Arm yourself with memory fuel by having a stash of E6 Energy, for a full six hours of brain-boost. And another way to help yourself is to apply some of these proven-effective memory techniques, summarized below from our friends at Harvard Medical School.

1. Believe in yourself. Positive thinking pays off for memory. If you buy into messages about memory declining as you age, you’ll get what you expect.

2. Economize your brain use. Use aids like calendars and planners to store routine information. Put items you use frequently like your glasses and keys in designated locations. Free your brainpower for important uses.

3. Organize your thoughts. “Chunk” information into groups; e.g., it’s easier to remember hyphenated sections of a phone number. Remember grocery items by chunking into categories such as “breakfast” or “baking.”

4. Use your senses. Engage as many senses as possible when you are learning.

5. Similarly, use multiple brain regions to help you learn: read out loud, draw a picture, or make notes. Creating a visual helps you make information more precise.

6. Repeat information out loud – great for remembering names at holiday parties! After meeting someone new, say, “Vanessa, nice to meet you.”

7. Space out learning new information. Instead of cramming by repeating something many times in a short time, spread it out over time, e.g., once an hour, then every few hours, then once daily.

8. Use mnemonics. For example, in music the phrase, “Every good boy does fine,” helps you remember the lines of the treble clef: E, G, B, D, and F. You can also use stories to trigger memory.

So pick up a few of these tips, and don’t forget to pick up some E6 Energy memory-fuel your way through your holiday to-do list!

The hippocampus is located in the medial temporal lobe of the brain. In this lateral view of the human brain, the frontal lobe is at left, the occipital lobe at right, and the temporal and parietal lobes have largely been removed to reveal the hippocampus underneath.

Starting in your late 20s, your hippocampus, a part of your brain responsible for much memory formation and storage, reduces in volume at a rate of about 1% a year. This is also your nursery for new baby neurons, which help you learn.

The good news is that you have the power to help your brain work more youthfully. And the more you know about how it works, the more motivated you become to give it a leg up – as in getting some exercise.

Baby neurons in search of a job

Your brain cranks out new neurons throughout your life. Think of these new babies as drifting about in search of a job. When you learn something new, they go to work and make connections. When you repeat that task, they strengthen and reinforce, enhancing your ability in a specific skill.

Nimble-up your neurons at the gym

Exercise seems to help new neurons become more flexible in learning power. In studies, mice in enriched learning environments – with fancy mazes and toys but no exercise – showed less brain development than mice in boring environments who regularly took their exercise wheels for a spin. If you learn something as an exerciser, the new connections also grow a new ability to multitask. That means they can also help you learn something else, unrelated. That adds up to more brainpower.

The so-what test…

It’s not clear exactly how this happens or what type of exercise is required. But for now, if you’re in school or simply value being your best, be sure to prioritize exercise for brainpower, as well as physical fitness. Your workout should be right up there on your list, along with hitting the books.

And whether your in the library or the gym, baby your nascent brain neurons with a little E6 Energy, packed with essential amino acids and vitamins. It’s just brain-smart!

Photo source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus

But since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, why not start yourself and the whole family off with a brain boost using these foods, especially since the kids will be heading off for a long morning at school?

We found some smart breakfast recipes that will provide a lasting brain and energy boost to kids of any age. Rather than sugary cereals, these use ingredients like oatmeal and foods with high protein and fiber to create a slow rise in blood sugar and sustain it longer throughout the morning.

And as every egghead knows, eggs are considered an excellent brain food. The yolks contain choline, which helps your brain produce a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, important to memory. The protein in eggs helps even out your blood sugar, and research suggests eggs can improve cognitive performance. Time for backyard chickens?

Blogger-tested easy breakfast recipes

Here are some blogger-tested winners to try on your family, including make-ahead options for busy mornings. Let us know what you think and please post links to your fave breakfast-smart meals.

• Strawberry Banana French Toast Casserole – With whole grains, fruit, and plenty of protein.

• Make-Ahead Egg Wrap with Ham, Avocado & Salsa  – Lots of protein, whole grains, plus omega-3s for your brain.

• Crockpot Make-Ahead Apple Pie Oatmeal – Sounds decadent but you control the amount of sugar or other sweetener. Also microwaves well to warm up leftovers.

• Breakfast Egg and Avocado Tostada

The E6 6-hour backup

No matter how organized you are, some mornings you may find yourself racing out the door without a chance eat anything. Or, the bagel that’s convenient to grab is loaded with refined flour or sugar, which leaves you crashing a short time later. Keep a stash of E6 in your purse, backpack, desk, or locker so you can give your brain the key ingredients it needs to do the job until lunchtime. Unlike many of our competitors, E6 products are carefully formulated with well-researched amounts of caffeine and vitamins to give you what you need while protecting you from unnecessary overloads.

Photo: jeanetteshealthyliving.com

Play with your plastic brain

Your brain is actually highly plastic – it remodels. The properties of neurons change, as well as the connections between them. For example, just three weeks of learning to juggle produces obvious visible differences in brain scans.

So what, you ask? Well, in a way, you’re your own brain surgeon. The more you know, the more empowered you are to strengthen specific capabilities, plus understand and address issues like stress and burnout.

Stress builds your lower brain

According to Dr. Judy Willis, on prolonged stress, your brain protects you by activating your lower, reactive brain, which manages fight/flight survival responses. In turn, this weakens the power of your higher, reflective brain, the prefrontal cortex. The result? You have reduced ability to solve problems (like school work) and also are more emotionally reactive. If the stress continues, you suffer from burnout, where your brain is strongly rewired into survival mode. But, if you can step back from the stress, you have an opportunity to do some rewiring.

Wake up your higher brain – with success!

You know how much fun video games can be – how rewarding? They target you at the right skill level, give constant feedback, and let you rapidly progress based on success. To reset your brain and reawaken your higher brain, focus on the same sorts of process and goals that result in success. Success releases dopamine, and your brain on dopamine is happy.

Dr. Wills prescribes learning activities based on this model: achievable challenges at a level appropriate for your skills and frequent feedback with incremental progress rewarding success. These increase your motivation, curiosity, perseverance and memory, decreasing stress and ramping up the dopamine. So what do you love learning in the same way? Juggling lessons? Foreign-language conversation club? Just do it.

And remember, E6 Energy also contains dopamine-friendly vitamins B6 and B12 to help carry you through periodic stress.

Photo credit: Rad Jose, via Flickr and Creative Commons.

Down the drain?

Keep in mind that B vitamins are water-soluble – important for a couple of reasons: 1) Food sources of B vitamins are easily destroyed in storage and cooking, and 2) your body can’t store them well. They are easily excreted. Bottom line: You need a steady source of B vitamins to replenish them.

Signs your brain is B-low

If you’re low on B vitamins you may feel confused, irritable, nervous, tired, depressed, and have memory lapses. Over time, your brain may shrink – boo! (Countless other conditions cause these symptoms, too.)

Vitamin B6 (E6 Shot: 40 mg)

B6 has many functions, including helping your nervous and circulatory systems to purr along. B6 helps make neurotransmitters that affect your mood and are used for fat and protein metabolism. Good food sources are beans, legumes, meat, poultry, fish, fortified cereals, and some fruits, especially bananas, and vegetables including carrots and leafy greens. High doses of B6 can be toxic!

Vitamin B3 (E6 Shot: 20 mg)

B3 plays a major role in converting raw materials into energy. It’s your intracellular luggage porter and mail courier, moving things and messages along. For the brain, B3 may help reduce non-Alzheimer’s cognitive decline, as well as the risk of developing Alzheimer’s, by lowering levels of an amino acid called homocysteine. Mice on B3 have improved memory. Food sources of niacin include meat and dairy, sunflower seeds, peanuts, enriched whole grains, broccoli, avocados, tomatoes, dried legumes, and leafy vegetables.

Vitamin B12 (E6 Shot: 500 mcg)

B12 helps create red blood cells and nerve cells. B12 deficiency has long been tied to cognitive decline: “… brain scans reveal that those with signs of insufficient B12 are more likely to have shrinkage of brain tissue, vascular damage and patches of dead brain cells….”. Research suggests that B12 shortfalls may reduce the quality of nerve signaling.

Vegetarians, beware: B12 is found only in animal foods. Good sources include oysters and shellfish, fish, meats, liver, kidney, eggs, and dairy products.

Don’t forget – B vitamins need replenishment in your body. A great source of these 3 essential B vitamins is E6 Energy. Your brain will thank you.

Mr. Fresh is a wise guy, an opportunist who rolls his way across every chink in the sidewalk and slides through every cracked door you never noticed, a maker and taker – doing a little business every space and place I can on my terms — a handful of highly combustible material for certain choice bits on my radar.

I do the work, I get what I want, and I work out so my body tells a story and does the job. My advice to you: get cool, spearmint cool. Slide a slice of E6 Spearmint edginess into your mouth. Pull back your lips, suck in the breeze through your teeth, and feel clean fresh breath – the spearmint experience, the sp’erience. It’s bright, it bites, it’ll spin your head and wake up your face and your body to a new brand of a-c-t-i-o-n.

Two tips from Mr. Fresh to up your cool today, my man:

1. Be a leader. Say it like you see, and be it. Earn the respect.
2. Keep your friends’ backs. You need them.

Top Ten Signs You Needed E6 Spearmint this Week

10. You dumped Katy Perry by email.

9. You looked up pickup lines on the web.

8. You used Chris Brown as a reference.

7. You learned all you know about cool from Jaden Smith.

6. You sat through the entire Emmy Awards with your GF.

5. You forgot to recharge the battery.

4. You woke up with Lindsay Lohan, on the bunk in the next cell.

3. You forgot that cool attracts hot.

2. You still don’t get why chicks like Ryan Gosling.

1. You forgot to wear your lucky shorts, with the hidden E6 pocket.

Are you warming up to cool?

Stay tuned for more from Mr. Fresh; he’ll be making spontaneous appearances on our blog.

Without vitamin C, you eventually get scurvy and sort of fall apart, as the collagen that holds you together loosens up. (So if you feel like you’re coming unglued, maybe start your day with a little more orange juice? Yep, C may be a stress buster, too.)

What are vitamins?

We’ve all heard about the importance of vitamins – and probably have bought and taken a lot – but few of us understand what they are. Seriously, if you’re not a biochemist, how could you? Well, here are a few basics that everyone can get:

1. Gotta have em, gotta get em from outside: A vitamin is an organic (carbon-containing) compound required by the body, in limited amounts, that cannot be created by your own body.
2. Worker bees of the body: Vitamins help do vital work of the body; e.g., some act like hormones, and some truck around other chemicals or electrons where they’re needed. Vitamins are not a direct source of energy but are vital to functions. The 13 commonly recognized vitamins are classified based upon what they do.
3. Water- or fat-soluble: Fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K, and water-soluble are the 8 B vitamins and C. So what? Water-soluble vitamins are more easily excreted so they need to be replenished frequently. Fat-soluble vitamins linger in the body and are easier to overdose on. Yes, you can OD on vitamins, and the careful dosing of E6 Energy products to target what your body can actually use is an important benefit of our carefully formulated products.

Your brain on vitamins

Now that we’ve talked a bit about vitamins, next week we’ll explore how specific ones like B6, in E6 Energy products, can boost your brain power, especially when you’re on overdrive, say, sailing with three sheets to the wind?

Photo by Colin Dunn

Caffeine is considered a safe and reliable stimulant for most people, with pregnant and breastfeeding women among those who should avoid it. Research over shows that “the caffeine advantage” is real, particularly in counteracting the effects of sleep deprivation. Some immediate effects of caffeine seem related to expectancy rather physiology – but whatever works, works!

Your brain on caffeine

A central nervous system stimulant, caffeine affects brain neurotransmitters. By mimicking the role of a molecule called adenosine, which slows down the brain, caffeine fakes out your brain so adenosine can’t work its sleepy magic. Caffeine also increases the level of cortisol, from the adrenal glands, which the brain then balances out by producing more seratonin, a feel-good chemical. Caffeine also boosts dopamine, which has cognitive-increasing effects.

Performance booster

Caffeine may improve performance in many ways, from increasing memory to attention, visual tasks, and reasoning. Recent research shows it reduced mistakes in shift workers, with disrupted sleep patterns. Caffeine may also increase sports performance, which we’ll explore in more detail in coming weeks. It may boost muscle-power in elderly mice, although we’re not looking forward to meeting them at the gym.

A better source

Coffee is a tried and true pick-me-up for most people. But you can only drink so much coffee, and often when you need a lift, you don’t have access to coffee or the circumstances to drink it. Plus, side effects from excess caffeine can include sleeplessness, jittery feelings, and stomach upset. That’s why E6 Energy is a reliable option for delivery of a modest amount of caffeine – rather than the excess offered by some of our competitors.

Individualized reactions

Reactions to caffeine are individual and vary by gender, so it’s a good idea to notice what you’re ingesting and the effects until you have a sense of what’s best for you – and what is your set-point for peak performance.

Photo courtesy of Amy Lang