boost your brain power
1) Meditate — Meditation has been known to increase IQ, relieve stress,
and promotes higher levels of brain functioning. Meditation also
activates the “prefrontal cortex” of the brain, an area responsible for
advanced thinking ability and performance.
2) Draw A Picture — Drawing stimulates the right-hemisphere of the brain
and inspires creativity. Get out the colored pencils and begin drawing
your way to a powerful brain.
3) Exercise — Long-term exercise has been proven to increase brain power
and even create new neurons in the brain. Go out and get a natural high
off of your own brain chemistry through exercise!
4) Brainwave Entrainment — Brainwave entrainment is a safe, innovative
way to stimulate and shape the brain and it’s functioning. You can
literally build up more control over your life and harness your brain’s
potential!
5) Avoid Junk Food – Junk food has been proven to decrease energy in the
body and promotes “brain fog.” Cut some junk food from your diet, and
reap the benefits of a more calm, focused brain chemistry.
6) Deep Breathing — Deep breathing actually increases oxygen levels and
blood-flow to the brain. 10-15 minutes of daily deep breathing can make a
huge difference in the quality of your life and brain’s functioning
potential.
7) Learn A New Language — Learning adds more structure to the brain and
improves the brain’s speech centers. Hablas espanol? It may be time for
you to take a class or program to supplement your job-skills and brain
power!
8) Take Fish Oil — Fish oil supplements are literally like membrane
material for the brain. The 2 primary components of EPA and DHA each act
to strengthen both the emotional center of the brain and boost focus.
There is an increase in overall brain activity after taking fish oil for
awhile.
9) Laugh It Up — Laughter causes a natural release of the brain’s
endorphins — chemicals that drown out pain and increase overall
wellbeing. Laughter is a well known, natural stress reducer. Watch a
comedy, crack a joke, and increase those endorphin levels!
10) Engage In Debate — A good, healthy debate strengthens the brain’s
ability to think quickly and apply intelligence to verbal situations.
Work to build up your brain power by engaging in plenty of healthy
debate. Just ask someone who they are voting for in the presidential
election and you’ll definitely provoke a debate!
11) Take A Multivitamin — Vitamins are great for the brain, and if it
does not get enough of a certain vitamin through daily diet, consider a
multivitamin. Multivitamins help facilitate the functioning of a healthy
body and enriched brain. Start popping a vitamin each morning for
awhile and chances are good that you’ll notice a difference!
12) Drink Red Wine — Alcohol in moderation has been proven to be good
for the brain. Why? It is rich in antioxidants — chemicals that actually
protect the brain! One glass daily for women and two for men is
generally considered a healthy amount.
13) Eat Healthy — You know what ‘healthy’ is, so why not eat healthy and
improve your brain? The brain requires a certain amount of energy to
reach it’s maximum level of functioning. Eating chocolate cake and chips
instead of fish and legumes, well maybe that’s why you cannot think
clearly.
14) Change Your Environment — To keep your brain properly stimulated, it
is important to keep changing your environment. Drive a new route to
work, eat at a new restaurant on Friday night. Changing the environment
helps change the brain!
15) Set Goals — Setting goals activates areas of the brain associated
with positive thinking and action. Setting goals is great for achieving
success and prosperity in life and boosting your brain.
16) Listen To Music — Studies have proven that listening to music
strengthens the right-hemisphere of the brain and literally changes the
structure. Those same studies have found that people who listen to music
are generally smarter and have more emotional intelligence than those
who don’t.
17) Be Empathetic — Being empathetic and trying to understand the
emotions of others is a skill that your brain can learn. Being
empathetic is definitely a powerful trait to have and allows your brain
to relate to the emotions of others.
18) Avoid Stress — A little bit of stress will never hurt anybody. Too
much stress actually causes detrimental increases in the hormone
“cortisol” which in high levels, kills brain cells and suppresses brain
functioning.
19) Think Positive — If you are currently very good at thinking
positively, chances are good that you already have a more powerful brain
than those “Negative Nellies.” Take 10 minutes daily to think more
positive and start noticing an improvement in thinking abilities and
problem solving skills.
20) Brainstorm — A good brainstorming session to think of new,
stimulating ideas is a great way to boost your brains ability to think
creatively. Brainstorming is actually a different way of thinking that
will equip your brain with a quick creative boost.
21) Write An Article — Writing is linked to an improved memory and
expression of thoughts. When you write, you are strengthening your
brain’s natural ability to convey thoughts and feelings. Writing is a
great way to exercise your ability to analyze and build a thought
process with critical thinking. Journals, diaries, blog entries, and
writing stories are phenomenal ways to fulfill your brain.
22) Visualise — Visualisation has been associated with focus at a deeper
level. Many successful athletes that are able to play “in the zone”
actually visualise their game at a deeper level. Visualisation has been
linked to lowered stress, increased creativity, and peak mind-body
performance.
23) Get Some Sleep — Be sure to always fulfill your brain’s need for
sleep. Sleep clears out mental clutter and unimportant thoughts. Getting
a good night’s sleep can also be the difference between a sharp memory
and feeling forgetful. Everyone has different sleep requirements, be
sure to fulfill yours! If you don’t get enough sleep — you may want to
take a nap…
24) Do Self-Hypnosis — The power of hypnotic suggestion is definitely
real. You can change aspects of your thought process and learn to shift
your focus by taking the time to do some self-hypnosis. Hypnosis
research shows that by practicing hypnosis, an individual experiences
lowered stress, increased pain tolerance, and clear thinking. Try it out
for yourself if you haven’t already!
25) Do Crossword Puzzles — Crossword puzzles bring out your brain’s
ability to critically think and recall past memories. The challenge of
completing crossword puzzles is definitely mentally invigorating and
stimulating. If you enjoy reading the newspaper, be sure to check out
the daily crossword puzzles section and build up that brain power!
26) Eat Nuts — Brazil and South American University students swear by
eating nuts before taking exams. They notice that eating them is
correlated with an increase in test scores. New studies are beginning to
prove nuts effectiveness at increasing brain power. If you do not eat a
lot of nuts, try it sometime and reap the brain related benefits!
27) Read Books — Reading books teaches your brain to adapt to absorb
large amounts of information in shorter periods of time. Books challenge
your thinking abilities and memorization skills, as well as boost
vocabulary and critical thinking skills. Not only do you learn something
from reading a book, but your brain power increases as you build up the
book load.
28) Listen To Classical Tunes — Listening to classical music activates
the left hemisphere of the brain, which is why classical music usually
helps students do better in mathematics and writing. If you haven’t yet
tried listening to some Mozart, consider it! Mozart has been linked to
an 80 % increase in spatial intelligence scores!
29) Play “Brain Age” — New games like “Brain Age” for the nintendo DS
and Big-Brain Academy help promote quick thinking and essential brain
skills. These games work wonderful for improving thinking speed and
natural problem solving skills. I’ve had a chance to play these games
before and I can personally vouch for their effectiveness!
30) Take A Nap – Taking a nap has been proven through research to
significantly improve task-performance and thinking abilities. If you
are feeling tired throughout the day and have time to take a quick nap,
it is recommended. Naps are a wonderful refresher and quick little
mental booster.
31) Turn Off The T.V. – Watching T.V. may not be the only reason which
rotting begins in the brain, but it is a key ingredient to the rotting
process. A little T.V. will never hurt anybody, but it does definitely
change brain functioning. The act of watching T.V. slows brainwaves and
causes a decline in brain fitness.
32) Paint A Picture — Being able to visualize where you want paint to go
on paper sparks pure creativity from within. Painting is an exercise
that gets the right-brain fully functioning and improves your creative
side. If you haven’t tried painting a picture, give it a shot and notice
that you’re likely to feel and be more creative.
33) Start Crying — Don’t be afraid to cry when the time is right! Crying
actually heals emotions and promotes healthy circulation within the
brain. Those who are able to cry are actually cleansing the inside of
their brain, which is another very healthy way to increase brain power.
34) Eat Less — Eating too much food has the effect of decreasing
blood-flow to the brain and increasing blood-flow to the digestive
system. Therefore, if you are able to cut-back on the total amount of
food you consume, you will have enhanced brain functioning. In several
lab studies, rats on a calorie-restricted diet had increased blood flow
to their brains.
35) Eat Breakfast — When kids who hadn’t eating breakfast for awhile,
began to eat breakfast, their math grades went up an entire letter grade
(on average). Breakfast is probably the most important meal of the day —
it provides your body with fuel for the rest of the day. If you don’t
have time to eat an entire breakfast in the morning, at least have some
sort of snack… It could give your brain a powerful edge!
36) Go For A Walk — Exercise deifnitely benefits the brain, and walking
is a great form of exercise that is easy and very effective for boosting
brainpower. Walking puts your mind in a relaxed state of clear thought
and brain function. Walking gives your brain a chance to wander and free
itself from any troubling thoughts.
37) Mimic Others — Being able to mimic other’s actions and talk
activates several areas of the brain that are usually inactive. Mimicing
others, if done in a fun, playful manner, can improve your brain power
and the brain’s natural ability to adapt quickly when faced with new
situations.
38) Solve Puzzles — Solving puzzles is a great way to stimulate your
brains ability to critically think and process information. Puzzles are
thought provoking, challenging, and a fun activity. The great thing
about puzzles is that they require activity in the left-hemisphere of
the brain to work with, and transfer information to, the right
hemisphere’s visual center of the brain. Want a more integrated brain?
Solve a puzzle!
39) Do Neurofeedback — Neurofeedback is a great way to learn to
consciously control your brain wave patterns. Neurofeedback builds brain
structure and helps promote flexibility within a brain’s neural
network. Though neurofeedback is somewhat costly, if you’ve got enough
money — it may very well be the best investment you can make for your
brain!
40) Cut Alcohol Consumption — Alcohol in moderation isn’t terrible for
the brain, too much alcohol is damaging to brain health and function. If
you want to boost brain power, cutting alcohol is a great way to do it.
Alcohol can cause memory problems and encourage “foggy,” disorganized
thinking.
41) Live A Drug-Free Lifestyle — Everyone knows that drugs are bad for
them. Drugs do not foster creativity, they kill creativity and deplete
brain cells. Depending on the drug, effects can range from brain
bleeding, to cell loss, to impairments in neural growth. Live drug free
and keep your brain more powerful!
42) Drink Fruit Juice — Drinking fruit juice revitalizes the brain and
provides cells with a refreshing jolt of nutrients. Great juices to
drink include: grape juice, orange juice, cranberry juice, and apple
juice. Most juices provide your brain with vital nutrients which in
turn, provide you with more mental energy and focus.
43) Be Self-Aware — When you learn to let go of ego-driven and emotional
aspects of life, rational thinking kicks in. Rational thinking will
allow you to become self-aware, which in turn allows you to make better
future decisions to achieve optimal brain health. Activities like
meditation, self-hypnosis, and introspection allow us to increase our
self-awareness.
44) Take Gingko Biloba — Gingko Biloba has been scientifically
researched and documented to significantly increase blood-flow to the
brain. Gingko Biloba is a farily inexpensive way to pump up your brain’s
blood-flow. Increased bloodflow to the brain is correlated with an
increase in focus and problem solving. Try some Gingko Biloba and allow
your brain to reap the benefits!
45) Have Sex — Having sex is a great way to naturally release vital
hormones in the brain. When involved in a loving relationship, having
sex improves social connection as well as emotional intelligence. Sex is
connecting, stress-relieving, and a great way to give your brain a
boost. Chances are that sex will also improve your confidence and
ability to think positively!
46) Drink Caffeine — Research shows that students that drink coffee
before exams, have higher scores. Why? Caffeine seems to stimulate
activity in the brain, speed up thinking, and improve fyocus. Too much
caffeine is never good as it can cause stress or trigger anger. A little
bit, however, may be the ticket to an “A” on your test. Drink some and
find out how it affects your focus and thinking abilities!
47) Sniff Some Basil — I personally haven’t tried this method, but there
seem to be many claims testifying for Basil’s effectiveness at
improving overall brain function. Either way, certain fragrances
actually change brain functioning. Taking a whiff of peppermint speeds
up brain functioning, while other fragrances actually slow things down!
Since scent is the strongest thing tied to memory, some good fragrances
can definitely help out brain functioning.
48) Stay In School — If you are in school, chances are good that you
will boost your brain power more than the average dropout! Keeping up
with school work, means giving your brain a good workout in areas of
self-discipline, learning, and mental processing. Stay in school, or do
something to always be learning something new!
49) Ask Questions — Asking questions is a phenomenal way to keep your
brain in shape. Get in the habit of questioning others and their
thoughts. Questions can provoke new thoughts and ideas and asking them
is a great way to build up brain power!
50) Re-Read This List – Want to boost your brain power? Start by
re-reading this list and highlighting several methods that you can apply
to your life. As a matter of fact, print this list out and staple it up
someplace that you will view everyday. That way, when walking past the
list, you can take a glance and randomly choose an activity to boost
your brain power!
