22 ways To Overclock Your Brain

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
“mature” 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 “Why?” Make it a new habit to ask
“why?” 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’t 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 “quick-charge” for
our brain’s 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’t 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’t 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’s 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’s great.

Go learn it. If you don’t 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’s capacity. Find ways to write to be read – by
writing things for your friends to read, by capturing the stories of
your childhood, starting your own blog or whatever – 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.