Intuition and Gender Differences

In research related to intuition, some gender differences were noted. Females seemed more attuned to intuitive information from the heart and were more responsive to prestimulus information than were males. Processes in the prefrontal cortex were moderated by the heart. In general, females appear to process the prestimulus more frontally; males process it more in the posterior portions of the brain. The bottom line: the heart and the brain together are linked in the actions of receiving, processing, and decoding intuitive information. The concluding hypothesis was that intuition is a system-wide process in which the heart and the brain (and possibly other body organs or systems) are involved together in responding to intuitive information.

Heart and Intuition

Until very recently the prevailing belief was that intuition was related only to the brain and nervous system. Recent studies have found surprising electrophysiological evidence of intuition with a definite heart component. Researchers discovered that the heart appears not only to receive intuition information but also to respond to it. Furthermore, the heart is directly involved in processing the information about a future emotional stimulus seconds before the body actual experiences the stimulus. The heart seems to receive intuitive information even before the brain. In the brain, the prefrontal cortex, temporal, parietal, and occipital regions all appear to be involved with the processing of the information. So the brain and the heart work together to produce the flashes of insight or the gut feelings by which intuition is characterized. More tomorrow. 

Brain and Intuition

Recently there seems to be an uptick of interest in the function of intuition. Many individuals have had an intuitive flash of insight or gut awareness of something that had not yet occurred—only to have that insight or gut awareness proven later on to be correct. The common belief has been that intuition was primarily a function of the brain or mind. How to explain what has happened, however, is a horse of a different color. What is intuition? There are many definitions floating around. An article published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine defines intuition as a process by which information that is normally outside the range of cognitive processes is immediately sensed and perceived in the body and mind as certainty of knowledge or feeling about the totality of a thing distant or yet to happen. This experience is very different from the processing of normal awareness that occurs incrementally. Intuition is a sense of the whole all at the same time. It can generate a positive sense of excitement or a negative sense of dread. More in the next blog.

How Much Is Enough—Water

The question is simple; the answers have not been and continue to be controversial. The Institute of Medicine reported that an adequate intake for the average man in a temperate climate is about three liters or thirteen glasses of total beverages a day; and two point two liters or about nine glasses for the average women. Mayo clinic writers were correct when they pointed out that studies have produced varying recommendations over the years. Your water needs depend on many factors, including your health, how active you are, whether you are using a lot of muscle activity in sports or work, the temperature and humidity, and where you live. Water is your most important nutrient, making up about sixty percent of your overall body weight and about three-fourths of your brain. Every body organ and tissue and system needs water. Current recommendations suggest keeping it simple. Unless your doctor has restricted your intake for some medical reason, drink enough water to have at least one pale urine a day.

Benefits of Drinking—Water

It’s been rather warm in my neck of the woods lately, which prompted me to make sure I am drinking enough water. For many reasons, the Longevity Lifestyle Matters program encourages the use of pure water (some prefer a squirt of lemon juice in it) as one’s beverage of choice. For example, more than three-quarters of your brain is composed of water—if everything is going well—and it needs water to carry out its myriad functions successfully. But there is much more. Recent studies by Ruepeng An and John McCaffrey of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, the official journal of The British Dietetic Association Ltd, found something else that many may find very interesting. The goal of their study was to examine plain water consumption in relation to the use of beverages that add calories as well as the quality of food ingested among adults in the United States. More tomorrow.

Happy Independence Day!

The Declaration of Independence likely was not signed on July 4^th—at least not by all signers. Neither was July 4^th the day the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress. That reportedly happened on July 2^nd, 1776. Nevertheless, the annual celebration of remembrance does occur July 4^th. What is this: the 340^th anniversary or something like that? There are bits of interesting trivia about the July 4^th date. For example: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both signed the Declaration of Independence and both were elected to the US Presidency. They both died on the 50^th anniversary of the Declaration: July 4^th, 1826. James Monroe died on July 4^th 1831, the third President in a row to die on that holiday. So far only one US President was born on July 4^th; Calvin Coolidge, the 30^th President. Reportedly, Denmark celebrates American Independence on July 4, as well, their National parks supposedly holding the largest July 4th celebrations outside of the United States. The sovereign archipelago known as the Republic of the Philippines—supposedly named for King Phillip II of Spain—also celebrates July 4th as its Republic Day; the day in 1946 when it ceased to be a U.S. territory and was officially recognized as independent. Typically, the July 4^th holiday is a day of family and fun and food and fireworks, along with a myriad of other types of celebrations—76 trombones led the big parade, ‘The Music Man’ being a famous musical nod to Independence Day. Whatever you are doing on this day, be grateful for the United States of America—although not flawless, it’s still way ahead of most!

Bumper Stickers

A friend of mine sent me some bumper stickers and suggested I stick a few in my blog for variety. I’m good with that.

• Warning: Dates in Calendar are closer than they initially appear
• A bartender is just a pharmacist with a limited inventory
• He who laughs last thinks slowest
• Time is what keeps everything from happening at once
• Where there's a will, I want to be in it
• Time is the best teacher, unfortunately it kills all of its students
• Dain bramaged
• Consciousness: That annoying time between naps
• Why is 'abbreviation' such a long word?
• If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
• Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday