Free Book Content

We want as many people as possible to throw off their Old Brain thinking and regain their Young Brains! It's kind of like a mission.

So, we've decided to give away 20% of our book 'You Can Be As Young As You Think' online.

If you've come here having run through the Brain Age Test iPhone app, or if you are a regular reader of this blog, all you have to do is click here to download your free partial e-book.

Tip for easy reading: once file is opened, change from SCROLL to BOOK view (left hand bottom) and place in FULL SCREEN mode (top command bar).

Click now and start on your journey to a youthful mindset.

And don't forget, that the whole book can be ordered online from Amazon here

Do brain-training games work?

So is the jury out?

Read the book 'The Sharp Brains Guide to Brain Fitness' by Alvaro Fernandez and you'll learn that brain fitness products "change the trajectory of the life curve so that younger minds improve their peaks and older people do not experience loss in cognitive abilities like mental flexibility and working memory".

The book includes interviews with 18 international scientists - skilled in fields like cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging - who have run experiments to prove that its possible to maintain a healthy brain, and improve its fitness.

Now the other side. Nature magazine published results in April 2010 which says that brain-training games are just an empty promise. What they do is improve performance of the brain-training game itself, but the effects, apparently, do not transfer to other aspects of brain functioning. As lead researcher Adrian Owen says: "You're not going to get better at playing the trumpet by practsing the violin".

So who is right? It's important to say two things:

1. Brain training should be thought of differently than simple mental activity. Brain training is "the structured use of cognitive exercises or technqiues aimed at improving specific brain functions". Nintendo's Brain Age software is more about brain stimulation than training per se and they actually make rather limited claims about the research backing up their product beyond a bland 'use it or lose it'.

2. There are many other science-based companies who have products which have been proven to train cognitive skills. Companies like Posit Science, CogniFit and Scientific Brain Training support the benefits of their products with specific laboratory evidence.

So, before writing off brain training it is important to ask three questions:

- what are the claims being made?
- what scientifically-run studies support the claims?
- is the training relevant to my needs and objectives?

If you are satisfied with the answers, go ahead and train your brain. Becoming sharper and younger is so important these days that its crucial to decide for yourself.

If there is one book you should read this year

We all wish we could stay young forever. But ageing has a way of creeping up on us.

When did life get so serious? Why is it, as we grow older, we don't laugh as much? Why do we stop seeing the opportunities and the excitement and instead start feeling drained, cynical and out-of-touch? And just when did we turn into our parents?

Tim Drake and I spent over two years researching these very issues - and we came to a surprisingly simple insight - ageing really is all in the mind. In our ground-breaking book, 'You Can Be As Young As You Think', we show how you can test your brain's age and then train your brain to think younger, feel younger and be sharper.

You see, through our research, we uncovered the secrets of rejuvenation. These are the 6 Wisdoms of Youth. Each one is a powerful antedote to getting old - yet each one is surprisingly easy to apply through a series of practical tasks. Anyone, whatever their age, can learn these Wisdoms and truly rejuvenate their thinking - and their lives.

Here are some of the benefits you could reap from reading 'You Can Be As Young As You Think' :

- learn how to think with a 'Young Brain' and face life head-on with positivity and enthusiasm

- avoid becoming grumpy & irrelevant

- look younger, feel younger, act younger

- regain or retain everything you loved about being young

- be surrounded by people who make life worth living

- live a more fulfilling, successful and happier life

- aim towards eternal youth by leaving a legacy

In short, our life changing book helps you rediscover your youthful self and live the life you are only dreaming about. What other book promises you that?

And, of course, if you are a life coach, this book is sure to give you new insights into your work with clients.

'You Can Be As Young As You Think' was published by Pearson in May 2009. Place a order through http://www.amazon.co.uk/

Getting old happens young

I imagine that if I interviewed a dozen people in their 50s, most would say that they became aware of ageing when they turned 30. It's about at this age when last night's exercise routine leaves stiff limbs in the morning. It can also be the age when the grey hairs start to show. And, of course, it's that time when new parents start to recognise that their reactions mirror those of their parents.

It's that "OMG! I'm turning into my mum/dad!" moment.

However, social statistics show how much hidden ageing there is, well before our 30s! It may come as a shock but dreams and imagination, for example, can start drying up from 25 onwards.

What is even more shocking is that teenagers are also failing to find a vision for their lives. A University of Minnesota study of 20,000 kids found that 15% think they are going to die early. Far from engaging in risky behaviour because of invincibility, the survey suggests that many teenagers adopt unsafe practices because they decide that there's not a lot at stake. The future is already a no go zone.

For all of us, avoiding bad behaviour and unhealthy practices is partly about having belief in a better future. Avoid the negativity of Old Brain thinking. Rejuvenate using the 6 Wisdoms of Youth.