Did you know that according to the American Psychological Association the neuro-enhancement industry is worth over USD 1Bn.
So we dug into some of the scientific research to give you 6 proven techniques to increase your brain power, memory and concentration.
Some of the criteria we used while looking for these techniques were –
a) The specific aspects of the brain that we were looking to enhance were memory, focus and concentration
b) These techniques should be easy to implement
c) We need to see quick results
d) The techniques should help us whether we are students or working adults who keeps forgetting things and cannot focus and concentrate
So, in today’s article, I will give you
6 Proven ways to boost your brain power, and
3 Brain Damaging Activities
1 Bonus Tip
1. Neuro-plasticity (Challenging your Mind)
This is a very recent and astonishing discovery. It states that the brain is like plastic, it can be moulded and changed throughout life. The power of the brain comes not only from its size but from the number of electrical connections inside it.
This plastic, flexible brain is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more connections it makes and the stronger it gets.
Re-wire the Brain
So here a few things you can do everyday to re-wire your brain and increase your brain power –
a) Try writing with the left hand if you are a right -hand person or vice versa. Write with both hands
b) Try brushing your teeth with your left and right hands on alternate days. Brush with alternate hands
c) Learn a new language – even if you think that language may not help you in future, the act of learning a language at any stage in life will create many new neural pathways buzzing around in your head.
d) Try Solving a Rubik’s Cube, a Sudoku puzzle, a crossword puzzle or a game of Chess
e) Try remembering people’s phone numbers, instead of relying on the memory of your phone. Remember Phone Numbers
f) Learn to draw or doodle
The key is to never let the brain get into a comfort zone. No Comfort Zone
Seek novelty and do things the hard way.
2. Acupressure
I’m going to show you something that will immediately benefit you. so pause the video, sit comfortably, keep your phone in front of you because you will need both your hands free.
I am going to show you the top three powerful points which can give your brain immediate positive results. I will show you what to do and try it with me.
⦁ Third Eye Point:
(Directly between the eyebrow, where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead)
Press it gently for 3-5 minutes 3 times a day
Increases Focus, creativity and memory.
Feel Calm and de-stressed
⦁ Sun Point:
It can be found around one and a half inches away from the eyebrows
Apply slight pressure for 2 minutes, 3 times a day
Improves concentration power.
Regular practice will show a huge improvement
⦁ Gates of Consciousness:
Place your index and middle fingers of either hand
Press firmly upward on both sides at once for 10 seconds, then release and repeat.
Reduces stress relief and headaches.
Regular practice improves concentration and memory.
So, when you’re sitting on your desk, and these days there is so much online work to do. Take a short break and press these three points. You’ll instantly feel better and it will also help boost your brain power.
3. Advanced Imagination (Exposure)
Imagine you are sitting on a Trapezium shaped Pavement facing the Driftwood coloured facial rock statues of Easter Islands. Suddenly one of the statues spoke up to you “Hello Sir”. Eyes-wide-open you gaspingly pinched your self to reassure your consciousness.
Let these images float in and out of the screen – trapezium, driftwood, easter islands facial rock statues
May be difficult to imagine the exact for a while until you google the shape “Trapezium” or “Driftwood” colour or the place “Easter Islands”. But can you see the difference to your imagination once you get to know these aspects?
Our intellect is a basket full of data and images that we have collected since our childhood. The more wide variety of data we expose our brain to, the more it will grow. So here are some things we should do periodically –
a) watch movies from different countries,
b) read new genres of books,
c) listen to songs of different languages, or
d) learn the history of unknown places.
4. Photographic Memory
The desire for a vivid memory is everybody’s fantasy. But is there any trick to make it real? Well, let me share 2 simple tricks for a high definition memory.
⦁ Weird Visualization-
It is a very interesting trick. It suggests converting any normal situation, name or even place into weird visualization. For example, visualize “Colosseum is in Rome” as it’s in your room. Or remembering the fact that “Uzbekistan is a landlocked country” as baking tan coloured cake (for Uz bake is tan) inside an oven (for landlocked).
Try converting facts into weird visuals and the more weird they are, the more likely you are to remember them
⦁ Use of all 5 senses-
This is a very useful trick for memorizing any place or experience. It suggests to experience any place through all 5 senses and not just with the eyes. For example, you went to a new park in the city. So, to have a vivid memory of the place, try to give close attention to the sound, smell, sensation or temperature including with the visualization of the place. Taste if you can.
5. Food for Thought
Did you know that our brains use up nearly 20 per cent of our total energy. This is why you feel exhausted after an intense study session even though you haven’t even gotten up from your chair.
And just like Calcium is essential for our bones or Vitamin C for our skin. Similarly, the brain cells need two essential nutrients to stay healthy.
1. Omega-3 fatty acids –
They help build membranes around the neurons in the brain and can make these neurons stronger.
So, try eating a lot of Omega-3 rich food including Chia Seeds, Walnuts, Flax Seeds, Salmon Fish, Tuna Fish.
2. Flavonoid anti-oxidants.
Its help in fighting against oxidative stress. Make sure you eat some Dark Chocolate, Berries like strawberries, blackberries, blueberries.
6. Meditation
One of the main reasons why we are not able to concentrate is because our mind wanders into the past or the future, we worry and our mind just jumps from thought to thought.
Meditation has been scientifically proven to help increase your concentration powers. Just being able to sit for a few minutes in meditation everyday will significantly improve the power to focus, remove negative thoughts and relax the brain. All of which will help enhance its performance.
One can start with a simple practice of concentrating on your breath or being attentive towards everything around your surroundings without any judgement. Try this for just a few days and you will notice a difference.
The Flip side of plastic brain is that if you don’t use it you lose it. Use it or Lose it
While we put our effort to enhance our brainpower, we must avoid some brain-damaging activities which could create huge resistance to its proper functioning.
a) Attack on Hippocampus
Hippocampus is the part of the brain that suffers due to lack of sleep. Even a single night of improper sleep can affect your brain’s ability to memorize new information. Lack of sleep can cause the death of brain cells, which can lead to impaired memory and reduced abilities. So before you fall upon binge-watching your favourite shows, think of the struggle of Mr Hippo of your brain.
b) High Sugar Consumption
And lastly the Desert. That’s how a meal ends. Excessive intake of sugar for a long period disturbs our body’s capacity to absorb proteins and nutrients. This leads to malnutrition and inefficient brain development. So satisfy your sugar cravings with fruit-based sweets, honey-based or palm-based sweets.
c) Technological Dependency
Everything we need is on our phone. Without our phone, we are totally lost. Unfortunately less and less usage of our memory in our daily activities will lead to its diminishing power. So, next time when you visit a new place try to memorize the route instead of falling upon google maps all the time or try to calculate on your head before crashing upon your calculator.
Bonus Tip – Brain Dump
Sometimes, your brain is a mess. You might be anxious, worried, stressed, or so full of ideas or information that you can’t focus. It’s a frustrating condition that can lead to even more stress.
A brain dump is simply the act of dumping all the contents of your mind onto paper as one might dump the contents of a purse onto a table. You are spilling out stressors, your nagging thoughts, your pesky annoyances. Simply open up a valve in your mind and let all those thoughts flow out of your hand and onto some paper. Write until you feel like the pressure inside of you is lessened and you can take a deep breath. Then you will have achieved a brain dump.
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