Sep 10, 2009 Comments Off
By: Alvaro Fernandez
Quick note: we just started a new Facebook group to discuss brain fitness, cognitive health and mental performance topics in general and The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness in particular.
Care to exercise your brain by sharing your thoughts? Please join us Here!
Jun 23, 2009 Comments Off
By: Alvaro Fernandez
Given the fact I love Kindle, and some of our Twitter friends had been asking for a Kindle version of our new book The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness…well, here it is:
Amazon.com: The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness (Kindle Edition, $9.99)
The book has also received two excellent new endorsements:
“Kudos for an excellent resource! This SharpBrains Guide is full of top notch information, provides practical tips and helps separate hype from hope in the brain health arena.”
— Elizabeth Edgerly, Ph.D., Chief Program Officer, Alzheimer’s Association
“The SharpBrains’ Guide to Brain Fitness helped answer many of my questions on the importance of both physical and mental exercise to stay sharp as we age, as they act in synergy on one another. The Guide also provided guidelines and specific calls to action to expand what we traditionally do in our fitness clubs. This is an important book for anyone in the fitness industry, and, for that matter, for anyone with a brain.”
— Robin Klaus, Chairman, Club One Fitness Centers
More information on the book: The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness
May 22, 2009 Comments Off
By: Alvaro Fernandez
Our first book is available in Amazon.com!
After several meetings with Dr. Goldberg, who kindly responded to my initial unsolicited letter, we decided to partner and create SharpBrains with a mission to “to provide individuals, companies and institutions with independent, high-quality, research-based, information and guidance to navigate the growing cognitive health and brain fitness market.”
Since then, we have launched one of the most popular brain websites, blogs and newsletters, two annual market reports that have become the standard in our field, a lifelong learning curriculum taught in multiple universities, and we are now pleased to bring to you our first book. We hope you enjoy it.
Book description: While most of us have heard the phrase “use it or lose it,” very few 
understand what “it” means, or how to properly “use it” in order to maintain brain function and fitness. The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness is an invaluable guide that helps readers navigate growing brain research and identify the lifestyle factors and products that contribute to brain fitness. By gathering insights from eighteen of the world’s top scientists and offering tools and detailed descriptions of over twenty products, this book is an essential guide to the field of brain fitness, neuroplasticity and cognitive health. An accessible and thought-provoking read, The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness educates lifelong learners and professionals in healthcare, education, business, etc., on emerging trends and forecasts of what the future will hold.
Praise for the book
“Finally, an insightful and complete overview of the science, products and trends to debunk old myths and help us all maintain our brains in top shape. A must-read for everyone with a brain – an instant classic.”
—Gloria Cavanaugh, former President & CEO of the American Society on Aging and founding Board member of the National Alliance for Caregiving
“The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness offers a valuable and stimulating blueprint for anyone who wants to grow older sustainably — that is, with sound mind and good humor. Fernandez and Goldberg are the pioneers we’ve been waiting for to help us do exactly that. Buying this book is the ultimate no-brainer.”
—Joel Makower, Executive Editor, GreenBiz.com, and author, Strategies for the Green Economy
“A masterful guide to the brain training revolution. Promises to stimulate a much needed conversation that will nudge society to build a new brain fitness culture on solid, research-based, foundations.”
—P. Murali Doraiswamy MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Duke University and Co-author of The Alzheimer’s Action Plan
“Our curriculum and research circle will begin summer work by reading The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness, a much-needed new resource to help us better understand our brains and minds and how to nourish them through life.”
—Susan E. Hoffman, Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Berkeley
“All of us researching healthy brain function owe SharpBrains a debt of gratitude for promoting a science-based approach to brain health education and offering an unbiased view of the landscape. Now, with The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness, Alvaro Fernandez and Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg serve up plentiful food for thought to satisfy the growing number of adults who are hungry for a healthy mind.”
—Joshua R. Steinerman, M.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology and Director of the Neurodegenerative Disease Clinical Trials Program at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center
“I am a neurosurgeon and have a great interest in the rapidly advancing field of neuroscience, especially the areas of neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. New developments happen so fast that it is difficult to keep up. This book by Alvaro Fernandez and Elkhonon Goldberg offers a spectacular introduction to the field, valuable both to the public at large and healthcare professionals.”
—Guy Otis Danielson III, MD, President of the NeuroCare Network Tyler, Texas
“Finally, a book that makes sense out of the confusing brain fitness movement! I believe brain fitness could very well be the next big thing. Baby boomers like me are getting older and we want to stay mentally sharp, maintain if not strengthen our cognitive skills, and above all avoid mental decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, there’s been many conflicting claims and confusing products that has made it difficult for me and thousands of others people to decide just what we should do. SharpBrains’ guide is an honest, clearly written examination of brain fitness concepts, the underlying science, and the best products and services out there. It’s a first-class, pioneering resource that summarizes all I need to know about how to stay sharp for many more years.”
—David Bunnell, founder of PC, PC World, Macworld and BioWorld
Continue reading about (and order!) The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews, to Keep Your Brain Sharp
May 18, 2009 Comments Off
By: Alvaro Fernandez
This is a press release that went through the wire earlier today. If you are interested, in attending the conference, you can learn more and register Here
Note that below you can find 5 out of the 12 sessions – we will announce the full track tomorrow. To get a 15% off registration fees, you can use discount code: sharp09, when you register.
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The Games for Health Project, organizers of the 5th Annual Games for Health Conference, today announced its first Cognitive Health Track powered by SharpBrains, a leading market research company focused on the brain fitness and the cognitive health market.
The Cognitive Health track builds upon previous year’s sampling of sessions looking at cognitive health and fitness, expanding to a full two-day track at The Games for Health Conference, June 11-12, Boston, MA. The Conference features the largest gathering of organizations interested in the intersection between videogames, health and healthcare.
“There is already a very active cognitive health videogames industry and field of research,” said Ben Sawyer, co-founder of the Games for Health Conference. “We partnered with SharpBrains to bring their expertise in this field our conference planning. Together we have for the first time created a powerful set of sessions and a much needed conversation with researchers, thought-leaders and industry pioneers who will attend the event in June.”
The track features a dozen sessions covering research findings and partnerships, implementation in insurance, consumer and clinical settings, and special sessions looking at innovative areas such as driver safety, healthy aging, attention deficits, stroke/traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis.
“The convergence of interactive media such as videogames with cognitive science opens the door to innovative and scalable approaches to Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 30, 2009 Comments Off
By: Alvaro Fernandez
Here you have the March edition of our monthly newsletter covering cognitive health 
and brain fitness topics. Please remember that you can subscribe to receive this Newsletter by email, using the box at the top of this page. I know I am biased – but do believe this Newsletter issue might well be our best so far. I hope you find the time to enjoy it!
Bird’s Eye View
Brain Fitness Survey: Over 2,000 thoughtful responses to our January survey (Thank You!) reinforce the need for public awareness initiatives and quality information to help evaluate and navigate lifestyle and product claims, as well as the need for more research, an expanded healthcare culture, as more. Given this context, we are publishing The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness in May 2009, a book with 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews, in addition to our annual market report for professionals and executives (to be published in April). If you have ideas to help us promote the book, please reply to this email and let us know!
Lifelong Learning
Elderhostel’s Marty Knowlton dies at 88: He helped launch Elderhostel, reinvented “aging”, “retirement” and “learning”, and contributed to the brain fitness of millions of individuals as a result.
MetLife Mature Market Institute Report: Gerontologist Fay Radding presents the findings of a recent MetLife report, concluding that “As individuals age, meaningful interactions and purposeful activity become even more valued and crucial to cognitive health- and cognitive health itself becomes more of a priority.”
Change Your Environment, Change Yourself: Dr. Brett Steenbarger explains in his recent book that, “The greatest enemy of change is routine. When we lapse into routine and operate on autopilot, we are no longer fully and actively conscious of what we’re doing and why. That is why some of the most fertile situations for personal growth—those that occur within new environments—are those that force us to exit our routines and actively master unfamiliar challenges.”
Food for Thought
Therapy vs. Medication, Conflicts of Interest, and Intimidation: What started as an academic dispute regarding disclosure of conflict of interest is now snowballing. Dr. Jonathan Leo criticized two important aspects of a recent a study published in JAMA that compared the efficacy of therapy vs. medication. JAMA editors then tried to intimidate Dr. Leo and his university. An investigation by the American Medical Association is under way.
ETech09 on Life Hacking and Brain Training: Here you have the presentation Alvaro Fernandez delivered at O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference 2009, a gathering of technology pioneers with a growing interest in science and biology topics.
Attention!
New Study Supports Neurofeedback Treatment for ADHD: Dr. David Rabiner reports the promising findings from the first well-designed controlled trial on the effect of neurofeedback treatment for ADHD.
Finally, I wanted to let you know that you can follow quick SharpBrains updates and some of my thoughts via Twitter: http://twitter.com/AlvaroF
Have a great National Car Care Month in April! (now, wouldn’t you please pay at least equal attention to Brain Care than to Car Care?)
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