We've all been to that party where an average looking guy is sitting in the corner, calmly playing the guitar while women with hearts in their eyes surround him. You could've sworn that the whole 'playing an instrument makes you more attractive' idea was a myth - until you noticed the guitar guy at the party scoring some major points with the ladies.

Reading music and moving your fingers in a precise manner at the same time takes a lot more brainpower than hitting the gym to do some bench presses. Not that there's anything wrong with the latter, but you get my point.

Here are five interesting ways playing an instrument, or at least learning to do so, benefits your brain and overall mental edge:

1. It improves hand-eye coordination

It's no surprise that learning the skills to play an instrument trains your motor skills. Whether you're delicately moving your fingers on that piano or confidently strumming on the guitar, fireworks will start blasting on the areas of your brain controlling motor actions.

Improving your motor skills through music can help in other areas, such as sports or gaming. So yes, picking up that guitar and genuinely learning the different notes could lead to a win next time you challenge your mate to a game of FIFA.

2. It engages pretty much every single area of the brain, at once

Scientists were mesmerized when they first examined the brain activity of someone while they played a musical instrument. It turns out that nearly every part of the brain becomes active while you stroke those violin strings, giving your brain a full workout. More specifically, the visual area lights up while you are reading music or choosing which drum to hit next. The auditory part gets worked as you listen to the sounds you're making and ensuring that you're not giving your neighbors a headache, and of course, the motor area is where all the hand movement signaling takes place.

All these different areas communicate with each other, allowing you to play that song, one note at a time. The more you practice this brain workout, the more strengthened these skills become, meaning you can think sharper and essentially, get smarter.

3. It makes you way more creative than the rest

When first learning an instrument, you may not be able to generate a lot of ideas, but your creative juices will definitely start to flow over time. Think about it, once you've mastered five to 10 notes on that guitar, it's natural that you would start to experiment and create your own melodies. This boosts creativity, which is a skill that has been proven to create more job opportunities and fun social interactions.

4. It reduces anxiety

Playing an instrument has been shown to make some enormous physiological changes to our bodies. For instance, playing a classical tune can help "slow the pulse and heart rate, lower blood pressure, and decrease the levels of stress hormones," as stated on PsychCentral.com.

Listening to yourself play a beautiful tune also reduces anxiety and boosts confidence, which leads to improved mood and overall mindset. When stress levels are low, our brains are more capable of making rational decisions, analyzing difficult situations and accessing memory.

5. It enhances memory formation and recall

This one's a no-brainer! By truly learning how to play an instrument, you are training your spatial-temporal skills, which will lead to a larger memory capacity. That's right, those who play music are capable of remembering more things than you ever will be (unless you join them!). Maybe it's time to check out those music lessons again - your mornings before work will be less stressful because you will finally remember where you put your car keys!

And sure, it'll take some time to get good, but think about the long-run and how proud of yourself you will be once you finally are able to play some tunes on that guitar.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Lumonol. It has been republished here with permission.

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The post 5 reasons playing an instrument makes you an awesome brainiac appeared first on FamilyToday.

We often underestimate the power and influence of our diet. We think food is just made to sustain our bodies for our day-to-day affairs. But food can have such great healing and wellness properties that it can help you up your game and improve physical and mental aspects of your body. Do you realize, for instance, that you can eat your way to a smarter, better you?

Clean eating focuses on consuming foods whole, raw and natural, with none of the additives and processing that spoil this unadulterated state. Clean eating also ensures that nutrients that boost brain power and cognitive functions get to your system and keep you sharp and focused. The brain, after all, is a complex network of 100 billion nerve cells that requires the right nutrition and environmental factors to perform well.

There is a wealth of key nutrients needed for you to become smarter, but here's a rundown of them based on the different phases of life, according to Express UK.

Childhood and teenage years

By age 5 or 6, brain growth has already been completed, although the process of maturation continues and makes an optimal supply of vitamins and minerals necessary. Omega-3 fats have been shown to benefit school children in their reading tests, and a deficiency in them has been linked to conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia and autism spectrum disorders. In teens, the brain continues to amass the omega-3 acid DHA.

Apart from improving your omega-3 fat intake, experts advise that you should go easy on saturated fats and sugar, which have been shown in animal studies to lead to impaired neural ability in the hippocampus.

Age 20s to 30s

Brain development has been demonstrated to continue until around age 25, with suggestions that wisdom indeed comes with age, but a lot earlier than expected. Given this, vitamin E found in nuts and avocado may assist in warding off depressive feelings, while fruits and vegetables support vascular health, which factors in the onset of dementia. Of course, there's physical exercise and smart lifestyle choices to keep the brain in its peak performance.

Mid-life

Did you know that early onset dementia is becoming far more common today than previously thought? Memory loss and failing cognition are a real scourge and they can strike in middle age. As such, a higher intake of omega-3s may prove beneficial, while magnesium - mostly found in nuts, beans and whole grains - may help enhance memory.

Senior years

As your age increases, your brain shrinks and all sorts of changes happen in the organ. Thus, it is crucial to stock up on vitamins A, C and E, as well as selenium, to reduce brain inflammation and cognitive decline. DHA and EPA, too, have been found to significantly improve episodic memory, the decline in which has been a common complaint among senior adults.

It's never too late to implement smart, sustainable ways to power up your brain and your cognitive abilities.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Lumonol. It has been republished here with permission.

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The post Can the foods you eat make you smarter? appeared first on FamilyToday.