More African Proverbs

More African Proverbs

 1.     The skin of a leopard is beautiful, but not its heart.

 2.     A happy man marries the girl he loves. A happier man loves the girl he marries.

 3.     What you help children to love can be more important than what you help them to learn in school.

 4.     If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. 

Preteen Brain and Exercise

The data from the Boston Children’s Hospital analysis of nearly 6,000 early adolescents was quite clear—and somewhat eye-opening. Physical activity of any kind was associated with more efficiently organized, flexible, and robust brain networks, the researchers found. The more physical activity, the more “fit” the brain. It didn’t matter what kind of physical activity the children were involved in, it only mattered that they were active. Bottom line? Regular physical activity has positive effects on a child’s developing brain circuits. If the “family” can be active together, it benefits the adult brain’s as well. Richard Restak, MD, has stated that physical exercise is the best thing you can do to help protect good brain function. 

Child Brains & Physical Exercise

 

I hate to admit it, but our family gets very little exercise. We want to spent time with the kids but since they like video games and table games, we mostly do those. We’ve all packed on a few pounds during the pandemic. Now that things are opening up, what should we do now?

 You are not alone with this type of scenario and in wondering what to do now. Exercising does not help you lose weight, per se. It can help build strength as you lose weight through positive lifestyle changes and help you maintain your weight within an optimum range. In a nutshell, physical exercise is critically important—for body and brain function. This has been underscored by research findings that were published in Cerebral Cortex May 14, 2021. A study at Boston Children’s Hospital reported an analysis of neuroimaging data from nearly 6,000 early adolescents (preteens). The analysis included brain imaging information along with the type and amount of physical activity each of the 6,000 adolescents engaged in on a regular basis.

 More tomorrow.

Matching a Musical Pitch

Matching a musical pitch involves an intricate coordination of several tasks within the brain:

 1.     When the brain hears a sound, especially if this occurs in the brain of a singer or someone who whistles, it first identifies the pitch.

 2.     Next it makes a decision about which vocal muscles must work together to reproduce that sound with an accurate pitch.

 3.     After singing or whistling the note related to that pitch, the brain evaluates whether or not the pitches match.

 4.     If yes, good. If not, the brain adjusts the vocal muscles as required.

The earlier a brain begins studying music, the more likely it is that it will match a heard music pitch accurately. One report I saw indicated that perhaps 529 genetic markers are associated with this ability. It is a complex process! You may want to google this yourself and stimulate your brain during the process.

Brain & Matching a Musical Pitch

I read somewhere that research at 23and Me has identified more than 500 genetic markers associated with the brain’s ability to match a musical pitch. 500? What takes 500 genetic markers to simply match a musical sound at the correct pitch?

Abilities to match a musical pitch tend to be a combination of genetics and learning with practice. It is not a simple process. Matching a pitch accurately is involved in learning to sing or whistle a song or tune. Matching a musical pitch involves an intricate coordination of several tasks within the brain. This is a complex process and appears to reflect genetic markers. For example, here are the first two tasks.

 1.     When the brain hears a sound, it first identifies the pitch. Those who study music are trained to do this so it happens almost automatically for musician brains.

 2.     Next, the brain makes a decision about which vocal muscles must work together to reproduce that sound with an accurate match to the pitch.

 
More tomorrow. 

African Proverbs

Some of you know how much I enjoy proverbs from different continents and countries. I find it intriguing to note that a similar sentiment or idea can be expressed so uniquely depending on the location on Planet Earth. A good friend of mine just sent me these. Enjoy!

 1.     If you think you are too small to make a difference, spend the night with a mosquito.

 2.     Hold a true friend with both hands.

 3.     When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled.

 4.     A family is like a forest. When you are outside, it is dense. When inside, you see that each tree has its place.

Quality Time

Cambridge Dictionary defines “Quality time" as the time that you spend with another person, giving him or her your full attention because you value the relationship. Quality time requires that you are in the moment, present, and focused on the other person—personal or professional. I turn off my iPhone or let it go to voice mail if I am giving quality time. It is just a little signal that right now the individual with whom I am communicating is the most important person in the world to me. You know how you feel when you looked forward to chatting with someone and every time the phone whines, beeps, rings, squeaks, or vibrates, that person picks up, regardless of where you were in the conversation. It signals that the person with whom you are spending time, believes someone else is much more important than you are at that moment. Unless it is a true emergency or a long distance call you are expecting from another country, the body-language message is that you are “less then . . . “ to them.