Last-Minute Holiday Gifts December 17, 2014December 16, 2014 FOR THE FOLKS Remember “All In The Family?” Archie Bunker and Edith and Meathead and Gloria? With the Jeffersons next door and Maude dropping by? Maybe you don’t, but your folks do. Would they like to spend 19 intimate hours with Norman Lear, its creator, who at one point had 120 million Americans watching the various ground-breaking sitcoms he had on the air? (“Mary Hartman! Mary Hartman!”) And who founded People for the American Way? And whose dad, improbably, was a crook? And who at 92 is sharper and more energetic than Archie ever was? Click here to have him tell you or your folks his amazing life story, Even This I Get To Experience. You could read it with your eyeballs, of course; but there’s something about the direct voice-to-brain experience I find pretty great. Maybe use this occasion to gift a membership in audible.com — which comes with your choice of a free book, so it could be this one. (How you wrap or deliver such a thing I don’t know. I just know it’s the second day of Hannukah, so get on the stick.) FOR GRAMPS How’d you like to lessen the chance your grandparent will break his or her hip? Long-time readers know I have an interest in the private company behind BrainHQ — “brain training that works.” To wit: You may have heard that doing physical exercise can be good for your brain function. But you might be surprised to hear the reverse can be true, too: doing BrainHQ can improve physical function. Two recent studies led by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have shown that using a set of BrainHQ exercises significantly improves balance and mobility among older adults, reducing fall risk.1 These are the first studies to show that BrainHQ improves physical function. But many, many customers have told us how BrainHQ exercises have helped them in physical activities. Dave Demko says brain training helped him be his best in competitive skiing. Howard Newman became a better softball player. Diane Goldman felt like she had a surer step. And Morley Melden got his highest bowling score ever—at age 82. This holiday, you can give BrainHQ to the person in your life who could benefit from its many benefits—including better balance and mobility—for 25% less. Or buy yourself a subscription—they’re 25% off, too. Smith-Ray RL, Hughes,SL et al (2014) Impact of Cognitive Training on Balance and Gait in Older Adults, J Gerontol Psychol Sci Soc Sci, doi:10.1093 /geronb/gbt097.Smith-Ray RL, Makowski-Woidan,BS et al (2014) A Randomized Trial to Measure the Impact of a Community-Based Cognitive Training Intervention on Balance and Gait in Cognitively Intact Black Older Adults, Health Educ Behav vol 41 no 1 supp 62S-69S. I’d love to end this by telling you Norman Lear is so sharp at 92 because he’s one of our customers, but to my knowledge it’s simply because he’s Norman Lear.