When it comes to the brain, simple yet easy to make juices can make a lot of difference. These juices not only improve your memory, but are of great help to the cognitive functions as well. While green tea is a known component of increased brain function, there are other drinks too, which can charge your brain over the long term if consumed daily:

Beet juice: Apart from being a nutritional powerhouse, beet juice is a great source of nitric acid. The latter helps with blood flow in the body. A smooth blood flow, on the other hand, helps the brain in functioning properly. A study has found that people who consume beet juice have an increased circulation in the white matter resulting from an increased brain activity. This juice is sweet in taste and can be consumed every alternate day.
Berry Smoothies: Acai is a fruit which has a South African origin and hits the top of the list when it comes to brain assisting food. It increases the flow of the blood and dilates the blood vessels. However, this is extremely expensive. Berries also have a similar effect on the brain, but they are less powerful in nature. What can be done is to mix a little ingredient of Acai in frozen berries juice and drink the same every day. Frozen berries retain the freshness and the nutritional benefits. This drink will improvise your brain and increase blood flow in the body.
Pomegranate juice: Pomegranate is a great antioxidant and it very aptly limits the free radicals from damaging the brain cells. Antioxidants are also credited with increased blood flow and protection of the heart. A healthy cardiovascular system is synonymous to an increased brain function. What is surprising is the fact that Pomegranate has more antioxidant content compared to red wine and green tea. Pomegranate juice can be consumed daily during the morning or afternoon.
Carrot juice: Carrot is known for its healthy components that are beneficial for the eyes. Recent studies have revealed that they are great for the brain too. Like other colored vegetables, they are a great source of antioxidant and have a high content of beta-carotene. Carrot juice can reduce the inflammation of the brain cells and improve memory. Carrot juice is not at all bitter and the same can be consumed every alternate day after your meal.
Cocoa: A Harvard study revealed that two cups of cocoa on a daily basis greatly helps a person in improving memory. Cocoa contains flavanols that keep the blood pressure normal and relaxes the blood vessel linings. Cocoa is also known to be a great antioxidant agent that limits the free radical to affect the brain cells. Cocoa should not be overloaded with sugar and should be consumed hot before starting your day.

5 Super Brain Drinks that Boost Your Memory

Just as children grow at different speeds, they respond to a speech therapist at different paces. Some children may need only one or two classes to master a sound, while others may need much longer. Some of the ways to make working with a speech therapist more productive are:

Have Clear Goals: When a speech therapist enters your family, the parents, therapist and child should have the same goals. Therapy would not help if the parents and therapists wanted to focus on different things. For example, the parents might be concerned with the child s vocabulary while the therapist may want to focus on articulations. Similarly, if the child does not understand the goal, he or she may not show much improvement. Ideally, a goal should be clear, measurable, realistic and be associated with a time frame. It should also be challenging but not out of reach.
Homework: A therapist has a limited amount of time to spend with the child. A majority of this time must be spent in learning something new each session. However, this will not be possible unless the child has made progress since the last class. Hence, it becomes important for the therapist to give the child homework and for the parents to oversee this. Video tutorials can be very helpful here. This helps parents know exactly what the child is supposed to practise.
Trust: A speech therapist may be an outsider to the family but he or she must be trusted to do their job in the way they think best. Very often, parents and therapists may not have the same views about how the child should be taught. Here, it is important to remember that the therapist is the expert and knows what he or she is doing. This is another reason why it is important to set clear goals together at the onset of therapy.
Speak Up: While the therapist may be an expert on how to build vocabulary and improve speech patterns, parents are experts on their child. Thus, it is important to communicate openly with the therapist. Answering therapist questions honestly can help him or her assess where the problem lies and in turn address it. Similarly, if you have questions, do not be afraid to speak to your therapist about them. Share the child s progress and changes that you have noted so that the therapist can adjust the lessons accordingly. 

Tips To Make The Speech Therapy More Effective!

A traumatic injury refers to a serious brain injury that affects all the aspects of a person including his or her personality. This may be the result of a severe fall, a car accident, firearms etc. Unlike an injury to the arm or leg, no two traumatic injuries have the same effect. These injuries also do not heal like other injuries.

There are many different kinds of treatment options available for traumatic injuries. Initially, treatment aims at stabilizing the individual and assessing the scope of the injury. Acute treatment is used to minimize secondary injuries. In many cases, surgery is also required to prevent secondary injuries and to help maintain a steady flow of oxygenated blood to the brain. This relieves the internal swelling and pressure. It also minimized additional damage to brain tissue. Most patients also need rehabilitative care to get back to their normal life.

Surgical treatment is usually advised in the case of a traumatic head injury. However, in the case of internal brain injuries, this may not be the first preference. In such cases, an intracranial pressure monitoring device or a bolt is implanted to monitor pressure levels in the brain. Only then surgery may be required to drain bleeding in the skull cavity and to repair the torn tissues. Blood clots or hematomas will also need to be removed surgically. Sometimes, surgery may also be required to create a window in the skull so as to relieve internal pressure.

In severe cases, if there is extensive tissue damage, the damaged portion of the brain may be surgically removed. This creates space for the healthy brain tissue to heal. In the case of an open brain injury, surgery is the first course of treatment. In such cases, the doctor s first sim is usually to repair the fractured skull and remove damaged tissue. This minimizes pressure on the brain and also helps prevent secondary infections and injuries.

These surgeries are generally performed while the patient is under general anaesthesia. Recovering from a traumatic brain injury takes time and hospitalization is usually required for a few weeks. Once the injury has healed considerably, rehabilitation is then required to relearn basic skills. This may begin as an inpatient procedure and later be transferred to an outpatient exercise. The duration and type of rehabilitation required vary from case to case and depends on the type and severity of the injury. 

Does Surgery Help In Treating A Traumatic Injury?

OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder, which can be indicated through obsession, having pervasive thoughts or thoughts, which may upset you, having certain compulsions, and practicing certain rituals, which may help to control or manage your obsessions. It is a disorder, which cannot be cured, but can be controlled with the help of treatment. Mostly, OCD is considered to be a lifelong disorder. It often circulates around the fear of germs or sickness and around keeping order and maintaining patterns. A person suffering from OCD can often be extremely annoying. Hence here are a few tips you can use to deal with OCD:

1. Understand OCD: The first step towards dealing with OCD is to know what you have to deal with. Gather as much information as you can about OCD and also read up about how you can overcome it. You need to know the symptoms of OCD so you can identify the disorder. Almost everyone suffers from OCD at one point of their lives. Hence, it is extremely important to understand OCD in order to treat it.

2. Work with your compulsions: Do not get petrified about your compulsions if you are planning to overcome your OCD, instead work with them. Try not to encourage their development. If you are worrying about whether you have switched of the lights, try and develop a mental picture of you doing it. If you are able to get a clear picture, then you have, otherwise you can go and switch it off. Another option is to maintain a list where you tick off the activity once you have done it so that you don't have to worry about it later on. 

3. Maintain a journal: Maintaining a journal will help you curb your fears and negative thoughts. Write down all your obsessive thought and reflect on how they are affecting you and whether they are worth your worry or time. Gradually you will see that you are able to control these thoughts and will be able to push away any negativity which comes along with them.

4. Remind yourself about the good in you: Make this your regular practice. Do not undermine yourself, instead make yourself feel good. This will help you to get over the fact that you have done something wrong in your daily activities (like not turning the gas off when you actually have) and that wrong is going to harm people.

Chronic OCD will require therapy and medical assistance. Hence if you are able to detect the signs at an early level and are able to adopt the above measures to control it, then going to a doctor might not be necessary.

Tips to Deal With Ocd

Do you have someone who is passive-aggressive in your life? Perhaps your parents, your siblings, your partner or your friends? It can be difficult to handle such a person. When two people, who are having a healthy relationship with each other are angry with each other, they show anger, they say that they are upset, they discuss things and sort things out. There are so many different ways to express anger. But when it comes to a person with passive-aggressive behaviour, it is not going to be the same when they are angry. This is basically a way to express anger indirectly, as they are unable to or uncomfortable to express their feelings and anger openly.

They need help, and it is you who will be able to help them get out of this pain or anger. Here are six steps to changing someone's passive-aggressive behaviour:

When there is an argument going on between both of you or when one of you is angry, do not say something or do something negative. This will make them shut down completely and they will never open up. It may also happen that the situation gets worse. So, take some time and calm down.
Do not go for any guesswork. You are trying to help someone to get over his/her passive-aggressive behaviour. You need to know what they actually feel. So, ask them how they feel and if they have anything to say about it. This can help them open up.
Brainstorming can be one of the best steps. Yes, if you think that you often argue on some common point, then you need to come up with a solution for it first. Ask for their opinion, make a list of all the points and try to make it as detailed as possible.
Check out the pros and cons of your opinions. When you are done with brainstorming, you need to consider each opinion or decision you made in order to make sure that both of you are comfortable with it.
Choose a win-win situation. In other words, pick up those solutions which make both of you happy.
Execute your opinion or plan and evaluate if it is working for you. If plan A does not work for you, then you can still consider the other options that you left behind to draft a plan B.
Communication is very important and when you are able to communicate well, you will be able to get what you actually need. You should start to think that your feelings are valid and learn to enjoy how good it feels when others value your feelings. Open up and talk!

Passive Aggressive Nature - 6 Things You Can Do To Help!

Did you know that almost all of your nerves converge in your feet and that your foot is the most sensitive part of the human body? Did you also know that if there are any complications to your body, then the feet can show the symptoms indirectly? Science has time and again proved this and it is high time that you give the adequate care for your feet.

This is nowhere explained better than in ancient Ayurveda, where it emphasises the importance of foot massage and the need to strengthen the nerves. Ayurveda has a long traditional foot massage therapy called as  Padabhyanga  which can be traced back to more than 5000 years. The foot massage with essential oils would improve blood and lymphatic circulation, nourishes the skin, and calms the restless mind.

Foot massaging can relax the muscles of the feet and legs, it can also help in relieving stress and anxiety. Just like how the tree gets their nourishment from their roots, channelling a proper foot massage can rejuvenate the entire mind and body.  Let us look at in detail.

What is Padabhyanga?

The word Padabhyanga comes from the two Sanskrit words  Pada+abhyanga   Pada  means foot and  Abhyanga  means massage. It is one of the most calming and soothing massage therapy and can keep your mind and soul revitalised if done in a proper way. Participating in this massage therapy daily can allow you to release the clogged energies.

3 Types of Padabhyanga Massage:

The massage can be segregated into three different types as detailed below.

Padabhyanga with hand: This type of massage is the fundamental form of massage and is basically done by your hand in the rubbing and stroking of foot. The heat is generated by it and the cardiovascular circulation gets activated. The massage uses sesame seed oil generally and in some cases even herbal infused oil is also used for a better cure.
Padabhyanga with kasa bowl: In this type of massage, a Kasa bowls with oil coating are wormed. Then the bowl s round surfaces are used to massage the foot and sole in a circular motion. The kasa bowls are generally made of copper and tin. Massaging in such a manner can eliminate toxins and it can also release negative energies from your body.
Padabhyanga marma therapy: This type of therapy is very similar to acupuncture, where the pressure points of your feet are activated. These are called as marma points and special care is taken to make sure that these marma points are activated by pressing them over a small period of time. The therapy releases negative energy and relaxes your mind with rejuvenation.

Foot Massage - How It Can Help Relieve Stress?

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