help to replicate an accomplishment. .

In the world of sports, everyone vies for attention and a prize, medals and glory. There are only a few winners and lots of losers! In our meritocracy, it is especially important to make a good showing, or at least a good show, in the face of defeat.

Questions on Praise

• Is it possible to praise too much?
• How much praise is good?
• Can I spoil my child with too much praise?
• How shall I praise? What shall I say?
• In what ways do quality and quantity matter?

Should the scale be loaded with enough critique, failures and discouragement on one side to balance out the praise, encouragement and success on the other? Will that keep a person in balance? Studies show that it takes five positive experiences to balance out a negative one. Might that statistic also be applicable to children? 

What standard of measurement do we use to decide? Is it flexible according to the age of those we are dealing with? What about our rod for measuring a child’s accomplishments? When we consider the fact that children are constantly growing, aging and changing, it is clear that the educator’s bar must continually be adjusted!

Nowadays children have scores of opportunities to choose from in which they can develop and practice motivation. In this way, they are privileged above earlier generations. The most important thing to keep in mind about motivation is not to over or under challenge them. (BLOG)

Definition of Praise

Wikipedia: “Praise refers to positive evaluations made by a person of another's products, performances, or attributes, where the evaluator presumes the validity of the standards on which the evaluation is based.”

The communication of praise can transpire by verbal or physical expression, such as gestures and other body language. Praise is also an important ingredient in the psychology of learning and motivation. The opposite term is criticism or disapproval.

So, to praise someone is to express some form of positive communication about a person, accomplishment, situation or idea.

Psychological and Pedagogical Aspects

Most children and adults are very open for sincere praise, and their feelings of self-worth and self-confidence rise as a result. Very few people, mostly autistic, show little if any reaction to positive reinforcement.

Educational scientists have often posed the question of how and how much praise should be given. We find an early example of this in The Science of Education. This book, which came out in 1866, tells of the RISKS of inappropriate praise as follows: 

• Children who do not receive praise can feel neglected
• A child’s feelings of self-worth can become dependent on the satisfaction of the educator
• A child can become so accustomed to praise that he or she will expect it often

In order to avoid these problems, the author recommends the following:

• Before giving praise, carefully investigate the act in question, including the child’s motive
• Praise sparingly, using carefully chosen words
• Instead of comparing one child’s achievement with the achievements of other children, one should praise the progress made by the individual

Some authors reject praise as an educational tool entirely because it refers to a finished deed. They claim genuine encouragement will produce much better results.

Research shows that praise is most effective when it refers to a person’s behavior and actions, and NOT to their person, as such.

Praise that is directed at personal characteristics can actually be harmful. For example, children who are praised for their intelligence are more likely to give up and achieve less than those who are praised for their effort. Researchers at Ohio University did a study in 2015 showing that children whose parents highly praised them and their achievements are more likely to develop narcissist tendencies. That is perhaps the reason why we see more and more narcissism these days!

It’s all about appreciation and acceptance. "I like you." "You are valuable." It might be unwise to try to communicate these important values with a sentence like "You are the best!" Pride produces trouble.

Different Kinds of Praise

Self-praise

Praising oneself is often seen as arrogant and boastful. The phrase that is used to criticize such behavior cuts directly to the chase: “Self-praise stinks.” The only time self-praise is justified is when used in self-defense to counter false accusations.  

Proper Praise Promotes Performance

Praise can get old and boring. Variety is important. Well-directed praise can especially help in sensitive situations. It formulates one particular achievement that we appreciate. It must also be directed at something the child has influence over, for example, independence, effort, teamwork, following the rules or sticking to an agreement.     

Self-Image – Static or Dynamic

Static Self-Image  perception

Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, says people with a static self-image are convinced that their characteristics are all inherited. They must not, and cannot, change. Every new situation is another test that will prove they are intelligent or dumb, loved or unloved, winners or losers. They are what they are. Fear of making mistakes paralyzes them.

These children may well be intellectually interested as adults, but they will be unable to put the knowledge they gain into practice. They will not be able to profit from it. This type of self-image  can result from their experience with too much misguided praise.

People who have a dynamic self-image believe they can grow and develop their characters and characteristics. One failure is no reason to give up. On the contrary, they are convinced of their ability to influence circumstances in their lives. They overcome their fear of making mistakes by increasing their performance levels. Well-directed praise helps cultivate this self-image in young people.

This type of person loves advancement and progress, continuing education, acquiring knowledge and putting it to practical use in life. One is inclined to assume that being married to such a person would be a truly joyful state!

This begs the question: What kind of a self-image do you have? What is you attitude toward change, improvement and progress in character?

Stay tuned for part 2 of „Praiseworthy Praise,“ coming up next week!

Links:

• www.mit-kindern-lernen.ch/motivation-1-loben
• www.swissmom.ch/kind/erziehung/foerdern-und-unterstuetzen/kinder-richtig-loben