"You are much smarter now than when I first met you"

I recently listened to David Amen's "Train the Brain" lecture and realized a recent flippant statement my husband said the other day was true. "You are much smarter now than when I first met you". I thought wow, that's kind of an insult, but at the same time I understood what he meant & in his sweet way was telling me I had developed quickly & decelerated the aging of my brain. Learning is exercise for the brain. We all unassumingly play Sudoko, do crosswords as a way to keep the brain stimulated, but studies have indicated that those exercises along with other aspects of brain health such as good sleep, diet, weight, positiveness, omega 3's & more. I started learning a language a few years ago since my job, although intense while working, was a job I could leave at work if I deemed as such. I knew I wanted & needed to "learn" so the language was a good way to train the brain. I have to admit it was a great exercise for personal growth & fulfilled a need. However, when I started the Health Coaching training program, volunteered for the Worksite Wellness Council of MA, and even threw marriage into that mix, I felt that my brain has exponentially developed but at the same time feels slightly overloaded with all the tasks in these areas taking little more time to complete. Thus, what's the threshold for learning for maximum retention without hitting burnout? My Turkish isn't doing so great, but that's because it's been de-prioritized and I don't practice. I haven't even touched on the aspects of over stimulation in our society that can possibly minimize learning potential, but also train the brain to work faster. Some studies are saying too much multi-tasking isn't as ideal as originally thought. But to stick to this topic, brain health is just as important as physical, nutritional, spiritual health, so keep that in mind, find something "new" to learn and enjoy to make yourself "smarter" for yourself...not necessarily for the peanut gallery!