No worries, this is not a basic course on neurobiology. But understanding a few basics about the brain not only teaches us a bit more about how fascinating it is. We also understand why it’s so important to take care of our brain, and how this looks like.

Even Goethe knew: „It’s not enough to know, you have to do it.” Often enough, we know pretty well what is good for us, but we still don’t manage to change our behavior for good. The thing is: willpower is a very limited resource. To overcome this issue, the Braincare-Training comes with the code for making lasting changes with the help of routines, dopamine & co.

According to experts, getting enough sleep is the most important pillar of brain health. At the same time, sleep deprivation is an epidemic of our times. Studies indicate in Germany more than 40% of adults live with a chronic sleep deficit! For the US, this number is also estimated to be above 30%.

Often we compromise our sleep with habits we think are unproblematic – e.g. the glass of wine or the espresso after dinner, the intense exercise session at a late hour, reading on a screen in bed right before sleep… In some cases, the sleep issue goes deeper, e.g. when thoughts are spinning through your head at night for hours before you finally get back to slumber. During the session on #BetterSleep, we learn why sleep is so important, what consequences even a small sleep deficit has on brain performance, and most of all how we get better, i.e. deeper and more restorative sleep.

Exercise is another element pivotal to our brain’s health. We exercise to “clear our mind” and to reduce stress, we work towards that “runner’s high”, and research tells us exercise improves our cognitive abilities and performance. 

In this part, we take a closer look on what happens to the brain when we exercise, and what type of and how much exercise is recommended to achieve positive results for the brain. Just a heads-up: nobody needs to turn into a professional athlete for this. Quite the opposite. A little more exercise can already go a long way.

What do blueberrys, salmon and waltnuts have in common? They are excellent brainfood!

Our brain relies on getting proper fuel. The brain accounts for 2-3% of our body mass, yet it consumes around 20-25% of our daily energy supply. It needs vitamins, minerals and in particular essential fatty acids e.g. to produce cells, amino acids and neurotransmitters.

Nutrition is a topic so controversial it can easily lead to an intellectual whiplash. Thankfully, expert advice is very consistent when it comes to brainfood. In this session, we are looking into what type of foods our brain needs to function properly, and what is detrimental to brain health, at least at higher dosages. Besides plenty new insights, this session comes with many tipps which can be easily tried out in daily life and become part of your new routines.

We are often blown away by people who can remember countless facts seemingly effortlessly, speak 5 different languages, always ask the right questions, or are an endless source of creative ideas. But in fact we can all take our cognitive capabilities to new levels. That’s because of neuroplasticity – the ability of our brains to constantly evolve. 

Besides oxygen and glucose, information is a vital fuel our brains need to thrive. To enhance our cognitive and thinking skills, our brain needs new impulses, challenges, a few techniques and of course practice. In this session, participants get to know some of these techniques. Whether we want to improve memory, become more quick and agile in our thinking, or if we want to get better at strategic, creatice or critical thinking – there are no limits in how to train your brain! Let’s fire up those synapses!

Dazu braucht es neue Impulse und gezielte Herausforderungen, die richtigen Techniken und natürlich Übung. In diesem Modul lernen die Teilnehmer einige dieser Techniken kennen. Endlich weniger vergessen, agiler und schneller denken, oder auch strategisches Denken, kreatives Denken oder kritisches Denken fördern – das alles können wir angehen! Dafür lassen wir die Synapsen tanzen!  

There is a good reason why stress management, mindfulness and related techniques such as meditation, relaxation exercises or gratitude have gained so much interest and popularity in recent years. Study after study demonstrates their beneficial effects on both wellbeing and performance, and in fact their positive impact on the brain can be even measured. Meditation, for example, literally changes the physical structure of your brain.

In this session, we take a closer look on how mindfullness benefits the brain, how important breaks are in a busy daily schedule, and why being mindful with yourself and with others is key to performance and success. We are trying a number of techinques directly during the session and are building the basis for these tools to become part of daily routines in the participants’ lives.

We are social beings, and social connections to other humans are pivotal to brain health. At work, trust, recognition and belonging are key for the productivity and performance of leaders and employess alike. If these components are lacking, those affected will experience strong emotional stress resulting in frustration, anger and resignation, and this may ultimately lead to depression and burnout.

In this session, we are looking into how we can build and strengthen our connections at work based on trust, recognition and inclusion.