The Power of The Rubik's Cube

Have you ever played with a Rubik's Cube?  

Rubik's Cube is a three dimensional puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Erno Rubik.  As of January 2009, 350 million cubes had been sold worldwide, making it the world's top-selling puzzle game.  It is widely considered to be the world's best-selling toy.


In a classic Rubik's Cube, each of the six faces is covered by nine stickers, each of one of six solid colours (traditionally white, red, blue, orange, green, and yellow).  A pivot mechanism enables each face to turn independently, thus mixing up the colours.  For the puzzle to be solved, each face must be returned to consisting of one colour.  Similar puzzles have now been produced with various numbers of stickers, not all of them by Rubik.

The Rubik's Cube has long been touted by scientists as a phenomenal brain-training game.  It's primary effect on the brain is developing and improving Spatial Intelligence.

Spatial intelligence is the ability to comprehend three-dimensional images and shapes. This is a primary function of the right side of the brain and is used when solving puzzles, figuring out maps and taking part in any type of construction or engineering project. While spatial intelligence usually involves vision it also incorporates abstract and analytical abilities that go beyond merely seeing images. Recognizing the image, knowing its relationship to other surrounding objects and displaying the organizational structure of a thought are all involved in spatial intelligence.

Spatial intelligence is also referred to as “visual thinking”. A good example of visual thinking is when someone is hiking and has a compass and map. Though there is no physical path laid out the hiker will use the tools to visualize a mental path using the maps and compass to derive the best route through woods.

Training and improving your spatial intelligence can help improve many areas of your brain including memory, cognitive ability and thinking. People who can visualize solutions or patterns to solving a problem have a distinct edge over people who have to have everything laid out before they can try to find a solution.

Research shows that Spatial Intelligence is often fully or partially lost and/or damaged following brain injury.  Brain scientists have determined that playing brain games, such as the Rubik's cube, can increase cognitive function by up to sixty person following brain injury.  

Research now shows that the Rubik's cube may prove to be too challenging for brain injury patients.  Studies have shown that playing with a Digital Rubik's Cube is actually more beneficial than playing with the standard cube toy.  In cases of brain injury, the Digital Rubik's Cube is highly suggested.

The bottom line is that simple game exercises such as the Rubik's Cube are tried, tested and true.  They are a simple and fun way of keeping your brain healthy.  

Suggested Product:

"Rubik's Cube" by "Winning Moves"

Product Features:

• 43 Quintillion possible moves and only ONE Solution!
• Free Rubink's Cube stand included!
• Increase Cognitive Function
• Brain Areas Worked: Right & Left Hemisphere
• Improves Attention and Spacial Intelligence

Click HERE To Purchase Rubik's Cube

Also available for purchase on the Side Bar on the Right of your screen.

Digital Product Recommendation:

"Rubik's TouchCube" by "TechnoSource"

Product Features:

• The first completely electronic Rubik's Cube
• All six sides utilize cutting edge technology
• Easy-To-Use Touch Sensor Technology
• Effortlessly Slide the lighted squares with your finger from any side or direction
• The colours pulsate, fade and change while the TouchCube recharges in it's stand
• Includes easy-to-set volume control for playing anytime
• You have the option of having the cube solve itself

Click Here To Purchase Digital Rubik's Cube

Also available for purchase on the Side Bar on the Right of your screen. 

New-Age Brain Toys

In today's world, kids as young as ten years old have their own iPhones, iPads, iPods, laptops, etc.  Research shows that this is not necessarily a bad thing.  As long as this technology is used for good and not bad.  Which means that kids should not be spending the majority of their time on their computers and phones texting and updating their Facebook account.  They should be spending time exercising their brains - while still enjoying and learning about their nifty "electronic friend".

Brain researchers have now recommended one "toy" for the iPhone that is fun and a great brain workout.  Listen up people - your kids, especially boys, are going to LOVE this!  Why?  Because this powerful "Brain Trainer" is a toy car!  Yup, it's a Ferrari.  Fair warning - your husband may become very attached to this toy. 


It is the "Silverlit Ferrari Enzo" for iPhone, iPod & iPad.  It is a very fun and fast toy car - that is completely operated from your iDevice. 


This fun and educational toy has been scientifically proven to:

• Improve Hand-Eye Coordination
• Develop/Improve Three Dimensional Thinking
• Stimulate The Optical Nerve
• Improves Attention Skills
• Helps Children Understand "Cause & Effect"
• Sharpens Hearing
• Improves Critical Reaction Time

This toy has been tested on children as young as five years old.  For young children, it is a fun and important brain-training game.  For older children, especially teenagers approaching the legal driving age - I would say this is a MUST!  

I think these types of education toys are wonderful.  One of the main reasons I think this toy is such a great invention is because it is virtually ageless.  Fathers, sons, daughters will have a great time bonding while stimulating their brains at the same time.

Click Here to Purchase: Silverlit Ferrari Enzo for iPhone

You can also find a link to this "Silverlit Ferrari Enzo" toy car in the side panel on the right of your screen.

Creatine & Brain Damage

Studies show that the dietary supplement CREATINE is essential to proper brain function.  Regular use of a premium creatine nutritional supplement has been shown to decrease the traumatic and devastating effects of brain injury.  In many cases, people who have been taking creatine for as little as four weeks on a daily basis can prevent traumatic brain injury by up to fifty percent.  

Research has determined that creatine is an essential nutritional supplement in the treatment of brain injury patients.  Many patients have shown significant improvement in brain function in as little as four to eight weeks of regular daily use.

Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid (protein building block) that's found in meat and fish, and also made by the human body in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. It is converted into creatine phosphate or phosphocreatine and stored in the muscles, where it is used for energy. 

Previous studies have suggested the role of creatine in healthy brain function.  Typically, vegetarians have lower levels of creatine.  The University of Swansea (Wales, United Kingdom) conducted a controlled research experiment to test the effects of creatine on brain function.  They enrolled 121 young women, both vegetarians and omnivores, in a study in which each subject was randomly assigned to receive either a daily creatine supplement (creatine monohydrate, 20 grams per day), or placebo, for five days.  The team conducted standardized cognitive tests on all subjects, both before and after the five days of study.  Memory improved by about 40% in the vegetarians consuming the creatine supplements, compared with placebo.  Additionally, creatine supplements also significantly improved responses to a choice reaction-time task in both vegetarians and omnivores.  The researchers suggests that creatine in the form of phosphocreatine, a compound that acts as a reservoir of high-energy phosphate, serves a role in neurotransmission and thus may be the mechanism underlying the cognitive performance improvement.

So, whether you are treating traumatic brain injury or trying to prevent it, the bottom line is this - make sure you buy a good quality CREATINE supplement and use it on a regular daily basis.  

Recommended Creatine Supplement:

"Brain Pump" by Brain Pump LLC

Product Features:

• A unique blend of B Vitamins and Creatine Complex
• Improves Over-All Brain Function
• Used in the treatment of Traumatic Brain Damage
• Improves Memory and Working Intelligence
• Boosts Test Scores
• Provides the Energy needed to work a full and productive day
• Improves athletic performance and muscle definition

Click Here to Buy "Brain Pump"

As always, please consult with your medical team before taking any supplement. 

Omega 3's & The Brain

Omega 3 fatty acids, specifically docosohexaenoic acid (DHA), are crucial to brain health and brain injury recovery. People who regularly took omega 3-DHA before a brain injury will have built up resilience to neural damage—they will therefore recover faster. People who take omega 3-DHA after an injury will benefit from increased neural repair, increased neural growth, and decreased inflammation—they too will recover faster.

Omega 3-DHA can also prevent the development of mood disorders such as:

• Depression
• Mania
• Anxiety
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

And omega 3-DHA may help:

• Reduce the desire for alcohol
• Improve memory and concentration
• Lower the risk of suicide

Our bodies don’t produce enough DHA, so we must consume it through either food or supplements. Foods that are abundant in DHA include sardines, flax seeds, walnuts, salmon, and soybeans. Most people don’t eat enough DHA-rich foods and will need to take an omega 3 supplement that has a high amount of DHA.

How much should you take?

It’s hard to overdose on DHA, so you can safely take a lot. People who have had a brain injury (of any severity) and people who are at a higher risk of brain injury should aim for higher doses. How much is a lot?

Healthy adults should take at least 500 milligrams (mg) of DHA daily (healthy kids 250 mg). So, a person who needs more should aim for at least 800 mg daily. A 2011 animal study measured the benefits of DHA in these 3 dosage groups:

• 3 mg per kg (~1.5 mg per lb)
• 12 mg per kg (~5.5 mg per lb)
• 40 mg per kg (~18 mg per lb)

All 3 amounts of DHA reduced brain injury, but the highest dose had the most significant effect. If you translate the highest dose for a person who weighs 68 kg (150 lbs), that would be almost 3,000 mg of DHA!

Omega 3 supplements contain different amounts of DHA, ranging from around 100-500 mg (look specifically for the amount of DHA, not the overall mg in the capsule). But don’t go crazy—take an amount that balances cost against benefit. You can also supplement with omega 3-enriched foods (i.e. milk, eggs, yogurt), but the food labels usually don’t specify how much DHA there is.

As always, please consult with your medical team before taking any supplement.

The Super Bowl of Law Suits

You could say this is the Super Bowl of lawsuits. The NFL is being accused of hiding and covering up obvious links between football-related injuries and brain injury. Multiple lawsuits involving thousands of former players impacted by concussions and brain injuries have been combined into one , setting up a massive and potentially costly case for the NFL.

Lawyers for the players filed the complaint Thursday in Philadelphia, accusing the NFL of hiding information that linked football-related head trauma to permanent brain injuries. Among the illnesses cited were dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

The players hope to hold the NFL responsible for the care of players suffering from these devastating illnesses.

Also named in the suit is well-known helmet maker Riddell Inc.

"The NFL must open its eyes to the consequences of its actions," said Kevin Turner, a former running back with the Patriots and Eagles who has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). "The NFL has the power not only to give former players the care they deserve, but also to ensure that future generations of football players do not suffer the way that many in my generation have."

The suit accuses the NFL of "mythologizing" and glorifying violence through the media, including its NFL Films division.

"The NFL, like the sport of boxing, was aware of the health risks associated with repetitive blows producing sub-concussive and concussive results and the fact that some members of the NFL player population were at significant risk of developing long-term brain damage and cognitive decline as a result," the complaint charges.

"Despite its knowledge and controlling role in governing player conduct on and off the field, the NFL turned a blind eye to the risk and failed to warn and/or impose safety regulations governing this well-recognized health and safety problem."

In response, the NFL cited the many health programs it runs for current and former players, and a series of medical benefits to former NFL players to help them after football. Those include joint replacement, neurological evaluations and spine treatment programs, assisted living partnerships, long-term care insurance, prescription benefits, life insurance programs, and a Medicare supplement program.

"The NFL has long made player safety a priority and continues to do so," the league said in a statement. "Any allegation that the NFL sought to mislead players has no merit. It stands in contrast to the league's many actions to better protect players and advance the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussions."

The league insists that in partnership with the NFL Players Association it has spent well over a billion dollars on pensions, medical and disability benefits for retired players.

Turner, however, is not convinced those programs are doing enough.

"For the longest time, about the first 10 years after I retired in January 2000, I thought I had just turned into a loser overnight," he said. "I couldn't figure out what was wrong. It was a very scary proposition -- until I found out there were a lot more guys just like me. I find they had been through some of the same struggles. I realized this is no longer a coincidence."

Attorneys for the players claim they are not trying to smear the NFL, only to ensure that it lives up to its obligations to provide a safer sport. And that it offers proper care for retired players.

"I wish I could sit down with (NFL commissioner Roger Goodell) and share with him the pain. It's not just the spouses, it's the kids, too," Mary Ann Easterling, 59, told The Associated Press from her home in Richmond, Va. "Kids don't understand why dad is angry all the time.

"I think the thing that was so discouraging was just the denial by the NFL."

Mary Ann Easterling is a plaintiff. She was married to former Atlanta Falcons player Ray Easterling for 36 years.  They have one daughter.  Ray Easterling committed suicide on April 19, 2012.  He suffered from dementia for years.

According to a review of 81 lawsuits filed through May 25, the plaintiffs include 2,138 former players. The total number of plaintiffs in those cases is 3,356, which includes players, spouses and other relatives or representatives.

"I just want the NFL to stand up and be accountable for its actions," Turner said. "That is how we can prevent more people from suffering and keeping this game that has plenty of benefits. But we can make it safer and I am hoping that's what we do."

Some argue that these injuries are simply a part of the sport and that players know the risks involved from day one.  While there may be some truth to this, there is no reason why we can't strive to make the sport safer for all involved.