Welcome to the Your Fitness World

Fitness Books


The Sharp Brains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews, to Keep Your Brain Sharp

The Sharp Brains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews, to Keep Your Brain SharpAuthors: Alvaro Fernandez, Elkhonon Goldberg
Publisher: SharpBrains, Incorporated
Category: Book

List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $17.43
as of 7/29/2010 12:03 MDT details
You Save: $2.52 (13%)



New (14) Used (7) from $16.96

Seller: supermoviedeals
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars 14 reviews
Sales Rank: 197426

Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 182
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 5.9 x 0.3

ISBN: 0982362900
Dewey Decimal Number: 613
EAN: 9780982362907
ASIN: 0982362900

Publication Date: April 30, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Also Available In:

  • Kindle Edition - The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews

Similar Items:


Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
"Finally, an insightful and complete overview of the science, products and trends to debunk old myths and help us all maintain our brains in top shape. A must-read for everyone with a brain." --Gloria Cavanaugh, former President of the American Society on Aging

"Kudos for an excellent resource! This SharpBrains Guide is full of top notch information, provides practical tips and helps separate hype from hope in the brain health arena." -- Elizabeth Edgerly, Ph.D., Chief Program Officer, Alzheimer's Association

"A masterful guide to the brain training revolution. Promises to stimulate a much needed conversation that will nudge society to build a new brain fitness culture on solid, research-based, foundations." -- P. Murali Doraiswamy MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Duke University an
Co-author of The Alzheimer's Action Plan

"This is the only book that I know of that seamlessly integrates latest information about cognitive health across the lifespan. Very useful to anyone interested in brain care." -- Arthur Kramer, Professor of Psychology at University of Illinois

"The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness is a much-needed new resource to help us better understand our brains and minds and how to nourish them through life." -- Susan E. Hoffman, Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Berkeley


Product Description
While most of us have heard the phrase "use it or lose it," very few understand what "it" means, or how to properly "use it" in order to maintain brain function and fitness. The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness is an invaluable guide that helps readers navigate growing brain research and identify the lifestyle factors and products that contribute to brain fitness. By gathering eighteen of the top scientists and offering insight, tools, and detailed descriptions of over twenty products, this text is an essential guide to the field of brain fitness, neuroplasticity and cognitive health. An accessible and thought-provoking read, this book also educates lifelong learners on emerging trends and forecasts of what the future will hold.


Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14



5 out of 5 stars The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness   May 26, 2009
Diane M. Keefe (St. Louis, MO United States)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

This practical guide outlines the new landscape of brain science and provides a structure for enhancing one's brain health: it rates current products available to maintain the brain and offers proactive tips to ensure a healthy aging brain.

This book also offers hope to those challenged with PTSD and other types of traumatic brain injury by instructing readers to increase capacity and work with the brain's innate power to rewire itself through learning new skills and abilities. The authors have interviewed the prominent scientists in the field for the most recent research and insight so it is chockfull of information.

I would recommend this book to everyone who is interested in a healthy brain and increasing its ability to develop a more fulfilling life.


Diane Keefe
Geriatric Care Manager
MA Geronotology



5 out of 5 stars Great Resource for Brain Fitness... A Must Read !!!!   July 27, 2009
Lori Holmgren RN, MSN (St. Louis, MO)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful

I had great expectations for this book and was not disappointed.

This book is a great resource for learning the basics of the different brain areas and varied brain functions. I learned in Chapter 1 how to improve learning abilities based on the varied ways of learning. If a child is having a difficult time in learning, changing the technique of learning is indicated. In schools, variations must be used with learners that are not learning in the traditional manner. The interview with Dr. James Zull discussed this point. This was not a central point of Chapter 1 but I thought that the comments on education were really interesting.

Chapter 1 also discussed how neuroplasticity is at the core of brain fitness. An interesting study was described, stating that London taxi drivers have a larger hippocampus than London bus drivers due to the taxi drivers need to decide on varying routes compared to the bus drivers having set routes during their day.

The most helpful chapter of this book for me was Chapter 2. The chapter delved in to the 4 pillars of brain health. The four pillars of brain health are: balanced nutrition, stress management, physical exercise, and mental stimulation. Before reading this book, I knew that what is good for the heart is good for the brain. What I learned was how critical physical exercise is for brain health. The chapter went into great detail for each of the 4 pillars and discussed scientific studies related to each area. The book stated that brisk walking for a total of 3 hours each week can halt or reverse brain atrophy. This chapter has straight forward information on how to make a difference in how you work towards brain health and fitness.

Chapter 4 delved in to the different brain training programs that are available to the public. I had no idea that there were so many different programs available outside of the medical and educational professions. The different programs were discussed without bias, which was really appreciated. The programs were broken down into an easy to compare chart and then discussed in detail. This chapter was quite helpful to me in finding a stress management product.

This book also has thought provoking questions for group discussions and or book clubs listed in Chapter 7. The questions listed will bring the topic of brain fitness front and center to debates with families, friends, and colleagues. What better way to stimulate the brain than to take a walk with a friend and talk about the book.

Highly recommended.



5 out of 5 stars Rock solid primer on brain health   August 25, 2009
Michael C. Patterson (Bethesda, MD)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Thanks to Fernandez and Goldberg we now have a rock solid primer on brain health that we can recommend with confidence. While straightforward and easy-to-read, the material is evidence-based and thorough -- never "dumbed-down." I found it particularly effective to start the book with a list of ten brain myths that need debunking. We are constantly struggling against the pervasive ageist myths that cognitive decline is inevitable with age and that there is such as thing as a normal "brain age." The extensive interviews with top researchers supplement the text with valuable insight and perspective. And, as always, SharpBrains provides honest and objective analysis of industry-leading computer-based cognitive training programs.
- Michael C. Patterson, Co-founder and Principal, mindRAMP & Associates, LLC



5 out of 5 stars The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness   June 7, 2009
Russ Hitzemann (St. Louis, MO United States)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

After watching the effect Alzheimer's had on my grandmother, it is comforting to find a guide that gives you help in making informed decisions about brain health and fitness.

I found the chapter on Brain Maintenance, the 4 Pillars, gave me a roadmap of what I can do to maintain good brain health. The Brain Training Software, Quick Picks chapter was extremely helpful by outlining a checklist to use when reviewing software. Additionally, the books software picks are segmented by purpose, with explanations, such as target age and brain function, which helps you find the software that best meets your goals.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in maintaining their brain function and fitness as they age.

Russ Hitzemann
Publisher
[...]



5 out of 5 stars A solid introduction and reference   August 12, 2009
Peter Wicher
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

"The Sharpbrains Guide To Brain Fitness" is a well-rounded yet concise introduction and reference for the science, application, and business of brain health and cognitive training. The authors state their goal as offering "research-based, relevant and up-to-date information and tools" about the science, products, and trends in cognitive health and training. They succeed by taking a fact-based approach. This unbiased focus is especially important for a technology like cognitive training which may offer hope to those suffering from or at risk for distressing disorders such as Alzheimer's, ADHD, stroke, and specific learning disabilities.
I found the following to be particularly useful:
- The organization of topics which flows from basic brain science through the ecosystem of stakeholders in the fledgling cognitive fitness industry.
- The strong set of references providing a guide to important research in the field, clearly organized by subject.
- The compendium of software products for cognitive training which gives a thoughtful snapshot of the companies and products that are shaping the early widespread applications of cognitive training science. Importantly, the authors clearly point out the level of clinical validation supporting each product.

I fully recommend this book.

Peter Wicher
San Mateo, CA


Showing reviews 1-5 of 14


brain fitness  brain health  brain training  memory training  neuroplasticity  
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.