Most people find the idea of brain improvement to be strange or even impossible, but there are actually many different ways to achieve it. Individuals who want to boost cognitive performance can use one or more methods and hope to see the first benefits relatively quickly.
Of course, some techniques work faster than others so you’ll have to be patient and mix both types of mental exercises to maximize the results. Our goal is not to describe dozens of mind tricks but rather to focus on the most productive mechanisms.
In this post, we will discuss the easiest cognition boosters that you can use on a daily basis. Keep reading to learn five proven ways of simple brain improvement.
Table of Contents
1. Sleep Well
We know you’re going to love our first brain improvement technique. A good night’s sleep is the basic precondition for the successful functioning of your body and your mind, so you need to establish a regular sleeping pattern to help your brain relax and freshen up for new challenges.
According to the study, sleep deprivation makes it difficult for brain cells to communicate effectively, which, in turn, can lead to temporary mental lapses that affect memory and visual perception. In other words, sleeping irregularly reduces cognitive abilities and prevents you from doing your best intellectually.
This is why you should enhance your sleeping habits and stick to the regular nightly rhythm. If possible, you should go to bed before midnight and follow the same schedule every day. Don’t change it over weekends because it will disrupt the usual weekly pattern.
Jake Gardner, a psychologist at assignment help who wrote for the www.aussiessay.com and wise essay, shares a few tips on how to improve sleeping habits:
- Eliminate daytime naps to be ready for sleeping in the evening.
- Increase daily light exposure to boost your circadian rhythm.
- Set the right bedroom temperature and prevent noise or light.
- Don’t eat before going to sleep.
- Don’t drink coffee in the afternoon or evening.
- Get a comfortable bed along with cushions and a mattress.
2. Learn Something New
Your brain needs to exercise in order to stay sharp and focused in the long run. For this reason, you should be learning new things and constantly trying to acquire additional skills. It won’t only male you a more knowledgeable person and a better professional but also keep your brain in the best form possible long-term.
There are all sorts of ways to engage in learning and do something you’ve never done before. One of the tricks we love the most is learning a foreign language, particularly the one that doesn’t resemble your mother tongue.
For example, you can learn Chinese because it is completely different than English grammar and spelling-wise. The harder it gets, the more your brain will have to work to solve the problem. Learning Chinese or any other foreign language will force you to think, brainstorm, and analyze new concepts, thus helping your cognitive capabilities to flourish.
Another interesting option is to learn to play an instrument or to join a course unrelated to your current job and education. Of course, you don’t have to engage in such a demanding mental activity to give your brain a brand new boost.
On the contrary, you can take the shortcut by playing games like Sudoku or puzzles. This type of mental activity is much easier and more entertaining, but it can give you more or less the same results.
3. Exercise
This advice goes hand in hand with the previous one. Mental training is critical if you want to keep improving the way your brain functions, but you can achieve similar results with physical exercises as well.
According to numerous studies, exercise increases heart rate, which pumps more oxygen to the brain and also aids the release of hormones that provide an excellent environment for the growth of brain cells. Needless to say, regular training makes people feel fresher, more relaxed, and able to endure much more mental weight than usual.
Now, the most important question is not whether exercises lead to brain improvements but rather how to embrace the new mindset and begin training regularly. Our suggestion is to consider different options and choose the type of training that suits your interests and doesn’t require serious time investments.
For example, swimming is great for your body and your mind, but you should avoid it if you don’t have a pool nearby. Therefore, you should stick to easy solutions and available gyms or simply go out and jog on your own.
You don’t have to exercise every day – it would take too much time and you could end up being exhausted. It’s enough to train three to four days a week to stay healthy and boost your brainpower.
4. Eat the Right Kind of Food
Another suggestion we know you’d love is to eat the right kind of food. After all, there is nothing better than enjoying a great meal while knowing that it boosts your cognitive flexibility. The food you consume gives you precious ingredients needed for the normal functioning of your brain.
But if you keep using the right diet, you can make the most of your eating habits and help your brain to improve gradually. Of course, the biggest question is: What is the best food for my brain? There is no only one answer here, so we prepared a full list for you:
- Fatty fish: Salmon and sardines contain a whole lot of omega 3 fatty acids, which is the best kind of food for your brain.
- Blueberries: This sort of berries creates antioxidant effects and slows down the aging of the brain.
- Broccoli: Broccoli also has a powerful antioxidant value. At the same time, it has a lot of vitamin K which enhances memory.
- Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are filled with zinc, magnesium, copper, iron, and many other elements which enable the brain to function adequately.
5. Read Books
Our colleagues at the best essay help like Australian writing services or essayhave review, shared this technique with us and we made sure to give it a try. It turns out that reading books has the potential to drastically improve cognitive performance in many different ways.
Reading represents a great exercise for your brain because it stimulates all sorts of mental processes and prevents intellectual deterioration. Studies found that people who participated in mentally challenging activities such as reading had a slower rate of decline in memory compared to those who did not engage in such activities.
This is not the only benefit of reading as it also helps people to reduce stress, calm down, and prepare for new challenges both privately and professionally. Besides that, reading can give your memory a big boost because you have to exercise by remembering multiple plotlines, characters, relations, etc.
It also forces you to concentrate on the text and think analytically, which is yet another way to improve the overall functioning of the brain.
Conclusion
Boosting cognitive performance is a great thing for both your career and your personal life in general. But how exactly can you make substantial brain improvements?
There are many possible answers, but only a handful of tactics guarantee results without investing too much time or efforts. In this article, we discussed five proven ways of simple brain improvements.
Have you ever tried any of these techniques? Which one do you consider to be the best for your cognitive skills and personality? Let us know in comments – perhaps we could give you additional suggestions!