It’s not rocket science that regular exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle for adults and children. Yet, very few are aware that exercise could build your child a bigger, better brain (and possibly even help them become a rocket scientist!)

Exercise Works

The most commonly recognized benefits of physical activity include:

• Stronger muscles
• Increased bone density
• Better coordination
• Improved cardiovascular function
• Enhanced insulin sensitivity

The end result is a major decrease in lifestyle-related illnesses such as Cancer, Heart Disease & Diabetes, and many other related conditions in adults and children. These are all wonderful side effects of a consistent exercise program.

Less commonly known are the exciting effects of exercise on the brain and who is more important to target with these effects than the developing brains of our most precious assets… our children.

What’s The Big Deal?

Not only do kids have the most neuro-plasticity (ability to change their brain and nervous systems) but they have the most potential as well. Think about it, anything done to improve their health or performance is multiplied exponentially the sooner positive change begins.

You’ve probably heard or seen this ancient proverb that captures the concept perfectly:

“As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.”

How would you love your kids to start experiencing any one of these benefits?

• Higher IQ
• Increase brain cell growth
• Boosted self-esteem
• Deeper sleep
• Enhanced cognition

How Does It Happen?

First off, exercise improves blood flow to the brain which increases oxygenation of the cerebral tissues and number two, keeping up with a frequent fitness routine increases neurological input into the brain.

Think of your training sessions not only working your muscles and your lungs but also feeding the brain. In a sense, it’s a form of neurological nutrition that is vital to the growth and development of your neurons.

Even better, making exercise a habit for you and your kids has a long-term protective effect. How about reversing the normal age-related brain shrinkage as a bonus for your efforts?

Whether you’re worried about a future with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s or you just want to begin thinking more clearly…

The best time to start training for a bigger, better brain is today, the next best time was 40 years ago. Let’s make sure our kids get ahead of the game and actively engage in a regular fitness routine.

Not only will their body benefit but their brain will too.

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.

High IQ is not a stand-alone quality that sets a child apart nor is it a requirement for a successful future. That said, all things being equal, maximizing your child’s intelligence is not only possible but it’s a “smart” thing to do.

Here’s how it works and the best 15 ways to boost your child’s IQ.

It’s All About The Brain

While tests that measure IQ can be debated, what is generally accepted in this realm is the importance of healthy brain development in children and beyond.

No question there is a massive surge of growth from birth until age 4-5 but it doesn’t stop there as most researchers had once thought.

The brain is plastic; this means it continually integrates new information, experiences, and changes throughout one’s life.

THE POINT… caring for your child’s brain is the foundation for not only IQ, but also millions of other processes required for a healthy and happy life.

While it’s tempting to chalk this “brain stuff” up to genetics, we’re more in control than we may think. It’s time to start considering a lifestyle that incorporates activities to support our brain health not only for its positive benefits today but also for the protective effects later in life.

The Best 15 Ways to Boost Your Child’s IQ

Create A Close Connection

In experiments children more securely attached to their parents scored higher on IQ tests than did insecurely attached parents.

Breast Feed Your Baby

When it’s possible, breastfeeding offers nutritive advantages as well as enhancements in connection that benefit a child’s developing brain.

Let Them Go Deep

Although you may be getting tired of their 30-minute foray into block building, don’t let your boredom pull them away from building their architectural dreamscape. Allowing their brain to “go deep” into the world they’ve created is a brain booster many miss out on.

Praise The Effort

It’s “normal” to fall prey to this parental trap. I’ve done it many times and even though I’m hyper-aware I still do it! Praise the action and effort, not the child.

Instead of saying “You’re a good girl”…say “I love the way you picked up your toys and put them away.”

Without knowing what they did to deserve the praise you risk creating confusion and impacting their self-esteem in a negative way.

Increase Their Dietary Fats

The brain is made of fat and ensuring the body has access to the correct building blocks is essential to its development. Add a high-grade fish oil supplement and don’t shy away from avocados, coconut oil, or butter.

Challenge Their Memory

This could be with games or it could just be by asking them to remember. When you ask them about their day at school don’t let them off the hook with the typical “I don’t remember.”

Let Them Solve Problems & Do It The Hard Way

Stop trying to save them the pain and make their life easier than yours. You’ll be doing a disservice in the long run. Give them a chance to solve problems for themselves and don’t correct them if they want to do it the hard way.

Seek Novelty

The brain learns through new experiences. Take on the task of giving your children opportunities for unique and novel interactions.

Read With, Not To Them

Not only will this increase their brain stimulation but the pro tip here…it’ll boost yours too and increase the chances you’ll stay awake until the end of the story.

Avoid Sleep Deprivation

Miss this one important fundamental and everything else you’re doing right becomes mitigated.

Music

Active involvement with music over passive listening is what really matters and makes the difference. Sing to your child, play or listen to live music, and even add instruments into the mix.

Exercise

Do we really need to talk about this one? Movement is a MAJOR source of brain stimulation and development. It’s a requirement. Movement needs to become a staple in your child’s life.

Peer Group

Who your child spends time with is as big a predictor of IQ as any other factor. Pay attention and be diligent with this one, it matters.

Believe In Them

If you want to boost their self-esteem and build their brain, give them the one thing children want most…your belief in them. Few things will crush your child’s development like a parent who doesn’t think their child has the potential to be successful.

Care For Their Spine

This is a missing link for most kids. Although science reinforces the role of the spine’s movement in healthy brain development, few are up to date with this knowledge and even fewer understand the role of a chiropractor in supporting this process.

Start by auditing your existing “brain boosting” activities. 

Are there ones you already do? 

Are there things you need to change right away? 

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.

With the holidays right around the corner, it truly is a wonderful time of year!

Unfortunately for many, it’s also followed by the anxiety, fear, and despair of the next 12 months…

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to skip those emotions and make this year your best year ever?

Let me help you…

To begin, you must answer this question:

“Who will I be 12 months from now?”

When we dream about our lives (and we should) it’s common to focus on the things we wish to have or milestones we hope to accomplish:

• a new home
• a new car
• lose 10 pounds
• a vacation
• a new career

While these are all very legitimate goals to strive for, we often fall short and in turn, blame it on our circumstances or worse, blame our failure on someone else.

In reality, the problem was most likely:

Your strategy – you were simply doing the wrong things.

Your work ethic – you weren’t consistently taking action over a long enough period of time.

The good news is both of these issues can be solved.

You could search out the “right” things to do and you could strong-arm yourself to do them consistently.

The first is simple enough, the second…not so much.

This is where many people repeat their cycle of failure.

DREAM -> PLAN -> LACK OF CONSISTENT ACTION -> FAIL -> DECREASED SELF-ESTEEM -> REPEAT

This brings us back to our question and why you must answer this question for success in 2018.

“Who will I be 12 months from now?”

Who will I be, not only what do I want…

Will you work to become the type of person who is willing to do what is necessary to become successful?

Here are step-by-step instructions for beginning to answer this question and 2018 your best yet!

STEP ONE – AUDIT SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

What character traits do ultra-successful people exhibit?

Integrity, passion, optimism, self-responsibility, patience and drive just to name a few.

Start with an exhaustive list of the character traits common to successful people and make note of the traits you habitually exhibit and the ones you are lacking.

STEP TWO – BUILD POSITIVE HABITS

Thinking about who you want/need to be will not on its own turn you into that person. It’s only through consistent action that you will develop yourself into the type of person required to meet your goals.

One lesson to learn from successful people is the importance of positive habits. Use this concept and apply it to the character traits you’d like to add to your personal list.

For example, if optimism is a trait you you want to develop, start every day by writing a list of 3 things you are looking forward to.

STEP THREE – AWARENESS & ACCOUNTABILITY

There is no quick fix for building the character traits that will yield success in your life.

Once you’ve created the list of character traits required for your success, and you’ve identified a positive habit that will help you develop each one, the next step is to pay attention. Try to catch yourself when you fall back into old patterns and quickly correct the course.

Apps like Habit List can be helpful in holding yourself accountable.

PRO TIP

Don’t wait until January to start becoming the person you will need to become if success in all areas of life is on your wish list – your new life starts now!

By waiting you only dig yourself into a deeper hole. Set aside time as soon as possible to start this process.

THE POINT

While defining what you want is very important to your future success, it’s “who you are” that precedes both and that won’t change unless you commit to taking the correct actions to develop yourself.

What do you think are the top 3 character traits for building extraordinary success?

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.

The global technology boom may have improved our lives and connected the world, but it has also caused an epidemic of “Tech Neck” and contributed to some serious health problems.

New York spine surgeon Dr. Kenneth Hansraj published research in 2014 measuring the effects of forward head posture on the cervical spine and found that a normal 12-pound head can weigh as much as 60 pounds when bent forward.

Imagine walking around all day with a child wrapped around your neck!

Anterior Spinal Distortion (ASD) has been linked to conditions like spinal degeneration, disc disease, abnormal curvatures of the spine, headaches…even respiratory problems, depression, and reduced mortality.

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.