The summer holiday is upon us. It’s time to take a break from school to enjoy a dip in the pool or take a nice family vacation. For a few sweet months, the summer holiday allows us to forget about schedules and stop rushing around. However, as you enjoy the warm summer heat, it’s essential to keep your mind sharp to avoid summer brain drain.
According to Ayn Rand, research indicates many kids experience learning losses when they return to school in the fall (aka brain drain). These summer setbacks are cumulative and can result in increasing levels of learning loss over time.
Here are a few tips to keep your mind sharp and improve academic performance this summer holiday.
Read, Read, Read
Reading is one of the best ways for you to maintain and grow your brain. Be sure to make time for daily reading. Consider creating a summer reading list for your children. Take your family to the library or let them choose books at a local book fair.
Be sure to select books that will keep them engaged while stretching and challenging their brain. Choose books that encourage learning. Best of all, you can even take your books on trips and holidays.
As your child reads, it will create new neural pathways, as well as strengthen existing ones! According to the 2015 Scholastic reading Report, on average, children who read over 20 minutes a day scored above the 90th percentile on standardized reading tests. And research shows that reading just six books during the summer may keep a struggling reader from regressing.
Take a Technology Vacation
Given the accessibility, it’s hard to escape the inviting allure of our tablets, phones, laptops, TVs, and other visual devices. In fact, a recent study has revealed that the average person spends an average of 90 minutes a day on their phone. While this may not sound like a great deal of time, it amounts to 23 days each year.
A technology vacation is just what you need to refresh your synapses. Whether you take a long break for several days, or a few shorter breaks each week, it will free up extra time to enjoy other healthy activities.
Once you turn your smart device off, consider learning a new activity, cooking a new meal, exploring nature, or visiting a local museum. Consider banning your smartphone and other devices from the bedroom. This small nightly break from technology can lead to improved sleep, cognitive function, communication skills, and job performance.
Exercise Your Brain
You are never too old to challenge and shape your brain! Regardless of your age, new and complex activities are great brain exercises. Benefits to challenging your brain include improved memory, focus, mood, and much more.
Brain games are designed to help keep your brain sharp. They are designed to help you sharpen your problem solving skills, discover patterns, and reach goals are extremely effective for brain enhancement. They also help to prevent cognitive decline.
Move, Move, Move
We all know that exercise improves our physical fitness, but staying in shape can also boost our brainpower. Scientific research conducted over the last several decades has revealed that exercise not only benefits our bodies – but our minds as well.
Exercise doesn’t have to be boring. Make it fun. Whether it’s a game of rigorous tag with your children or a nice jog around the block, physical activity allows for increased fuel delivery to the brain. Exercise also strengthens the connections between nerve cells and decreases the harmful effects of stress on the brain.
The Brain Workshop Summer Brain Drain Program
Our Summer Brain Drain program is designed to help your children stay fresh and sharp so they will be ready to go back to school. With several different options, to meet the needs of your summer holiday:
- Accelerated Program (July – August) – Designed for students of all ages, this program will dramatically strengthen your child’s skills to prepare them with sharper brains, greater confidence, and bigger personalities. Length of the program is determined by assessment results.
- Taster Program (July – August) – Give your child’s brain a workout with our one to two week taster program. This short cognitive program is designed to give the brain a good mental sweat.
- Rubik’s Cube (July – August) – Sometimes the classics are the best, and what better way to challenge the brain than with the iconic rubik’s cube? With three levels, lasting eight days each, our rubik’s cube exercises improve hand-eye coordination, concentration and problem solving abilities, spatial awareness, and develops patience, determination and persistence.
If you are interested in learning more ways to increase your cognitive function or would like to register for our Summer Brain Drain program, contact a member of our team today.
