Where has the year gone? The holiday season is here, which means that it’s time once again for our annual Total Brain Health “Brain Healthy Gift Guide!”
We know that finding the perfect gift for everyone on your list can be difficult, so we’ve put together our 2016 Brain Healthy Gift Guide to keep your holidays stress-free. At Total Brain Health we are always on the look out for cool and fun ways keep you, your family and friends brain healthy, and what better way to celebrate the season than with a gift to boost the brainpower of those on your list? From your boss to your spouse, mom or mom-in-law, kids, grandkids and all those folks in between, each can use a way to maximize their intellectual potential with brain healthy gifts that cover the full range of Body, Mind, Spirit activities that are part of our Total Brain Health Blueprint.
There’s something for everyone and every price point – even some suggestions that are free! Each suggestion is linked to make your shopping even easier.
Here’s to a holiday season full of many wonderful memories!
THE TOTAL BRAIN HEALTH 2016 BRAIN HEALTHY GIFT GUIDE
They Need to Move It, Move It. There is little question that one of the best things we can do for our brains is to move and keep on moving. Help motivate them to do just that with the gift of a fitness tracker, such as a Fit Bit or Garmin fitness tracker. A recent study found that fitness trackers may in fact contribute to increased longevity -- now that's a great gift!
Give the Gift of Brain Smart Eating. While many of us know what we must do to eat healthier, we still can find it hard to do so. One obstacle? The time it takes to plan, shop and prep for meals. This year, give the gift of brain smart eating through a gift subscription to a mail-order meal service such as Blue Apron or Hello Fresh, which provides all the fresh ingredients and recipes for a healthy, home-cooked meal. Or boost their brain health with a present that offers a bit of the Mediterrean-style eating that has been shown to potentially reduce memory loss, such as an olive oil gift set from one of our favorite vendors, Carter and Cavero.
Keep Their Heads Safe and Sleek. These days, everyone knows they need a helmet to protect their noggins during sports such as cycling, skiing and skateboarding. Help keep their heads safe while looking cool with a new helmet from Scott, known for their high safety ratings as well as their high style looks.
Kick Up Their Kendama. Changes in our reaction time, concentration, speedy Kendamathinking and coordination can be common with age. Research shows, however, that working out these important cogntiive skills can help keep them buff. Check out Kendama, a classical Japanese toy for all ages that challenges all those skills, and is fun besides. Choose a favorite style or color, or even customize one uniquely for them. Give one to everyone on your list and start your own Kendama competitions! Use the discount code: TBH2016 to receive 15% off your entire order at checkout!
Stretch Their Inner Sherlock. Here’s a gift certain to boggle the minds of even the brainiest on your list. The Sherlock, a new brain teaser game from Marbles the Brain Store, asks players to decode the puzzle using wooden rods and clues from cards drawn from the deck. Sherlock is a great challenge for short term memory and deductive reasoning, and handsome enough to sit on a work desk or coffee table.
Keep Better Track of Their Things. Losing important objects that we use frequently, such as our wallets or phones, can be incredibly frustrating, no matter who we are. Not to mention all the time we spend looking for them! Help them get better organized with a new strategy for remembering where things are with Tile. This tracking system uses an app and small tracking device to help locate all those things we seem to constantly be looking for, a much better solution to the question “have you seen my ….?”
Boost Their Self-Confidence. Our sense of efficacy, or confidence in ourselves, has been linked to many indicators of healthy aging, including memory performance. Give the gift of better confidence with an online personal development course through a popular online learning site such as Coursera or Udemy. Be sure to check out Udemy’s Sounds True course selections which include leading meditation and mindfulness instructors such as Pema Chadron and Jack Kornfield.
Offer Them More Mindfulness. Mindfulness meditation, which can range from deep breathing to ancient meditation practices, has been linked to increases in sustained attention, memory and overall cognitive performance, as well as improved emotional well-being. This season is the perfect time to give the gift of mindfulness, with options like the HeartMath monitor they can use with their smartphone or computer or a popular app such as Headspace.
Escape the Room Together. Social-based problem solving adventure games are fun ways to team up and use your collective know-how to find the solution to a puzzle or mystery. Invite your family and friends to join you for a Room Escape Adventure outing and have fun together.
A Few More Great Ideas!
Give In Their Honor. The holidays are a wonderful time to give to charity. Why not make a donation in a recipient’s name to those who are in need? Among our top choices are the Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, which funds early stage research in Alzheimer’s treatments.
Finally, A Brain Fitness Gift That Keeps On Giving. Why not give them the chance to keep on top of their brain fitness? Sign them up for our Total Brain Health Newsletter! They’ll get a great resource full of science updates, tips for getting brain healthy, and other information four times a year – and it’s free!
Happy Shopping!
Total Brain Health.