Your Daily Brain: 24 Hours in the Life of Your Brain: Marbles: The Brain Store: 9780804140119: Amazon.com: Books
See all 2 imagesYour Daily Brain: 24 Hours in the Life of Your Brain Paperback – August 18, 2015
by Marbles: The Brain Store (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars 11 customer reviews
Want to stop losing your car keys? Will a creative idea into existence? Have more productive arguments with your spouse?
In Your Daily Brain, the team behind Marbles: The Brain Store, a chain devoted to building better brains, shows you all the weird and wonderful ways your brain works throughout the day—even when you think it’s not working at all, like when you’re on the treadmill or picking the kids up from school.
Consider this book a wake-up call, a chance to take a closer look at and jump start your brain. From the minute your alarm clock buzzes in the morning until your head hits the pillow at night, your daily activities—everything from doing a crossword puzzle to parallel parking—are part of a process for how you evaluate the world, make choices and decisions, and reach short-term goals while keeping your eyes on the bigger ones. In each, you have the opportunity to use your brain for better or worse, whether it’s what to listen to you on your morning commute or avoiding mental traps at the grocery store.
Packed with information as well as useful tips and tricks, Your Daily Brain is the brain hack you’ve been looking for!
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
MARBLES: THE BRAIN STORE is in malls across the country. They and their branded products have been featured in Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, USA Today, and Wired, as well as on the Today show and Martha Stewart Living.
GARTH SUNDEM is the author of books including Geek Logik, The Geeks’ Guide to World Domination, Brain Candy, Brain Trust, and Beyond IQ. He lives and writes in Boulder, Colorado.
Product details
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Three Rivers Press (August 18, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0804140111
ISBN-13: 978-0804140119
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.4 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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More about the author
› Visit Amazon's Garth Sundem Page
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Biography
Garth works at the intersection of math, science, business and humor, with a background including a growing list of bestselling books, a Magna Cum Laude pre-med/music degree from Cornell University, and keynotes for tech and data companies. In addition to conferences, colleges, and bookstores, you may have seen Garth's work on the Science Channel where he's been a frequent onscreen contributor, online at GeekDad.com or PsychologyToday.com, or in magazines including Esquire, Wired, Publisher's Weekly, and Congressional Quarterly.
Garth grew up on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle, where his dad -- a former President of the American Accounting Association -- taught for 37 years in the University of Washington business school. Garth lives in Boulder, CO with his wife, two small kids, and a pack of labradors.
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Top customer reviews
Book Wonk
4.0 out of 5 starsMore than just a blobby organ fueled by caffeineSeptember 25, 2015
Format: Paperback
I generally think of my brain as a blobby organ that causes me to spout random nonsense on a regular basis, and chugs steadily along on doses of caffeine, but according to the authors of Your Daily Brain, there’s more to it than that. During the course of twenty-four hours, your brain will be called upon to prioritize, decide, categorize, and evaluate—sometimes all at once. That’s a lot of stress for a couple of pounds of gray cells. Your Daily Brain attempts to explain the why and where of the decision making process and how best to maximize your brain’s potential.
The book is organized into sections according to ten or fifteen minute periods throughout the typical day. Each time period has snippets on what a brain may be doing, and advice on how to help it function better. It starts with waking up at 6:00 am (don’t use the snooze alarm) and ends at 9:00 pm (forgive yourself for a good night’s sleep). Want to jump-start your brain power at 7:15 in the morning? Leave the Sugar Frosted Flakes in the pantry and eat a breakfast with a low glycemic index like steel cut oatmeal. Shopping for groceries in the afternoon? Favor your amygdala over the prefrontal cortex. The amygdala wants the Snickers, the cortex screams you’re a lard butt and makes you put it back. The book deals with such far-flung topics as how best to use your brain to search the internet to why you should fine an exercise routine (the chemicals secreted are the same ones oozed out when you’re in love.) My favorite was the 6:15 pm, love in the evening, section. Apparently, the following three questions are all you need to determine a mate’s compatibility. Do you like horror movies? Have you ever traveled around the country alone? Wouldn’t it be fun to chuck it all and live on a sailboat?
I'd recommend this book for anyone who likes odd facts and interesting science tidbits. All the articles are short and easy to read for the non-sciency type. Since they are keyed to a particular time, you can finish this book in a day in short bursts, or skip from one article to another. The latter is actually a better idea. According to Your Daily Brain, creativity comes from shaking things up.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
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DebbieTop Contributor: Painting
TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE
4.0 out of 5 starsFun facts from brain studies with easy to apply take-awaysSeptember 4, 2015
Format: Paperback
"Your Daily Brain" is a collection of various studies about the brain which the authors summarize and explain in plain English in a casual, humorous tone. The authors also suggested things you can do to make use of these insights into your brain. It was more fun facts than life-changing insights, but I found it interesting from start to finish. Their suggestions were all do-able with minimal effort, so it's likely I'll apply what I learned in this book.
Each study was given a time-of-day heading though most also applied to other times of day. The "morning time" studies had more to do with getting your brain engaged and plans made for the day. Mid-day covered relating to people and tasks on the job. Evening times covered things like interacting with your family and how your brain knows it's time to sleep. We learn things like should you hit the snooze button? Eat breakfast and, if so, what types of foods? Aim for optimism or positive thinking? Multi-task? And what types of things help with creativity and problem solving? How does anger--or distraction--affect your judgment?
If you like brain studies, you may have heard some of this information before. Or you might have heard things that aren't actually backed up by studies (like different learning styles--using your preferred learning style won't necessarily help you learn better). But if you like learning about how your brain works and prefer the summary version of the studies, you'll likely to find something new and interesting in this book.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
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Henk-Jan van der Klis
4.0 out of 5 starsNever waste a day using your brainsNovember 1, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition
In Your Daily Brain: 24 Hours in the Life of your Brain, Garth Sundem presents recent scientific findings in neurology, psychology, biology and behavioural economics. The book's chapters are structured in time slots throughout the day, from getting up (don't set your alarm clock, your brain knows when sleep time's over) to going to bed at night (turn off the lights, stop reading, put your smartphone away). Serious stuff like mirror neurons firing at your company's emotions, the effects of alcohol and drugs to losing your brains due to anger. You learn about microexpressions to detect liars, the importance of exercise and taking another type of puzzle instead of a daily sudoku or crossword puzzle. You can choose to pursue happiness, hug your partner and stimulate bonding. Neuroplasticity and resilience, our incredible brain power and psychological themes like fairness and motivation, emotions and nurture or nature debates. Your Daily Brain is packed with tips and tricks, and gives an actual overview of what we're capable of using our brains.
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