def: Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.
The plasticity of the brain is its ability to adapt and react to new sensations and experiences. Experiences, learning and memory are formed through the connection of neural networks in the brain. This characteristic (neuroplasticity) was believed to reduce with age. Psychiatrist and author Norman Doidge is however convinced that the brain continues to develop neural pathways late in a person's life. In his avant-garde book, The brain that changes itself, Doidge proposes that 'our thoughts can change the structure and function of our brains, even into old age.'
Keep your mind alert by learning something new. The best mental exercise, according to leading scientific research is... structured dance. Salsa is really about developing the brain ;)
If dance is not an option, learn a new language or instrument, solve puzzles and memorize poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge referred to poetry as the best words in the best order. Listed below are some tips on how to memorize some of your favourite 'best words in their best order':
10 Steps to Poetry Memorization: (Source: RealAge.com)
1. On your first read, read it slowly, absorbing every word. It's important for you to understand the poem. Meaning helps to make memories.
2. Next, quickly read the poem several times, feeling the rhythm and cadence of the language. This additional experience of the poem will provide more layers of meaning and memory.
3. Copy the poem down - many people find the act of writing helps them commit things to memory.
4. Now, read the poem out loud. Hearing how the poem sounds will help you remember it better.
5. Auditory learners may benefit from recording a reading of the poem and playing it back frequently.
6. Break the poem into different parts, by line or by section.
7. Memorize one line or section at a time. Stick with that portion until you feel confident reciting it from memory. Practice reciting two memorized sections together before moving on to a new section. You can memorize one section each day if you want to pace yourself.
8. Get some sleep. After you've memorized your poem, getting a good night's sleep may actually help enhance your memory of it.
9. Keep a copy of the poem with you at all times. Read it frequently throughout the day.
10. To test your memory of the poem, recite it to someone who has a copy, or write it down from memory and compare your work to the original.
Maya Angelou, a global renaissance woman, has an amazing gift of arranging words. My selection for this week's mental exercise is one of her finest - In and Out of Time...
The sun has come.
The mist has gone.
We see in the distance...
our long way home.
I was always yours to have.
You were always mine.
We have loved each other in and out of time.
When the first stone looked up at the blazing sun
and the first tree struggled up from the forest floor
I had always loved you more.
You freed your braids...
gave your hair to the breeze.
It hummed like a hive of honey bees.
I reached in the mass for the sweet honey comb there....
Mmmm...God how I love your hair.
You saw me bludgeoned by circumstance.
Lost, injured, hurt by chance.
I screamed to the heavens....loudly screamed....
Trying to change our nightmares into dreams...
The sun has come.
The mist has gone.
We see in the distance our long way home.
I was always yours to have.
You were always mine.
We have loved each other in and out
in and out
in and out
of time.