Brain Health Foods
Wotcha!
Which superfoods help our brain function at optimum level? Would it be walnuts, sage or turmeric, or all of these? Actually, there are many natural ingredients doing a great job for our brain, but here we present you a list of five, based on researches and consumer’s reports:
Green tea- that’s too easy! Not if you’re looking for the real deal: stone-ground Japanese Matcha is not the regular green tea bag, but the green tea leaf itself, whole, the powder being mixed with hot water. Very rich in chlorophyll, calms the nervous system and reputedly has anti-cancer and anti-aging benefits.
Fresh berries- especially Acai and blueberries-have the highest content of antioxidants and vitamins. Brain benefits rise and disease risks lower.
Cacao beans (don’t jump on your chocolate!)- enhances cognitive functions and positive moods, because of its rich content of flavonoids and antioxidants. Either chose organic high-quality cocoa powder or dark chocolate bars (at least 75% cacao content or higher).
Do you like fish? If not, you should. Wild salmon is one of the best sources of essential fatty acids and high-quality non-land animal protein. It was proven to improve brain matter, synaptic connections and even mood, reducing the risk of Dementia, Alzheimer’s and stroke.
Controversial coffee beans are also rich with antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Fresh-ground gently roasted coffee bean powder reduces the risk of mental decline and diseases. Just keep your coffee simple, without artificial cream and sweeteners.
And don’t forget overall moderation IS the mother of health.
Super!
Pre-Chewed Pencils from Concentrate – £ 1.49
Pre- chewed pencils!!! We know it is a bit daft but – hey! No need to spend time chewing your pencil – Just get down to some concentrated thinking and who knows what you might come up with.
- Discourages chewing of the pencil
- They make a funny gift
- Dimensions: 17.5mm x 0.7mm (HxD)
Mark Champkins Question and Answers – Concentrate Products
Mark Champkins
Hey…hey you! Yes.. you in the stupid hat! Don’t you design all kinds of tat for kids in school? What’s that all about then?
Well … Since you ask… All the ideas come from talking with students and teachers, and watching what goes on in a typical classroom.
The idea for the Chairpadbag came when I saw a boy hang his rucksack over the back of his chair. All his classmates had to continually get up and go over to their bags to get books and equipment, except him. I thought that was pretty clever! Later in the lesson I asked the pupils to design their “classroom of the future”, and aside from introducing chocolate rivers, and monkey helpers, all the kids insisted on soft, comfy chairs. Whilst thinking about how to make existing school chairs more comfortable, and looking at the stowed rucksack, the idea came to me!
Hydration is really important to parents too. Just 2% dehydration leads to a 20% drop in the ability to concentrate.
The Bottlecoolerpenholder idea came about when a parent complained to me that they gave their child a bottle of water each day, and it always came home untouched. Watching a lesson I saw the one thing all the pupils always remember, and have in front of them when working is their pencil case. If their water could be kept with their stationery, I reasoned, then they would always remember to have it in front of them when working, and would be prompted to drink during lessons.
Philippe Starck: Designing not for art’s sake, but for the benefit of the customer
“Design” is a funny old thing. It’s easy imagine that designers sit all day long and wait for their muse to strike, others think that designers are constantly seeking for inspiration reading books, visiting museum, learning all kinds of artsy stuff.
All of us are right and yet there are those who find inspiration for design by simply examining the society they live in. Observing human behavior helps the designer understand people’s needs.
International designer and all round superhero Philippe Starck seems to be using this principle in his work: designing not for art’s sake, but for the final result and for the benefit of the customer. After all, that’s what design for life actually means: checking the background of the individual and adapting to his real needs.
The designer’s job may be seen by some as a bohemian, perhaps useless occupation and some designs seem to prove it. Our crazy French hero Philippe Starck brings a deeper vision about the role of the designer as a character in the story of human evolution.
He can bring a new angle of view, evolutionary, aesthetic or sometimes both, a starting point for a new invention. The message of the modern designer to the next generation is “invent a new story, invent a new poetry”.
Philippe Starck also takes special delight in rethinking everyday objects and giving them new look and functionality. The advice for designers is to look at people, find out how they live and what they desire, before starting to use the paper and pencil. We may be a long way from the Design Excellence of Monsieur Starck but we’re trying – see here Concentrate’s design approach.
Happy New Year: The Future of Schools – Nice Soft Seats and Robot Teachers?
We wish you a Happy New Year!
Did you know that 2010 is the international year of the bottom?* Countries all over the world will be thinking of ways to make their posteriors as cozy as possible. This, of course, is not true.
However, we all know it’s not that nice sitting on a hard surface for too long – but for some reason, nearly all the chairs in school are hard, and a little bit uncomfortable.
How can you hope to concentrate properly if you are uncomfortable?
One day there will be robot teachers that can float, and mark 18 practice SAT papers at the same time. These floating robot teachers will go from house to house teaching stuff, and everyone else will be able to stay in their favourite armchair for as long as they like.
Until that happens, we’ve got a solution. How about carrying a little bit of padding around with you? Then, you can use it whenever you have to sit on an uncomfortable chair? Have a look at our Chairpadbag below.
The schoolbag “Chairpadbag” is a new way of staying comfortable in class. It is designed to hook over the back of a school chair, with a special padded flap that folds out over the backrest and seat to make even the hardest seat comfy. It is also expandable, ensuring there is enough room for everything a child might need for school.
• Makes the chair comfortable and keeps the child’s books close by: hook it over the back of your chair and fold out the lid
• Easily expandable bag space with zipper
• Ergonomic strap design
• Reflective strips running down the seams of the bag ensure it stands out on dark nights.
• Grippy rubberised logo stops the padded cushion from slipping around on chairs.
• Smart name tag makes it easy to identify whose bag is whose.
• Magnets sewn inside the padding to make sure the flap folds away easily.
• Dimensions: 30mm x 35mm WxH
• Material: nylon
For more information about the Chairpadbag read our Chairpadbag FAQS.
Happy Year of the Bottom!
Concentration span of a goldfish
Um, what was i saying ..?
The average concentration span of a goldfish is about 1 second – after that, they just forget everything. Most goldfish spend all their time swimming around their bowl, being pleasantly surprised by all the new scenery.
Fortunately, we humans can concentrate for a little bit longer.
Clever fellas with big beards, worked out that your concentration span can be roughly worked out in minutes by adding one minute to the number of years old you are. This means that to get the most out of your brain, you need to work on one thing for a short burst, then have a break (and maybe a biscuit), and then ideally change some aspect of what you’re doing.
Drinking water
As we mentioned, fish aren’t too bright. You never see them talking with the Prime Minister, or trying to calculate how much a black hole weighs. But this is a little bit strange because they are always surrounded by water – and water is fantastically good at helping you to concentrate.
A bunch of Swiss boffins at the World Health Organsation, worked out that if we are 2% dehydrated, our ability to concentrate will fall by 20%. They reckon you should drink about two litres of water a day.
What all this means is that it is terrifically important to keep drinking lots of water if you want to be able to think clearly, or are about to try some quantum physics.
Try our Bottlecoolerpenholder to help you with this 
ANSWER to last weeks’ Sudoku riddle:
Sudoku riddle
Sudoku Rules
Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3×3 square.
Sudoku Tips
* Start with number one and pencil in all options around the grid before moving on to number 2. When worked your way up to number nine, simply go back to the beginning and start with number one again
* Concentrate on the 3×3 mini grids, rather than rows and columns. They give up a lot of clues.
* If you’ve completed seven numbers in a row or column, then obviously the two boxes that are left must be one of the two remaining numbers left over. That row or column often passes through a mini-grid where you also have two options. Frequently, you can deduct exactly where the two leftover numbers go.
Merry Christmas, last chance to buy a Concentrate gift pack
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We hope you’ll have a great time
Last chance to buy one of our beautiful Gift Packs for Christmas to make your kids have more fun at school in the new year:
SUPER GIFT PACK
- Chairpadbag
- Lunchbox “Food for Thought” (including 2 pots)
- Lunchbox Coolerbag (in any of the four colours)
- Bottlecoolerpenholder (in any matching colour)
- Voting Ruler
- Pre-chewed pencils (set of four)
GIFT PACK
- Lunchbox “Food for Thought” (including 2 pots)
- Lunchbox Coolerbag (in any of the four colours)
- Bottlecoolerpenholder (in any matching colour)
- Voting Ruler
- Pre-chewed pencils (set of four)
