What the brain looks like

Different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions: the amygdala responds to fear, Anger, panic and plays a role in learning. When we panic the amygdala gets over excited and makes it harder to learn new information. Things that help calm the amygdala include seeing people smile at us and also repetition – this is important when you think about learning and exams – by repeating the information, we calm the panic we feel and can learn better.

Your brain is very sensitive and it constantly needs to repair itself and build new connections between the cells as you learn new things. To do this, it needs top class nutrition, a steady supply of energy, a steady supply of oxygen, and time asleep to do all its updating

Tip 1: Diet For brain health, you need to eat a balanced diet, eat omega 3 and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Tip 2: Glucose The brain needs a steady supply of energy, but it can only get this from glucose. Complex carbohydrates are best eg bread, pasta, porridge and pulses, Chocolate, biscuits and sugary snacks release sugar quickly but then you will quickly crash.

Tip 3: Oxygen Your brain needs to be primed with oxygen. It gets this from exercise. You also get oxygen from iron in red meat, green leafy vegetables, dried fruit, breakfast cereals, and baked beans.

Tip 4: Don't skip breakfast (or lunch) Your brain will perform less well if you haven't eaten. Brain scientists have shown that test results are lower when students haven't eaten. Slow-releasing carbs are best eg. beans on toast Banana

Tip 5: Water Don't go thirsty. Dehydration seriously affects your brain's performance.

Tip 6: Exercise The brain needs to pump the oxygen-rich blood to reach every capillary. Exercise improves your memory capacity Exercise helps reaction time so you can process information quicker.

Tip 7: Sleep Possibly the most effective thing for your brain is a good night's sleep. As you rest, the brain consolidates all the day's new learning. One hour less sleep can affect your test scores the next day. To maximise revision, take 5 minutes rest every hour.

Brains need rest sleep at least 8 hours every

Tip 8: Avoid caffeine Too much Caffeine overstimulates the brain energy is wasted getting rid of the caffeine. Similar effects occur with video games which affect sleep because the brain is still active.

Attention is made up of different parts – attention for things that we see and hear, selective and divided attention. Attention is impacted by factors such as lack of sleep, chemicals in our system such as caffeine, sugar and alcohol. Caffeine overstimulates the brain and makes it harder to concentrate -this then impacts on ability to learn. Memory is made up of encoding (getting information in) and retrieval (pulling information out, ‘remembering’). Use strategies to help encode and retrieve -= mnemonics.

Diet provides the building blocks and fuel for the brain Malnutrition in teenage years has a lasting effect on both behaviour and cognition Intelligence scores and school performance are poorer Malnutrition in teens is associated with higher incidence of aggression Lack of vitamins and omega 3 affects memory and attention Main peaks of brain growth have been found at 7 and 15 years of age

Most teens in NI are consuming: too much saturated fat, sugar and salt 87% of teens aged yrs do not eat their 5-a-day 2% eat oily fish 45% skip breakfast 82% of teens are deficient in – Iron, zinc, magnesium, iodine, and vitamins. All needed for memory and concentration Eating breakfast and an apple every day goes a long way