Presentation delivered by Alvaro Fernandez at the Vancouver JCC, on November 3rd, hosted by Eaton Arrowsmith. Description: Just like the rest of our body, the brain requires care, attention and proper exercise. Yet, we often ignore this most vital organ because few know where to begin. Based on The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: How to Optimize Brain Health and Performance at Any Age, named a Best Book by AARP, co-author Alvaro Fernandez will discuss exactly how to “use it or lose it,” offering a ground breaking new approach to harness neuroplasticity and improve brain health and performance at any age, from children to younger and older adults.

1. Alvaro Fernandez in Vancouver
SharpBrains.com
November 3rd, 2016

2. What do you see?

6. WHAT
WHY
HOW

7. WHAT

9. Name the color of each word

14. WHY

18. Improve
performance
Delay
disease

19. Examples
AGE
PERFORMANCE
25 50 75 100
PERFORMANCE
AGE

20. ① Lifelong
neurogenesis and
neuroplasticity
② Cognitive reserve
③ Digital innovation

21. We need a new mindset and toolkit
Content transfer
Physical fitness
Disease treatment
Education
Leadership
Health
Fitness
Health

22. HOW

24. Healthy socialization

25. No need to be a
car mechanic, but…

26. Cells that fire together
wire together

27. Remember this list
CANDY
SOUR
SUGAR
TASTY
HONEY
CHOCOLATE
EAT
CAKE

28. Which words were on the list?
BITTER
CAKE
HAMBURGER
FLOUR
SWEET
PUMPKIN
NEWSPAPER
BAT

32. Regulating Stress
32
‘Stress – the adverse reaction people have to excessive
pressures or other types of demands placed on them’
There is a clear distinction between pressure, which can
create a “buzz” and be a motivating factor, and stress,
which can occur when pressure becomes excessive.

33. What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way:
On purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness is the balanced, on-going attention to what is happening
(physically and mentally), including the mind’s perceptions and
reactions to what is happening Sylvia Boorstein

34. 34
Debunking the Myths
• Mindfulness is not a religion
• You don’t have to sit cross legged on the floor
• It does not take a lot of time
• You do not try to empty your mind
• You do not have to live in a monastery
• Its not complicated but it is difficult
X

35. Travel back to a time
– Index: when you felt a healthy exhaustion
– Middle: loving exchange
– Ring: most caring gesture you have ever
received
– Little: most magnificent place you have seen
Source: Five Good minutes, by Jeffrey Brantley

36. Re-framing
I really don’t want to do this
This is a disaster
I can’t afford the time to sort this out
Why does this always happen to me?
Why can’t they get their act together?
Everything’s going wrong
I haven’t got a clue what my objectives are
This will be fine
I’m sure it will work out – it usually does
I can’t afford NOT to sort this out
Its not just me – let me sort it out
What can I do?
I need to break the problems down
I need to set the direction for my team
Problem Mindset Action Mindset

37. Mental activity
vs. mental exercise
Source: Maguire, Woollett, & Spiers, 2006

38. Five conditions to maximize transfer
To maximize real-world value of training…
1. Target neural processes that support real-world
activities
2. Minimum “dose” of ~15 hours of training per
targeted improvement
3. Address an individual’s bottleneck/ deficit
4. Adaptive challenge
5. Continued practice
Source: The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness

39. “Be the change
you want to see in the
world”
“The best way to
predict the future is to
invent it”
@alvarof
SharpBrains.com

40. To learn more, visit sharpbrains.com