Brain training experts are warning that people all across the country will suffer from Festive Brain Drain this Christmas as we switch off our brains and stare at the TV.

Mental agility experts from brain training website http://www.cannyminds.com have issued a stark warning that 2010 might get off to a slow start as the British workforce struggle to restart their brains after the Christmas break.

Tim Forrester from Canny Minds said: “Festive brain drain is actually a threat to the successful start of 2010. Everyone deserves a break from work over Christmas but if we aren’t careful it could take at least a week for our brains to start firing on all cylinders at the start of the New Year.

“All is not lost however. There are some simple activities which are actually great fun that can also help keep our brains active over Christmas. For example, Crosswords and Sudoku’s are a great way of relaxing while keeping the brain active.”

Children suffer a similar brain drain sensation after the summer holidays. On average teachers say it takes over a month to get children re-focussed on school work following the summer holidays so any activity which helps keep their brains active will benefit their education greatly.

The best brain training activities to keep metal agility at its peak over Christmas include:

1. Challenging crosswords
2. Suduko
3. Nintendo DS Brain Training
4. Scrabble
5. Chess

Eight-time World Memory Champion and Canny Minds Memory Expert Dominic O’Brien said: “Just as you need to continually exercise your body to stay fit and healthy you also need to exercise your brain and memory to remain mentally agile.”

YOUTH TRIUMPHS AT UK MEMORY CHAMPIONSHIPS!

“I was absolutely terrified when I first arrived”
 says 15-year-old who beat World Champion
 
A new generation of Memory competitors achieved amazing results at the third annual UK Open Memory Championships, which took place over the weekend of 15th/16th August in London’s Strand Palace Hotel, sponsored by CannyMinds.com.

As expected, World Champion – and World Ranked Number One – Ben Pridmore (32) from the UK comfortably won the overall competition with a score of 6,447 Championship points. However, he didn’t have everything his own way…

Spectacular performance from 15-year-old Eva Ball

The results that rocked the Memory community were achieved by diminutive, but characterful Eva Ball (15) from Coventry. Early in July, having trained her Memory for only a few weeks, Eva came top in her school competition and then went on to win this year’s UK Schools Memory Championships. In this, her first World Ranked Memory Championships, Eva achieved a staggering two Silver Medals and a Gold. The Gold Medal was for the 5-Minute ‘Names and Faces’ discipline (this being the very first time she had competed in the event), where she correctly recalled 39, beating Ben Pridmore into 4th place. Eva’s Silver Medals were in ‘5-Minute Random Words’ where she scored 43, and in ‘15- Minute Abstract Images’. 

“For a first competition, her results were truly amazing” says 8 times World Memory Champion Dominic O’Brien.  “She obviously has a great future in the Sport.”

Says Eva:  “I was really pleased to have done so well.  I thought I was lucky winning the UK Schools Memory Championships in July, but when I was invited to come to the UK Memory Championships, I didn’t take it too seriously as I was going to be the youngest competitor and I thought I’d just be a novelty!  In the end I enjoyed every minute of it, as everyone was very welcoming, but I was absolutely terrified when I first arrived.  I was sure I was destined to come last!

“To actually beat the current World Champion in the ‘Names and Faces’ discipline was mind-blowing.  I had never competed in that subject before, but I found it quite easy really.  I must have the sort of brain that likes remembering things visually. 

“I’ve been asked if I am going to compete in the World Championships, which are also being held in London – in November.  I’m going to have to think about it, as I’ll be up against the world’s best and most competitive Memory brains – but it is a big temptation to see whether I, as a teenager, can beat any of them!”

Ameel Hoque (21) from the UK – World Ranked Number 44 – was originally introduced to Memory by a chance visit to his school some years ago by Dominic.  He beat twenty-five other contestants to take the Silver Medal position with 4,093 Championships points in just his third competition – his best score to date.  Florian Dellé from Germany, who has been competing since 2003, also achieved a personal best with a score of 3,035 to take the Bronze Medal position, and was also the top ranked Overseas Competitor in the competition.

The 2009 UK Memory Championships has a spectacular array of competitors (26 entrants from 13 countries with papers in 10 languages) – As a result the competition has outgrown the Bishop’s Room in Simpsons and it will now take place across the road into the Grenville Suite of the Strand Palace Hotel. The lectures will still take place in Simpsons, as will the prize ceremony.

The weekend timetable:

Saturday 15th August
09:00 Welcome and Opening
09:30 Random Words: 5 minutes memorisation / 10 minutes recall
10:00 Binary Numbers: 5 minutes memorisation / 15 minutes recall
10:30 Names and Faces: 5 minutes memorisation / 10 minutes recall
11:00 Decimal Numbers: 15 minutes memorisation / 30 minutes recall
12:30 End of day One – Seminars in Strand Palace Hotel Conference Centre.

Sunday 16th August
08:30 Welcome – Results of day one
08:45 Cards: 10 minutes memorisation / 20 minutes recall
09:30 Speed Numbers: 5 minutes memorisation / 15 minutes recall
10:00 Abstract Images: 15 minutes memorisation / 30 minutes recall
11:00 Historic and Future Dates: 5 minutes memorisation / 15 minutes recall
11:30 Spoken Number Trial One: 100 seconds memorisation / 5 minutes recall
11:45 Spoken Number Trial Two: 200 seconds memorisation / 10 minutes recall
12:00 Speed Cards Trial One: 5 minutes memorisation / 5 minutes recall
12:15 Speed Cards Trial Two: 5 minutes memorisation / 5 minutes recall
12:30 End of competition
18:30 Prize Ceremony

To understand what each Memory Discipline involves, click on this link http://www.fuzz2buzz.com/en/node/1054

Below is the press release regarding our sponsorship of the UK Open Memory Championships 2009.

It was announced today that brain training website www.cannyminds.com will be the title sponsors for the UK Open Memory Championships 2009.

This year’s championship will be held in London on 16th and 17th August at Simpsons in the Strand.

Cannyminds.com is the UK’s first web portal to offer a comprehensive selection of brain training books, games, DVDs, and audio books to challenge and stimulate the mind. The range includes language courses, board games, How To books and a reading & viewing group. The site also offers expert articles and advice on mental agility and challenging puzzles and quizzes developed especially for Canny Minds by Mensa’s puzzle editor.

Jenny Low from Canny Minds said: “We’ve been going to the gym for years to keep our bodies fit and healthy so it’s about time we all started putting the same effort into our mental fitness and agility.

“The guys who compete at the UK Memory Championship are some of the most intelligent people in the world but they have to put in enormous amounts of training to be the best. We are delighted to be sponsoring this year’s championship and look forward to announcing the champion in August.”

Chris Day, general secretary of event organisers The World Memory Council said: “This year’s memory championship is set to be fiercely competitive. As more people take brain training seriously we’ve found the standard of competition has improved dramatically.

“As the UK’s leading brain training website and online retailer www.Cannyminds.com is the perfect partner for the championship. Brain training isn’t just for the memory champions, it should be a part of everyone’s routine.”

To find out more about the UK Open Memory Championships visit www.worldmemorychampionships.com and to find out the latest news including the games schedule and up to date scores visit www.cannyminds.com.

They will find it easier to process the information and therefore more likely to perform the task.

Scientists believe it is because information heard by the right ear is processed by the left side of the brain which is more logical and better at making sense of requests than the right.

A team led by Dr Luca Tommasi and Daniele Marzoli from the University of Chieti in central Italy, addressed 176 people in either the right or left ear when asking for a cigarette in a nightclub.

They obtained significantly more cigarettes when they made their request in a person’s right ear.

Their findings are reported online in the journal Naturwissenschaften.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent, The Daily Telegraph

Click on the link to buy this book in the Cannyminds shop

Essential Manager’s Manual

How to Lead

Photo courtesy of lanuiop

Know your Audience

Who are your audience? Will they be interested in what you’ve got to say?
Are they new to the topic or do they already have an opinion on it?
How will you keep your cool if they disagree with you?
How old are they?

Organise your presentation

Start with an introduction. What are the objectives of your presentation? Are you passing on knowledge or making an argument?
Middle: Link your key points together.
End: With a conclusion. Draw together everything you have said and leave your audience with a definite message.

Use Good Visual Aids

They can make your presentation exciting and engaging.
Ensure everyone can see them and make sure they’re relevant.
Use Power Point sparingly; don’t use too many words and slides.
Try using pictures and diagrams.

Unforgettable Delivery

Practice at least once.
Speak clearly and with confidence.
Pauses are powerful! They give impact to what you say.
Make eye contact with your audience and smile!

Interested in this topic? Click here for other useful content related to this topic.

Visit the University of Warwick website

Photo courtesy of FJ Gaylor Photography