Introduction If there were an easy-to-use, yet powerful tool that could definitely make your child or children smarter, stronger, fitter and super ready to learn – all at the same time – would you be interested? There is. It’s called Smarter Stronger Children! Let me ask you another question. What makes you and your kids/students smart?
A. Your legs B. Your arms C. Your heart D. Your brain
The most recent (the last decade or two) brain research has found that the answer is E! All the above!! These recent scientific studies have found that aerobic exercise (which involves moderate to vigorous movement of the arms and legs and an increase in heart rate) improves brain function. More specifically, aerobic exercise causes the release of BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) in the brain. BDNF, which has been referred to as “fertilizer for the brain” by some researchers, improves neuron connectivity, protects brain cells from destruction and is instrumental in turning stem cells into new brain cells in the hippocampus (a major memory and learning region of the brain). This protein is so important to optimal brain function and learning that more than 5,000 scientific papers have been published about it since its crucial and powerful effect on learning and the brain was discovered a little over two decades ago. Smarter Stronger Children’s Mega Brain Power Booster / Muscle Maker movement activities – brain function optimizers – meet and exceed this aerobic exercise requirement to unleash BDNF in your children’s brains. But there’s more: There is an virtual flood of chemicals unleashed in the brain and others which are produced in the body, that then pass through the blood-brain barrier into the brain, as a result of aerobic exercise AND especially the Smarter Stronger Children’s Mega Brain Power Boosters / Muscle Makers learning-enhancing movements. These chemicals include: • IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor), a hormone which is produced in the liver and skeletal muscles that has a role in energy production in the body. When we perform the SSC movements/exercise aerobically, IGF-1 is released into the blood stream and carried through the blood-brain barrier into the brain where its role changes to helping BDNF with neuroplasticity and neurogenesis in the hippocampus – a region of the brain, remember, that is crucial for learning and long-term memory. • FGF-2 (Fibroblast Growth Factor), a protein that is produced by our muscles and, just like IGF-1, is allowed to travel through the blood-brain barrier into the hippocampus; there it helps stem-cell division necessary for neurogenesis, is involved in long-term potentiation (LTP), and is critical in the creation of new blood vessels/capillaries to improve the supply of oxygen and nutrients for the newly-forming brain cells and the growing brain. • VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor), produced in the body and brain and stimulating the cell division crucial to the creation of new blood vessels in conjunction with FGF-2. • The neurotransmitters – serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine – released in the brain when our children/students enjoy the SSC movements and otherwise exercise aerobically. They are vital to: improved attention, alertness, motivation, positive moods, self esteem, cognition and readiness to learn. • Endocannabinoids and endorphins, hormones that blunt pain and increase feelings of bliss, pleasure and satisfaction (as they attach to the same receptor sites as do morphine and the THC of marijuana) – all states of being that improve our children’s readiness to learn. • A host of other compounds, including, but not limited to, human growth hormone (for cell repair and regeneration – including brain cells damaged by free radicals), nitric oxide (which dilates blood vessels to allow more oxygen and nutrients to nourish the brain), and glutamate (a major neurotransmitter crucial to cognition, learning and memory). [Insert HERE Illustration #1 – Flood of Chemicals] Flood of Chemicals Unleashed By the Mega Brain Power Boosters / Muscle Makers Moreover, more of these learning-and-brain-function-enhancing chemicals are unleashed when the aerobic activities involve more complex movements such as those used in the movements and activities of the Smarter Stronger Children Mega Brain Power Boosters / Muscle Makers. In other words, while walking and running are good, more complicated movements that present a greater challenge to the brain are of greater benefit. AND taking long walks and going for a run are not really options in a classroom setting or during homework time at home, BUT the Mega Brain Power Booster / Muscle Maker learning activities are! This flood of chemicals that optimizes your children’s brain function, readying them to learn, is not the only advantage they enjoy when they perform the Smarter Stronger Children’s movements. There are a host of other benefits; here are a few of them. 7 Advantages of the Smarter Stronger Children’s Program
1. Unleashes a virtual flood of learning-enhancing chemicals in and into the brain for optimal learning and brain function. 2. Promotes improved academic learning because all three major learning styles – visual, auditory and tactile/kinesthetic – are engaged simultaneously. 3. Offers a unique, productive refreshing break from the tedium of long periods of seated activities in the classroom and at home (e.g., while doing homework assignments). 4. Some of the movements increase neural connectivity in the corpus callosum, which increases communication between the two brain hemispheres for improved whole-brain learning. 5. Easy to teach – Easy to learn -- Fun to do. 6. No cost – no special equipment needed. Because it doesn’t need much space, it can be used virtually any time, any place. 7. Meets the academic and physical fitness needs of your children at the same time. Thanks to the Mega Brain Power Boosters / Muscle Makers you no longer have to choose between your children’s extremely important academic and health/fitness needs.
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