Middle-Aged Brain. And Mom.

There is an interesting interview in the New York Times this week with author Barbara Strauch, who has written a book called The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind. In it, she discusses the benefits of an aging brain, which is an encouraging idea considering the general consensus that we simply decline as we age.

In honour of Mother’s Day this Sunday, we thought we’d take the best features and apply them to motherhood.

• Intuition is strong in the middle-aged brain. Who relies on intuition more than mothers? It’s been noted that pregnant women have strong intuitions about their babies before they are even born. If the middle-aged brain becomes more intuitive as we get older, it means that the mother-child communication connection can get stronger, too.
• Reaching creative solutions increases with age. Before motherhood, women just had to muddle through decisions for themselves. With each child a new temperament is thrown into the mix, forcing moms to constantly create and reinvent strategies for family living.
• Exercise is key for brain improvement. With all the games and toys on the market targeted to improve your mind, the best thing Mom (and you) can do for brain health is regular exercise. Maybe you can even exercise together?
• The empty nest syndrome and mid-life crisis are based on myth, not science.Let’s celebrate this time of life, and celebrate Mom.

In terms of celebrating her, many moms find Mother’s Day a hokey sort of holiday of forced affection. It doesn’t have to seem like that when the act of celebration is founded on true sentiment. In keeping with our search for all things simple, here are some simple ways to celebrate Mom:

• Gift certificates for foot massages, pedicures, manicures, or facials.
• Plant new flowers in her garden.
• Make a donation in her name to her favourite charity.
• Make a version of her favourite recipe.
• Take her to the movies.
• Thank her for being your mom.

Our Mother’s Day Giveaway!

• Subscribe to our blog: Go to the RSS Feed button at the top right of this page and click it. Choose a Reader, or click Get Simply Bar Blog delivered by email.
• Post a comment on our blog.
• That’s it! You’ll automatically be entered to win.

Prize: Winner gets two boxes of Simply Bars! Winner can choose flavour: Chocolate Coffee, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cinnamon, Cocoa Raspberry, or Lemon Coconut. Delicious fuel for that exercise for your brain!