Have you ever wondered why there are eight natural remedies: good nutrition, regular exercise, water, sunshine, temperance, fresh air, rest, and faith in God? These are indeed powerful preventers of disease when regularly used. There is also much scientific data that shows them to reverse or improve chronic disease. In reality, there are myriads of scientifically-validated natural remedies. Why limited to eight? (Probably to help us remember to practice them!) Here is another: Good music is powerful therapy.

In a systematic review and a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies consisting 317,540 participants, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health studied the association between depression and risk of total and subtypes of stroke participants. Pooled analysis showed that depression was associated with:

Question: What European monarch was trained as an auto mechanic?

You guessed correctly if you answered “Queen Elizabeth”. Yes, indeed, during World War 2, this English princess worked to repair jeeps. During the war, her father, King George V (or Bertie) raised successful gardens while Queen Mary hosted sewing bees in the palace to help keep the soldiers clothed warmly.

Synapses are microscopic points of communication between nerve cells that are heavily involved in memory, learning, habit formation, and the development of talent and character. A neural circuit is composed of neurons and their synapses. Our lifestyle choices substantially impact synapses and their neural circuits. For example: Recurrent use of a particular neural circuit for learning (i.e. learning a musical instrument) increases the size, number, and efficiency of the involved synapses. Repeated use of a brain circuit results in easier and faster learning, and therefore practice, when done correctly, indeed makes performance perfect.

Both obesity and diabetes cause a clear reduction in brain size without additional contributing factors. The frontal lobes – the CEO of the brain; the hippocampus, so important to memory and mood; the cingulated gyrus, important in adaptability to new situations, are especially vulnerable.

Adding more spinach, broccoli, kale, collards, and salad greens to your diet could help slow cognitive decline. A study of older individuals found that those who ate one to two servings per day had the cognitive ability of a person 11 years younger than those who consumed none.

From my own personal experience as a slow learner, as a classroom teacher, and a scientific researcher, here is a suggestion for anyone who desires to improve their learning speed: Engage in frequent physical activity often throughout the day. No matter how young or old you are, or how quickly or how slowly you learn, regular physical exercise improves your mental sharpness.