By Dr. Justin Davis

Improved productivity, memory and strong critical thinking skills are all traits that we aspire to see in our employees. However, while many heart-health and physical wellness programs are offered, very few, if any of these programs, offer resources to help employees improve their brain health and fitness.

Neuroscience research has proven that brain training, when done properly, does in fact improve general intelligence1. Brain fitness programs and exercises tailored to the workplace—alongside good old fashioned physical exercise—provide employees the resources necessary to improve their memory, increase focus and build mental endurance.

Telus Takes Brain Health to Heart
Similarly, corporate leaders who learn about recent advances in neuroscience research are finding new ways to better manage their teams, communicate their goals and foster innovation in their organizations. Corporations such as TELUS have already begun investing in these specialized brain fitness programs, in order to create more effective leaders for tomorrow.

“Brain fitness is just as important as physical fitness in terms of maintaining a healthy workforce,” says Dan Pontefract, senior director, learning and collaboration at TELUS. In 2012, TELUS enlisted leading brain fitness experts nognz brain fitness in helping deliver customized online workshops for over 900 of the corporation’s high potential leaders.

Brain Fitness and Neuroplasticity
Brain fitness programs, such as the nognz Healthy Brain Program, utilize the science of neuroplasticity.  Learning about the brain and challenging it with exercises to strengthen existing pathways and connections—as well creating new ones—is how we put that science in to practice.  This helps current and future leaders increase productivity, improve performance against goals, become better problem solvers, decision makers and innovators.

The TELUS participants saw significant results from the nognz Healthy Brain Program: 93 per cent  of the TELUS Leadership NOW participants were either satisfied or very satisfied with the nognz workshops and 75 per cent of the participants felt that their job performance would improve as a result. Over three quarters felt that the program will improve their ability to progress toward their career and organizational goals.

Brain Health a Smart Trend to Follow
The brain health trend has been on the rise in recent years, due to the fact that people live longer and retire later. This means that your employees will have to keep their brains sharp for a longer period of time. Stimulating and exercising the brain today helps keep it healthy and working at optimum levels tomorrow. The nognz Healthy Brain Program promotes mental health and wellness, helps to drive higher levels of productivity and improve workplace attitudes.  Incorporating a healthy brain program with a physical and nutritional wellness program gives employees all the resources they need to optimize their health and workplace performance.

10 Tips for Better Brain Health
Here are some easy tips you can implement right away to give a brain boost to your employees:

1. Allow 20 minutes mid-day for a workout or brisk walk to boost blood flow to the brain.
2. Meditating for just three minutes a day helps to relieve stress and calm the mind.
3. Provide your team with access to brain fitness products they can use to learn about and challenge their brains in a social way.
4. Make brain healthy foods accessible—green tea at the coffee counter along with omega 3 and antioxidant rich snacks.
5. Expand your wellness programs to include diverse forms of mental stimulation alongside fitness, nutrition and stress management initiatives.
6. Teach your team about their brains. The more you know about it the better you can use it.
7. Create a proper environment for ‘brainstorming’—creative genius does not emerge under pressure.
8. Avoid multi-tasking—it wastes time and opens the door to errors.
9. Make brain fitness part of your daily routine. Cognitive exercises can expand working memory and improve processing speed.
10. Engage your team in social play that fosters creativity and innovation.

Investing in brain health today means investing in your workplace for tomorrow. Exercising the brain not only leads to increased employee productivity, but it also helps offset future long-term legacy costs in an aging workforce. Novel and challenging forms of mental stimulation will help to promote brain health at work and at home.

Corporations such as TELUS have already begun to tap into the benefits of brain fitness in the workplace by realizing that it is a critical health component that will contribute to team and business success. To learn more about brain health and nognz brain fitness, visit their website: www.nognz.com/healthybrainprogram.

Dr. Justin Davis is the Scientific Director of nognz brain fitness. He is committed to helping individuals find the information and products necessary to maximize their brain’s potential. His goal is to combine his expert knowledge in the field of human neuroscience and love of teaching to motivate others to adopt a brain healthy lifestyle and make brain fitness part of their daily routine. He received his PhD from the University of British Columbia where he studied the neurophysiology of human movement, his MSc in neuroscience studying the cellular mechanisms of memory and neural development, and his HBSc in cell biology from the University of Western Ontario.

Work Cited: Susanne M. Jaeggi, Martin Buschkuehl, John Jonides, and Walter J. Perrig. Improving Fluid Intelligence With Training. PNAS , 105 (19), 2008. 1-5.