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“I just found out that the brain is like a computer. If that’s true, then there really aren’t any stupid people. Just people running DOS.”
- Anonymous
The brain is a three-pound supercomputer. It is the command and control center running your life. It is involved in absolutely everything you do. Your brain determines how you think, how you feel, how you act, and how well you get along with other people. Your brain even determines the kind of person you are. It determines how thoughtful you are; how polite or how rude you are. It determines how well you think on your feet, and it is involved with how well you do at work and with your family. Your brain also influences your emotional well being and how well you do with the opposite sex.
Your brain is more complicated than any computer we can imagine. Did you know that you have one hundred billion nerve cells in your brain, and every nerve cell has many connections to other nerve cells? In fact, your brain has more connections in it than there are stars in the universe! Optimizing your brain’s function is essential to being the best you can be, whether at work, in leisure, or in your relationships.
It’s simple, your brain is at the center of everything you do, all you feel and think, and every nuance of how you relate to people. It’s both the supercomputer that runs your complex life and the tender organ that houses your soul. And while you may run, lift weights, or do yoga to keep your body in good condition, chances are you ignore your brain and trust it to do its job.
No matter what your age, mental exercise has a global, positive effect on the brain. So, here are 22 ways to boost your brain power:
1. Run Up Your Brain Cells
Research suggests that people who get plenty of physical exercise can wind up with better brains. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., found that adult mice who ran on an exercise wheel whenever they felt like it gained twice as many new cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in learning and memory, than mice who sat around all day discussing Lord of the Rings in Internet chat rooms. The researchers weren’t sure why the more active rodents’ brains reacted the way they did, but it’s possible that the voluntary nature of the exercise made it less stressful and therefore more beneficial. Which could mean that finding ways to enjoy exercise, rather than just forcing yourself to do it, may make you smarter - and happier, too.
So, play a sport, train for an event such as a marathon, triathlon or “fun run,” or work out with a buddy to help keep things interesting.
2. Exercise Your Mind
It isn’t just physical exercise that gets those brain cells jumping. Just like those head-pumped cabbies and piano jockeys, you can build up various areas of your brain by putting them to work. Duke University neurobiology professor Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., co-author of Keep Your Brain Alive, says that finding simple ways to use aspects of your brain that may be lagging could help maintain both nerve cells and dendrites, branches on the cells that receive and process information. Just as a new weightlifting exercise builds up underused muscles, Katz says that novel ways of thinking and viewing the world can improve the functioning of inactive sections of the brain.
Experience new tastes and smells; try to do things with your nondominant hand; find new ways to drive to work; travel to new places; create art; read that Dostoyevsky novel; write a buddy comedy for Ted Kennedy and Rush Limbaugh - basically, do anything you can to force yourself out of your mental ruts.
3. Ask Why
Our brains are wired to be curious. As we grow up and 鈥渕ature鈥� many of us stifle or deny our natural curiosity. Let yourself be curious! Wonder to yourself about why things are happening. Ask someone in the know. The best way to exercise our curiosity is by asking 鈥淲hy?鈥� Make it a new habit to ask 鈥渨hy?鈥� at least 10 times a day. Your brain will be happier and you will be amazed at how many opportunities and solutions will show up in your life and work.
4. Laugh
Scientists tell us that laughter is good for our health; that it releases endorphins and other positively powerful chemicals into our system. We don鈥檛 really need scientists to tell us that it feels good to laugh. Laughing helps us reduce stress and break old patterns too. So laughter can be like a 鈥渜uick-charge鈥� for our brain鈥檚 batteries. Laugh more, and laugh harder.
5. Be A Fish Head
Omega-3 oils, found in walnuts, flaxseed and especially fish, have long been touted as being healthy for the heart. But recent research suggests they’re a brain booster as well, and not just because they help the circulation system that pumps oxygen to your head. They also seem to improve the function of the membranes that surround brain cells, which may be why people who consume a lot of fish are less likely to suffer depression, dementia, even attention-deficit disorder. Scientists have noted that essential fatty acids are necessary for proper brain development in children, and they’re now being added to baby formulas. It’s possible that your own mental state, and even your intelligence, can be enhanced by consuming enough of these oils.
Eating at least three servings a week of fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel and tuna is a good start.
6. Remember
Get out an old photo album or high school yearbook. Your brain is a memory machine, so give it a chance to work! Spend time with your memories. Let your mind reflect on them and your mind will repay you in positive emotions and new connections from the memories to help you with your current tasks and challenges.
7. Cut The Fat
Can “bad” fats make you dumb? When researchers at the University of Toronto put rats on a 40-percent-fat diet, the rats lost ground in several areas of mental function, including memory, spatial awareness and rule learning. The problems became worse with a diet high in saturated fats, the kind that’s abundant in meat and dairy products. While you may never be called upon to navigate a little maze in search of a cheddar cube, these results could hold true for you as well, for two reasons: Fat can reduce the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your brain, and it may also slow down the metabolism of glucose, the form of sugar the brain utilizes as food.
You can still get up to 30 percent of your daily calories in the form of fat, but most of it should come from the aforementioned fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds. Whatever you do, stay away from trans fats, the hardened oils that are abundant in crackers and snack foods.
8. Do A Puzzle
Some of us like jigsaw puzzles, some crossword puzzles, some logic puzzles - it really doesn鈥檛 matter kind you choose to do. Doing puzzles in your free time is a great way to activate your brain and keep it in good working condition. Do the puzzle for fun, but do it knowing you are exercising your brain.
9. The Mozart Effect
A decade ago Frances Rauscher, a psychologist now at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, and her colleagues made waves with the discovery that listening to Mozart improved people’s mathematical and spatial reasoning. Even rats ran mazes faster and more accurately after hearing Mozart than after white noise or music by the minimalist composer Philip Glass. Last year, Rauscher reported that, for rats at least, a Mozart piano sonata seems to stimulate activity in three genes involved in nerve-cell signalling in the brain.
This sounds like the most harmonious way to tune up your mental faculties. But before you grab the CDs, hear this note of caution. Not everyone who has looked for the Mozart effect has found it. What’s more, even its proponents tend to think that music boosts brain power simply because it makes listeners feel better - relaxed and stimulated at the same time - and that a comparable stimulus might do just as well. In fact, one study found that listening to a story gave a similar performance boost.
10. Improve Your Skill At Things You Already Do
Some repetitive mental stimulation is ok as long as you look to expand your skills and knowledge base. Common activities such as gardening, sewing, playing bridge, reading, painting, and doing crossword puzzles have value, but push yourself to do different gardening techniques, more complex sewing patterns, play bridge against more talented players to increase your skill, read new authors on varied subjects, learn a new painting technique, and work harder crossword puzzles. Pushing your brain to new heights help to keep it healthy.
11. Be A Thinker, Not A Drinker
The idea that alcohol kills brain cells is an old one, but the reality is a bit more complicated. In fact, a study of 3,500 Japanese men found that those who drank moderately (in this case, about one drink per day) had better cognitive functioning when they got older than those who didn’t drink at all. Unfortunately, as soon as you get beyond that “moderate” amount, your memory, reaction time is all likely to decline. In the same study, men who had four or more drinks a day fared worst of all.
Just as bad is the now common practice of “binge drinking,” otherwise known as getting hammered on the weekend. Research on rats found that those who consumed large amounts of alcohol had fewer new cells in their brains’ hippocampus region immediately after the binge, and virtually none a month later. This suggests that the alcohol not only damaged the rats’ brains, but kept them from repairing themselves later on - in human terms, that means you shouldn’t expect to pass the Mensa entrance exam any time soon.
12. Play
Take time to play. Make time to play. Play cards. Play video games. Play board games. Play Ring Around the Rosie. Play tug of war. It doesn鈥檛 matter what you play. Just play! It is good for your spirit and good for your brain. It gives your brain a chance to think strategically, and keeps it working.
13. Sleep On It
Previewing key information and then sleeping on it increases retention 20 to 30 percent. You can leave that information next to the bed for easy access, if it is something that won’t keep you awake. If you are kept awake by your thoughts, writing everything down sometimes gets it “out of your mind,” allowing you to sleep (so keep a pen and paper nearby).
14. Concentration
Concentration can increase brainpower. Obvious, perhaps, but the thieves of concentration are not always so obvious. Learn to notice when you are distracted. Often the cause is just below consciousness. If there is a phone call you need to make, for example, it might bother you all morning, sapping your ability to think clearly, even while you are unaware of what is bothering you.
Get in the habit of stopping to ask “What is on my mind right now”. Identify it and deal with it. In the example given, you could make the phone call, or put it on tomorrow’s list, so your mind is comfortable letting it go for now. This leaves you in a more relaxed state where you can think more clearly. Use this technique to increase your brainpower now.
15. Make Love For Your Brain
In a series of studies by Winnifred B. Cutler, PhD and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and later at Stanford University it was found that regular sexual contact had an important impact on physical and emotional well being of women. Sexual contact with a partner at least once a week led to more fertile, regular menstrual cycles, shorter menses, delayed menopause, increased estrogen levels, and delayed aging. Brain imaging studies at UCLA have shown that decreased estrogen levels are associated with overall decreased brain activity and poor memory. Enhancing estrogen levels for women through regular sexual activity enhances overall brain activity and improves memory.
In Dr. Cutler’s study the occurrence of orgasm was not as important as the fact that sex was with another person. Intimacy and emotional bonding may be the most influential factors in the positive aspects of sex. As a psychiatrist I have seen many people withhold sex as a way to show hurt, anger, or disappointment. Dr. Cutler’s research suggests that this is self-defeating behavior. The more you withhold the worse it may be for you. Appropriate sex is one of the keys to the brain’s fountain of youth.
16. Play With Passion!
You can’t do great work without personal fulfillment. When people are growing through learning and creativity, they are much more fulfilled and give 127% more to their work. Delight yourself and you delight the world. Remember what you loved to do as a child and bring the essence of that activity into your work. This is a clue to your genius; to your natural gifts and talents. da Vinci, Edison, Einstein and Picasso all loved to play and they loved to explore.
17. Cycles Of Consciousness
Your consciousness waxes and wanes throughout the day . For most it seems to go through 90 minute cycles, with 30 minutes of lower consciousness. Watch yourself to recognize this cycle. If you learn to recognize and track your mental state, you can concentrate on important mental tasks when your mind is most “awake”. For creative insight into a problem, do the opposite. Work on it when you are in a drowsy state, when your conscious mind has slowed down.
18. Learn Something New
This one might seem obvious. Yes, we capitalize on our brain鈥檚 great potential when we put it to work learning new things. You may have a specific topic for work or leisure that you want to learn more about. That鈥檚 great.
Go learn it. If you don鈥檛 have a subject in mind right now, try learning a new word each day. There is a strong correlation between working vocabulary and intelligence. When we have new words in our vocabulary, our minds can think in new ways with greater nuances between ideas. Put your mind to work learning. It is one of the best ways to re-energize your brain.
19. Write To Be Read
I am a big proponent of writing in a journal to capture ideas and thoughts. There is certainly great value in writing for yourself. I continue to find that my brain is greatly stimulated by writing to be read. The greatest benefit of writing is what it does to expand your brain鈥檚 capacity. Find ways to write to be read 鈥� by writing things for your friends to read, by capturing the stories of your childhood, starting your own blog or whatever 鈥� just write to be read.
20. Try Aroma Therapy To Activate Your Brain
One day, as I was falling asleep, while listening to endless speeches at a conference, my brain suddenly perked up when I caught a whiff of lemon from someone’s cologne. I immediately felt alert and found it much easier to pay attention to the presenter. I discovered aroma therapy really is useful and I have used it ever since revitalize or to relax.
Energizers include peppermint, cypress and lemon. Relaxants: ylang ylang, geranium and rose. A few drops of essential oils in your bath or in a diffuser will do the trick. You can also put a drop or two in a cotton ball or hanky and inhale. One caveat for the workplace; make sure no-one is allergic to the oils before you use them.
21. Drugs To Increase Brainpower
Coffee and other drinks containing caffeine help students consistently score higher on tests. Since caffeine restricts blood vessels in the brain, it isn’t clear what the longer-term effects may be when it comes to your brainpower. So instead of coffee breaks try gingko biloba and gotu kola herbal teas. Ginkgo biloba has been shown to increase blood flow to the brain, and improve concentration.
22. Build A Brain Trust
Surround yourself with inspiring people from a wide variety of fields who encourage you and stimulate your creativity. Read magazines from a wide variety of fields. Make connections between people, places and things, to discover new opportunities, and to find solutions to your problems.
Remember that no matter what your age or your occupation; your brain needs to be constantly challenged to be at its peak in terms of performance. Whether it’s doing logic puzzles, memorizing lines from Shakespeare, or learning a new skill, keep your brain busy, if you don’t want it to rust away like a car in a junkyard.
I like it !
Try Hydergine 4MG three times a day too !
Read more about Hydergine here. Also be sure to seek a health professional鈥檚 advice before trying Hydergine.
what does “overclok” mean?
I guess I’ve spelled “overclocking” wrong in my headline, sorry guys
Hello Ririan,
Great, informative site. I’ve just bookmarked it and will mention to some friends as well.
As for John’s question, if not already understood. The idea of “overclocking” your brain is simply the attempt to get the most out of it by any variety of means, including many you’ve mentioned.
take care!
Len
p.s. What is the pros and cons of Hydergine as mentioned before.
p.p.s. I am a member at Dahn Yoga and one thing that makes them a little different is their approach to finding your center, calming, meditation, etc. Some of it is not for me, but have to admit that much of it is quite effective, even for those whose minds are not completely open to such things.
Thank you Len
If you look for the pros and cons of Hydergine, you’ll find them here.
Thank you for putting this up! I bookmarked this page so I can come here and take advice to make my brain more useful to me.
If I understand it well:
More sex, more games, some drugs, lots of sleep, eat fish and no fat, Laugh a lotm less alcohol and finaly ask yourself ‘why’ you want this all, makes you brilliant? … I will start directly.
Regards Peter
A major misconception is that brain is not a computer. Neural networks work in a completely different way than computers. While computers deal very well with strictly logical/mathematical problems, neural networks are far more effective at dealing with more abstract problems. Not really much in common between the two.
Besides stating that brain affects every aspect of our personality is just a conception, not a fact. Brain is probably the least known thing in the universe. Saying what all it does or how it does it is mostly just guessing.
Go Ginkgo Biloba!
it’s pretty cool to do all this. i agree, but the asking WHY part? wouldnt that make me sound like a n00b ? :-\
Don’t go Ginkgo Biloba! It does increase blood to your brain, but your brain already gets plenty of blood. Research shows it does nothing for memory or cognition and it might increase chance of stroke.
Yup. Use it or lose it! Brains need to be worked!
Good suggestion..
Thank for sharing …
Great article. Thanks
Very interesting site, I just came across it today from a friend. I love the tips. Thanks! Keep it up.
>Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., found that adult mice who ran on an exercise wheel whenever they felt like it gained twice as many new cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in learning and memory, than mice who sat around all day discussing Lord of the Rings in Internet chat rooms.
Hahaha, excellent, dude!
That’s what I call funny, hehe. And I’d say that laughing is probably good for your brain as well.
This is great, thanks!
Great article. I have found from my many years experience that proper diet and active lifestyle is making my brain working fully through the whole day. To be concrete, I am having perfect experiences with macrobiotic diet - whole grains, vegetables, legumes and fishes.
Excellent list! I already do a lot of the things on this list as often as possible!
Most of the advice in this article sounds good, and a lot of it is stuff I do myself, having read similar advice in other articles. I have an issue with one of the items, though. Item #15 ends with the sentence “Appropriate sex is one of the keys to the brain鈥檚 fountain of youth.”
So partner sex is “appropriate sex.” That’s what I’m gathering here, since the author makes it clear that partner sex has been shown to have benefits while solo sex apparently does not. Partner sex = good for your brain; “appropriate” sex = good for your brain; therefore partner sex = appropriate sex.
I don’t question the study’s findings; I’m sure it’s just as valid as any other study. However, the author’s characterisation of partner sex as “appropriate” directly implies that masturbation is inappropriate. Since the article relies so much on the findings of medical professionals, I would suggest the author research Drs. Alfred Kinsey, Ruth Westheimer and Joycelyn Elders.
A smaller bone of contention: many of the benefits listed are only applicable to women with all their parts; if you’ve had your ovaries removed, you can schtup the entire NFL and it won’t have any of the hormone-related effects. Also, elevated estrogen levels are not always a good thing, as breast cancer research has discovered.
Personally, I’m willing to sacrifice an IQ point or two for the sake of not having to worry about AIDS. I’ll do an extra jigsaw puzzle to make up for it.
Nice. Soon I’ll post on my website a link to this post
Think as a third person.
And analyse yourself like you and everyone else is a mouse.
Thx a lot.I would follow them and improve
Amazing Post with incredible tips on brain fitness! You are right, we dont only need to exercise our physique, but our brain as well, its essenstial to have a good mental balance. Good mental health reflects good physical health!
Ed
Thank you guys for your comments, and good luck with your overclocking
G’day Ririan,
About 10 years ago I had a serious sporting accident, that asides from badly injuring my knee, groin, arm & back, I suffered a traumatic brain injury.
For the first 2 years or so I was pretty much in physical agony anytime I tried to do the living thing… you know, sleep, get up, shuffle around… the day to day things.
Initially, I was unaware I had a brain injury, and it wasn’t till I started to slightly improve that I realized that something wasn’t quite right. Once I realize this I instinctively started with the A’s, B’s & C’s & gingko biloba and I must say that I feel there was some improvement… however, to date my brain problems seem to center around my inability to stay on topic (in conversations), track time, the fact that I seemed to have little or no short term memory and a problem with what I call my conceptual continuity.
OK, after reading your blog I thought I might give you another tit bit which I have learnt… the Roll Playing Game ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ does almost all of what you are suggesting. Since taking it up I’ve come to realize that it may have therapeutic values, not only; like in my own case where I’m the only brain injured person in the group, but it may be effective in group therapy applications and I believe it would be of great value for managers looking to the improve thinking & team skills of their staff, hence increasing productivity.
Regards
Arthur
I must say this blog or post of yours was most impressiv! I liked it ALOT
I have to bookmark this one. Impressiv!
from a dude in Norway!
Some great tips you got there, i’ll have to go through them again for extensive reading!
Allen.H
I would consider reading your article the “23rd way”. Very stimulating!
I am quoting it in my blog devoted to fitness paddling. After all, physical exercise is on the top of your list.
Marek
First time visitor to your site and I can assure you that I will be returning !
Nice writing
Great article! Will start imediatelly!!!
Thank you for the fantastic article.
Some of those things I have heard about but was unsure of their validity.
Any chance of posting the references for each item?
Thanks for those tips. I few of them I found out on my own and they do work. Art is an amazing way to stimulate your brain. I will literally spend hours at deviantart.com just browsing the many pieces of art.
Great read! Iv’e allways been trying to improve the person i am. Most of the time i know how to act or react but my body just simply isn’t there yet and will react in its own way. These are allways emotional reactions to sertain situations. I often find myself wondering afterwards, why did i react that way. I find that body and mind are 2 totaly different things and dont often work together as well as u can hope. Teaching your body how to react to sertain situations takes alot of time.
years ago when i was 6 or something i use to stutter realy bad. I was afraid of picking up the phone and being in conversation. After a couple of years of living in fear of speaking id began thinking. Why? Why do i stutter, i dont need to, so why. After that i started telling myself, u can just stop, stop doing it, its pointless so dont. I dont know for howlong id kept telling myself that, at least 2 years im sure. But i can say now, it helped! Im free of it.
And i’m thinking if i can cure that. What other afflictions can i rid myself off. Just by telling myself, don’t, stop, etc.
This article will surely help me improve myself. Thanks!
I love you man!! First time that I’ve found a blog very interesting.
Added a link to your blog from Mensa Singapore, great article. Keep it up!
good tips .
its required for all the people out here.
going to link this blog (post) in my blogs.
keep ur good work.
bye..
I foung this web site very interesting. I am sure who ever come across to this site, they will find is worth visiting. I am fann of discovering new things, ideas and all that makes my brain work. Let us help to build new world of ideas.
Another thing you can take to help improve brain function is taurine. For a while it was a secret of body builders used primarily to increase muscle productivity. But research is being done to show that it helps mental continuity and memory retention. Some studies are showing that it also may help combat Alzheimer’s disease.
I pretty much stopped reading after you (or somebody else) said “there are more neural connections in your brain than stars in the sky” (aprox. citation).
Are you sure about this?
also, these 22 ways is pretty old news, valuable nonetheless.
mai sunt caini in cismigiu?
#12 is absolutely wrong !
Strokes are caused by the lack of blood coming into the brain and not by too much blood. Some claim that Ginkgo has no effect, however there are certainly no side effects. Therefore, it doesn’t hurt to try.
I’d also include these activities:
meditate: recharge yourself and calm your inner self doubts.
get a pet: they inspire, humble, teach and need us too (just go to your local shelter)
volunteer: helping others is another way of getting out of our skin and into a better space altogether
share: you did and I’m so glad
say thank you: thank you! and thanks to http://problogger.net
This is my first visit to your site and let me just say that I am thoroughly impressed.
My absolute favorite tip is number 19: Write to be Read. I could not agree more, and I am thankful you pointed out the necessity of stretching your brain by writing for others to read.
I too am an advocate of journal writing, brainstorming, and jotting down notes to spark ideas already living within the writer. However, I have a difficult time reading blog posts that were clearly written for the sole purpose of therapeutic expression.
I am not cold hearted. I keep a journal of my own, but I do not offer the content for the world to read. I have serious doubt that my readers would ever tune in to read about my evening jog or a mid-afternoon thought relevant only to me!
Keep the content beneficial to your readers. They will appreciate it, and you become a better writer.
I look forward to your future posts.
Wow .I like the analysis.Really deep study
Thank you pal, I was Looking for these tips because i work in on of those BPO’s in india. So i do not get sleep properly since we work during nights. I shall try some of your tricks which you have post on your blog, Even this post is quite good.
Keep It Up,
Cheers
I loved that part of sex..hehehehe
Fantastic article, I think I may have found what I have been looking for. That little push to get focused :]
Replying another thank you would be lame.
Commenting on this would be lame.
Criticising it would be lame.
Good post - left me without words.
Ririan, great post. “Brain exercise” and Brain Fitness Programs is precisely what we do. In summary, we advocate the need for novelty, variety and stretching practice in order to improve cognitive and emotional fitness and help prevent potential brain problems.
Most of your points do make much sense, but let me mention a couple of them that would be rebuked by most neuroscientists today: the one on gingko biloba and gotu kola, and the one on Mozart effect. None of this has been shown to have solid results (apart from the placebo effect).
Looking forward to your next post. I am not sure for how long you have been involved in this, but I would venture that your series on stress and mental acuity is a superb example of personal development in action. Congratulations-good for your brain
Buenas noches
Unfortunately the Omega 3, whilst it might be good for brain development at the start of life, appears to be another drug-company myth for people with small brains!
The trials have had their critics, at the very least:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1889728,00.html
wooohooo!
thats really nice! 
but, i guess, common known things 
p hehe, no problem for repliying )