Go Big in Your Own Backyard

42 To Do’s

Your holi-yays are in full swing now!

How are you all going?

Have you found some inspiration on the 42 TO DO’s list yet?

In this next article we are going to explain why each of the activities on this long list are brilliant for your beautiful brains. We have gathered some of what neuroscience has to say about the benefits of what you are getting up to over the summer break.

Many of the 42 activity suggestions could easily be popped under more than one of the good reasons below, because great activities cannot be squeezed into just one box.

We’ve put together these smart snippets knowing that little fascinating factoids can lead to more motivation and bigger brainier benefits during this summer break!

Let’s take a look…

First how we make memories, then how we reminiscence…

#1. One Second Every Day
#2. Time Capsule
#17. Movie Theatre
#20. Go to Work
#32. Train Ride
#39. Memory Lane
#42. Oddball Holiday Calendar

How we make new memories is an incredible process. How our brains keep them is just as amazing. If we know a little more about the inner life of our memories we might find we also know a little more about looking after our memory keeper – our brains.

Storing memories requires a healthy plastic brain. Plastic simply means able to change. Holding onto memories involves not just protecting them from physical changes to the brain, but also from future real and even imagined memories. Your new memories can shape your old memories and your old memories can shape your new ones – how brain bending is that!

A change-able brain, whatever its age, likes to feed on: fun times; new experiences; love; water; challenges; outdoor play; trust; dancing; music; fruit and veg snack plates; exercise; oily fish (add a little anchovy to that movie night pizza); relaxation; deep sleep; and dazzling dreams.

There are two funny little, but super important, parts of your brain when it comes to memories. Here are some clues, can you work out what they might be called?

They are shaped like a seahorse, and their name reminds you of a weird combination of an awesome African animal and an outback holiday adventure…the hippocampi!
In Alzheimer’s Disease they are the first area seen to suffer damage. They are a birthplace of braincells. They are astounding! They are so important, how can you look after them? Exercise, eat well, and enjoy brain games – challenge your Family in the best way!

Once sparked we see in brain scans that parts of our memories are stored in lots of different areas of our brains. A good example might be a memory of going to a local fair. You drive past and see show rides being set up on an oval somewhere, or taste some fairy floss, or smell pop corn and areas of your emotional brain involved in excitement, joy and happiness light up. Then all these memories of that awesome day you had at the fun fair pop into your head. All of those different brain areas for remembering the sights, the smells, tastes, spinning rides, laughter, sideshow music, silly prizes…are coming to the brain party. When we try and retrieve these memories later, even say 60 years later, it can be helpful to let all the sensory and emotional parts of the memory have their chance to see what they might spark up as well.

By deliberately doing special things together, that are fun and bring happiness, you lay the foundation for the memories that define Family in the future. You drive the power of the connection of those memories through the overarching emotions and unique sensory experiences within each moment as well. Moments you can tap into through the simple smell of fresh popcorn, even long after you think your GG - Great Grandma – has forgotten.

Flow states

#3. LEGO Masters
#13. Book Club
#18. Origami
#26. Playlists
#40. Marble Run

Psychologist and researcher Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi is a Hungarian-American best known for his masterworks defining the science of flow states. Flow is that powerful feeling when you totally lose track of time as you are completely immersed in an activity. Some describe it as being ‘in the zone’. We may all be happiest when we are in this state of flow. We might get there working out a maths problem, creating an artwork, climbing a mountain, doing athletics, surfing or reading a captivating novel…almost any activity you can name has this flow potential. It is where the degree of challenge is a perfect match for how prepared you are for the task at the time.

There are EEG and fMRI studies looking at the areas of the brain that are activated during flow states. There are some fascinating overlaps within this area of research and studies examining when people produce alpha brain waves. Alpha brain waves are associated with the feeling of being ‘relaxed and ready’, and with our abilities to self-regulate, relax, remember, process visual information, express our intellect and creativity. There is some evidence that reveals activities like LEGO, colouring in, origami, making mandalas, meditation, yoga, and even closing your eyes to imagine can increase alpha activity – indeed these are the sorts of activities we can ‘get lost in’.

QEEG’s are amazing and accessible functional neuroimaging studies that can determine your production of alpha brain waves, and all the other brainwaves your brain should be producing at the right time for the right task.

Working with your hands works wonders on the brain

#4. Build Something
#8. Upcycle
#12. Traditional Skills
#27. Fishing
#34. Backyard Mini Golf

As the technological advances of our age continue to increase have our abilities to work skilfully with our hands taken a nosedive? We run a big risk underestimating the brain developing powers of working with our hands and spending purposeful time on traditional skills.

The combination of eye, hand and brain co-ordination found working with your hands has been described as a bright and ‘perfect intellectual and emotional constellation’. Possibly because such massive amounts of our brain are dedicated to movement and our bodies, and these large motor areas have deep and strong connections to the parts of our brains used for sensing, thinking and feeling.

Doing activities like knitting, wood carving, gardening or other busy handy work gives the parts of the brain that you use constantly for reading, writing, maths, thinking, and working on strictly cognitive tasks a well-earned break. But, here’s the most intriguing thing…during these enjoyable pursuits, when you have the relaxed and welcome feeling that the ‘thinking about a problem’ parts of your brain are ‘offline’, they can actually be working through to the lightbulb solution moment, just in another way.

During these types of activities, there is a measurable change in neurochemicals and the communication (brainwaves) within the brain. The type of neurochemicals produced can have such a powerful relaxing effect they have been described as ‘behaviourceuticals’. These activities can boost serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin and this can then lower stress, decrease anxiety and improve mood.

These activities also finish with a sense of real accomplishment – you have made something! Learning how to build something from scratch, redesigning something using a new technique, or learning how to make something useful - carries great value for hearts and for heads. Working your way to your end product carries with it what science calls ‘effort-based rewards’. These old ways are being studied in greater depth and there are profound insights for drug-free treatments for depression, anxiety and building day-to-day resilience.

The neuroscience of innovation

#5. Innovate
#15. Family code
#16. Take a class together
#36. Podcast

Innovating and inventing are not abilities limited to the few that pass the difficult tests to enter the Institute of this or that. All the time spontaneous imaginative ideas stem from annoying impracticalities, random light bulb moments, daydreams, common sense solutions to real world problems, or big bright ideas. There are even researchers that argue that real innovation only happens in the collective human brain – that it takes lots of brains together for big new things to happen, even though just one brain may be credited with inventing the new ‘thingamabob’ or ‘doovalacky’.

We can all cultivate the brainy powers required to invent something or innovate. It is all about using your creative smarts with the goal of being useful. A lot of what is going on in the mind of an inventor is like dot-to-dots, they are imaginatively connecting their collection of brain dots or ideas. The parts of your brain involved in: memory; abstraction; creativity; problem solving and mental imagery, will all get exercised during an inventing or innovating session. You will be bringing together concepts you already know and those you are inspired to find out more about to solve a dilemma or realise a dream.

It will be important to wake up your child-like mind, to approach things with a fresh and wide way of thinking. Doors and windows of thought will start to open in ways you never dreamed possible. Just thinking about thinking about inventing something can make you excited to get to the drawing board!

Activities that invite you to learn new skills, investigate the unknown, dive into the extra-ordinary, and challenge you to put something very different to use - all help to fire off your ‘Oh wow’s!’ and your ‘A-ha’s!’. The brilliant thing about lighting the spark of fascination is that it starts that cascade of connecting the dots. This new inventive mindset can make future new learning more interesting, engaging and easier. The more brain dots you have to connect the easier it is to see the big picture.

Brain Synchrony and Creativity

#10. Cooking Game
#31. Portraits
#33. Sand Sculptures
#41. Art Trail

Creativity is a complex concept. There are beautiful brain pictures that try to describe the differences between the complex functions of the left and right brain, of all of these amazing constructs these ones from Mercedes Benz are a favourite:

https://www.creativityatwork.com/2012/04/09/mercedes-benz-uses-whole-brain-thinking/

Like the slogan ‘whole brain thinking’ – we know now creativity is not limited to right brain activity. There are identifiable differences in artistic creativity and scientific creativity for starters. Then there is the understanding of whole brain synchrony.

When you think of brain synchrony it brings to mind a sparkling neuron symphony. There is evidence to support that creativity has more to do with how well areas of the brain that usually operate separately can communicate with one another. Large brain areas that usually go about their big solo jobs in these large networks start working altogether when we create, the:

Executive for planning, thinking, working memory, organisation, self-control, motivation.
Default mode for daydreams, reminiscing, self-reflecting, thinking about what others think.
and the Salience system for selecting what deserves our attention.

Some interesting studies show that those with strengths in artistic creativity show greater activity in the salience network, while those with scientific creativity more excitement is seen in the executive control network.

Regardless of any lengthy paper, you could read on creativity this or creativity that…the most important thing for brains is creativity itself. We can teach brain areas to communicate more effectively with neurofeedback therapy and on our own, we encourage these brain networks to work together when we create. So, let your mind wander, pick up the cold charcoal from the campfire last night and draw that portrait of your Mum, take a bit of driftwood and sketch out mandala circles on the beach, make up a song and sing it in the shower. Creativity is key to awesome whole brain power!

Connectedness to nature

#6. Clean the World
#9. Earth Pets
#19. Botanical Garden
#24. Garden Diary
#25. Forest Bathing
#29. Wild Time

There is something bigger than our brains with this one. The world needs to rewild. We need to rewild. Breathe with Sir David Attenborough and rewild yourself in an old forest that can show you the way. Spend slow time in a green space you like and feel uplifted and reconnected.

Forest Bathing, with its origins in Japan as Shinrin Yoku, has gained worldwide attention through long periods of research with lots of different types of people, and it shows benefits including: reduced anxiety; improved heart rate variability; calming the nervous system; reducing blood pressure; and boosting mood. Closer to home our own garden gnome genius – Costa – explains how when we get grubby we get the chance to grow positivity, and improve our mental health.

Research beyond the original connectedness to nature index studies with kids, reveals the stronger your connection to nature the more likely you are to demonstrate behaviours that protect your natural environment and promote feelings of wellbeing and positive mental health.

Deep down within we all know we need to be in nature more. Our brains have not changed much since that of our hunter gatherer ancestors, not much at all. We need many of the same conditions as them to be well, but just think about how different our lives are. Some experts, like Dr Stephen Ilardi, would argue the epidemics of depression, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other modern human diseases are related to this deep disconnect with our natural world. So be barefoot, get grubby, go green, move naturally and re-wild your family.

Challenge, overcoming fear and building a bigger brain

#14. Up to the Highest Heights
#28. Local Rec Centres
#38. Weird, Wacky & Wonderful Museum

Brains grow and brains shrink. Brains get thick and brains get thin. A very young brain can grow up to 1000 new neural connections every second! At the other end, a brain with only very mild symptoms of dementia can be already losing nearly 1% of whole brain volume a year. On average we lose around 5% of brain volume every decade over the age of 40…but we don’t have to. Brains thrive and are driven to grow new brain cells, sprout more dendrites and strengthen connections every single time they are challenged.

There is a special shift in arousal states, from fear to excitement, that helps us overcome the ‘flight or freeze’ mode when we challenge ourselves in adventurous ways. The key is controlling the deeper survival response through the thinking brain. But it’s not so simple. You’ve got to keep checking in with yourself the further up the fear ladder that you go. If you are too frightened your thinking brain can’t work well enough to reassure you that you are not in danger, and you can’t make that shift into being excited about how much progress you are making.

It’s a wonderful thing to sit back and watch a child progressively challenge themselves, while having fun at play, until they master climbing frames, flying foxes or balance beams. Children nurtured with a growth mindset are more likely to: put effort into learning; take setbacks as just part of the process; embrace life-long learning; and see themselves as flexible and changeable. High time to find an adventure playground and grow your grit (and a bit of brain) today!

Gratitude and good mood

#21. Warm Fuzzies
#23. Gratitude Inventory

Gratitude, appreciation and recognition are far from just an automatic or often unthinking ‘thanks’. We’ve all felt the huge differences in the way a thank you can feel. It can feel true, affecting and real, or it can be delivered in a way that can actually hurt and is not really thankful at all. There will always be a win-win when thanks are offered with genuine gratitude.

So, what exactly does gratitude involve? and how can it change my brain?

Gratitude involves a period of thoughtfulness and connecting both the thinking and the emotional brain. When we bring these two mindful forces together we are usually compelled to write or say more than just one word, because we have taken the time to look not just at what we got or what was done – but beyond the stuff into the deeper meaning of the exchange. If someone did something special for us, being genuinely grateful in return helps us appreciate their thoughtfulness, understand what they may have sacrificed for us, and just how much they love us.

We can also benefit from contemplating what in our lives we are grateful for. We can be grateful for so much…fresh air to breathe, good health, a happy moment shared with a friend, our dogs snuggles, a cosy bed, a sunset…grab a journal and start with just one thing a day.

This big grateful thinking can help us: build our bank of positive emotions; have less negative thoughts; improve mental wellbeing; increase generosity and even become more grateful.

Plasticity and Playfulness

#7. Op Shop Hop
#11. Bluey Games – for real life!
#22. Scavenger Hunt
#30. Old School Games

Silly grown-ups might be smarter than serious ones. A playful childhood is a happy childhood. A playful brain may grow up to not just be happier, but be more flexible, better at emotional regulation and stress reduction, have excellent motor control, be socially skilled, securely attached and curious.

Neuroscientists are encouraging grown-ups to be more playful because of the undeniable benefits you can see with science. The benefits above are just a few. Adults that are playful may tend to be more confident, outgoing, creative, agreeable, and perhaps more spontaneous with a good sense of humour.

So, a playful childhood with playful parents could be a super-dooper powerful double-up.

Some of us big kids just need permission to mess around…let’s call this a prescription to play! Signed (with good authority) Dr Dingle Brain.

Photo by Juan Cruz Mountford on Unsplash

Clean the mental machine

#35. Swap Meet
#37. Window Washing

There is an undeniable feel good factor after you’ve cleaned. But, why?

It’s such a significant phenomenon that research teams at Princeton, the University of California and the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems have studied it. Cleaning can reduce levels of stress hormones, improve your focus by reducing clutter, releases endorphins with the exercise and induces active states of mindfulness.

Having an active, fun, purposeful and busy day can also lead to better sleep at night. Deep sleep at night is the only time when our brains can get the deep clean they need to function well the next day. When we lay down and get good rest all the tiny blood vessels, and the important transport cells that surround them, that fill the spaces in our brain, are washed with cerebral spinal fluid. It scrubs away harmful waste and toxic build ups that can cause brain diseases as we age.

Now, feels like there is no better time to close this big brain book.

Time for nigh nigh’s.

Time for a brain bath.

Sweet holiday dreams for you.

See you all next year!

About the author - Ms. Emily Goss (Occupational Therapist, Senior Clinician, The Perth Brain Centre).

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Summer Holiday Survival Guide (Part 2) - January 2021

Go Big in Your Own Backyard

42 To Do’s