Brain Fitness for Women

I will be giving a live webinar about my book Brain Fitness for Women on Tuesday, March 6 at 2 PM Eastern Standard Time (11 AM Pacific). Click here to register: http://tinyurl.com/6pqd34v

Hope to see you then!

Do women fear they’re losing their minds? Oh, yeah.

That’s no surprise for most of us women. We experience it when we resist learning features on a new cell phone, overreact to a slow driver or forget the name of that awesome book we’re reading.

We feel out of control, trying to herd together everything we’re supposed to remember and do, so it doesn’t drift “out of sight, out of mind.” We worry that losing our minds is inevitable, from shifting hormones, aging, something we’re doing (or not doing to the terror of being stalked by Alzheimer’s, the mind eraser.

When I talk to women about my book, Brain Fitness for Women, they want to know the magic cure that will keep their minds going and going and going …

But the truth is: going and going and going is why you feel like you’re losing your mind.

You are under insane stress from information overload. Sure, it’s true for both men and women in much of the world. But women are also deluged with what I call expectation overload. Magazine covers exhort women to lose weight, get organized, cook smart, parent well, stay young and of course, become more fit and beautiful.

You don’t realize how all this overload (both from information and expectations) affects your brain. Reactions include forgetting, being testy and difficulty learning — the brain is staging protests and going on strike because it can’t “do it all.”

Check out the rest of my blog on Huffington Post... and let me know what you think!

Thousands of copies of my new Brain Fitness for Women await their marching orders in the Conari Press warehouse. I’m excited to get my copy, absolutely. Though what really excites me will be helping women sustain their brains–while they live in a world that makes insane demands for their attention.

I wrote this book because I wanted to support women who beat themselves, and their brains, up.

“Erg, I forgot how to compare documents in Word. I’m so stupid, you showed me last month.”

“Let’s go have some dinner at noon. Shoot, I meant lunch–my brain is getting old.”

“I can’t be-lieeeeve I didn’t bring my make-up to put on after we work out. I remembered all my other stuff–sports bra/shirt, clean undies, hairdryer, round brush, deodorant, shampoo, flip-flops, towel, and that new leave-in hair gel. Why didn’t I bring it?”

Women think our brains should be infallible. We know that we’re smart, capable, curious, and learning. But we don’t remember that our brains eventually reach their limit in this world that asks so much, so often, so fast. Then our central processing units can’t help but go on a wildcat strike.

Our poor little brains. They have to orchestrate everything: muscles, hormones, digestion, mood, speech, sleep, memory, dreams, compassion, emotions, actions, and stress. All of those functions can suffer trying to keep up with higher and higher expectations–at work, home, beauty, fashion, parenting, décor, money management, technology, entertainment… and tons more.

Now, it’s not just the expectations of the world that stress our brains. They also have to deal with the plusses and pitfalls of being female, particularly hormones that rise and fall. And the brain really misses it when the wonder-hormone, estrogen, leaves around menopause.

With all our brains have to do, we can’t take them for granted. So start by having compassion for their amazing efforts. Then give your brain what it really wants: good food, exercise, stimulating challenges, connections with others, time in nature, and rest. Treat your brain like you would a new lover—nice dinners, long walks on the beach, interesting movies, engaging conversations, and time just to be, doing nothing.

Taking care of your brain can change your life.

I’ll be sharing ways to sustain your brain in upcoming posts, but here are a few for right now:

• A bite of that chocolate you’re craving will boost your cognitive function
• Give your brain a glass of water in the morning—it’s more thirsty than hungry when you wake up
• Forget multitasking—the brain can only process one thing at a time

Do you think your brain is overloaded? Let me know. What stresses and relaxes your brain?  Keep reading for more juicy tips on how to sustain your brain, and your life.

Brain Fitness for Women will be out in January–though Amazon should have them in time for the winter holidays. My wonderful publisher, Conari Press, is sending the galleys out to magazines, so things are bubbling up.

I’ll include tips on how to make your brain more… brainy–aware, capable, and relaxed. My top hints are:

• Exercise (it actually pumps your brain so it can be smarter)
• Fish oil (the fats your brain really uses to connect neurons)
• Vitamin d (low levels can be related to depression and lower cognitive abilities)
• Stop moving (meditation taps the part of your brain that’s much bigger than your thoughts)

Let me know what helps you love your brain!
~Sondra