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The brain is the seat of all vital functions in the human body. How well you nourish it will
determine how well you will function in your life. Although the composition and capacity of the
human brain are far beyond complex, taking care of it is really not that difficult. And taking care
of your brain and improving its health is essential to living a healthy and happy life. Here are 50
things you can do to exercise the brain, and optimize and improve your brains health and
function. Many of these things are seemingly basic and very obvious, but are just as important.
1) Meditate.
Its really difficult to think clearly when your mind is full of worries, and that is why meditation
helps in promoting brain health. Meditation helps decrease anxiety by having the person sit still
and breathe deeply. Aside from decreasing ones worries, meditation was also found to improve
memory, attention span and decision-making. According to Luders, et. al., meditation
practitioners have been found to have a greater ability for cognitive functioning because of
increased gyri formation (folds that increase the surface area of the brain).
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3) Do N-Backs
N-back tasks are a series of performance tasks used as an assessment tool in cognitive
neuroscience to evaluate a certain area of the short-term memory. Considered as the
cornerstone brain-training exercise, the n-back task is also considered as a method to boost fluid
intelligence. It requires a person to mentally juggle several things simultaneously.
Through a number of experiments have been conducted over the past decade, Susanne Jaeggi
of the University of Maryland, College Park, and others have found that participants who train
with n-back tasks over the course of approximately a month for about 20 minutes per day not
only get better at the n-back task itself, but also experience transfer to other cognitive tasks on
which they did not train. The effects generalize to important domains such as attentional control,
reasoning, reading, or mathematical skills, Jaeggi says. Many of these improvements remain
over the course of several months, suggesting that the benefits of the training are long lasting.
There are several good n-back apps on both the Android and Apple marketplace; the one I use
is Brain N-Back.
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8) Drink coffee.
Coffee is a natural stimulant that activates the sympathetic nervous system, the part of the brain
that speeds up cognitive functioning. On top of that, coffee is rich in antioxidants that are
responsible for promoting the recovery of your neurons against injury and stress. Research
studies show that an 8 oz.-cup of coffee is just enough to optimally improve attention and shortterm memory. Feeling drowsy? Make a stop at Starbucks and get a triple venti mocha
frappucino! Top it with a little cinnamon or nutmeg for some extra boost.
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Do you know why taxi drivers seem to know all the streets and places? Its because they have a
highly developed spatial ability. There are nine types of intelligence, and one of them is spatial
intelligence, which involves the ability to map ones environment. Woollett and Maguire studied
this ability with London taxi drivers (as compared to bus drivers), and they found through
neuroimaging studies that taxi drivers display structural changes in the portion of the brain that is
involved with spatial memory moreso than the control group (bus drivers). The reason this is
because taxi drivers have to use their brains to navigate their cities and find routes whereas bus
drivers travel a set route. So next time you wanna go somewhere and are tempted to use the
GPS, try to navigate without it instead.
loss of cognitive function. So the next time you need to rev up your brain for an exam, go and do
some jumping jacks and aerobic exercises.
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Pumping up some weights doesnt just tone and add bulk to your muscles; it improves your
mental capacity as well. In a study conducted at the Psychobiology and Exercise Research
Center in Sao Paolo, Brazil, researchers found that spatial memory and cognitive functioning
improve with resistance exercise and aerobics through the increased activity of the brain-derived
neurotrophic factor (BDNF) a substance that controls nerve cell growth. Not only that,
resistance exercise is also associated with the formation of new nerve cells (neurogenesis). So
when youre lifting weights, keep in mind that youre also pumping up for your brain.
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18) Dance.
http://500px.com/photo/30830031
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine was conducted to determine if theres
a relationship between leisure activities (including dancing) and the likelihood of dementia among
elderly people. Although there is no evidence yet that dancing directly decreases the risk, the
people who routinely dance seem to experience less behavioral symptoms. In addition, dancing
is found to improve coordination and planning. Looking for something to boost your brain? Get it
on the dance floor!
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subjects played golf. The research also established that the intensity of golf training also
increases these structural changes.
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People just get hyped when they listen to their favorite music while exercising, and people like
Miranda Kerr even have a routine playlist for every exercise circuit that she does. Music doesnt
just motivate; it stimulates cognitive functions as you exercise as well. Charles Emery, a
professor of psychology at Ohio State University, studied the combined effects of music and
short-term exercise on mental exercise, and found that heart patients demonstrated improved
verbal fluency after listening to music and exercise.
22) Doodle
http://blog.hankplayer.com/
Your teacher back in high school may have fed you with the notion that doodling, instead of
taking down notes, is a purely mindless activity. However, some experts disagree and claim that
students doodle because of their need to stimulate the brain. Even the worlds most prominent
leaders can attest to that. In 2005, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair attended a world
economic forum, where he participated in a panel with Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and U2 frontman,
Bono. After the panel, journalists were surprised to see that the papers near his seat were
covered with doodles.
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planning. So whether its thinking about your past romantic affairs or your previous
misadventures, just let your mind go wandering its perfectly healthy.
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Whether its a simple game of Tetris or a full-scale online RPG, playing video games have been
proven to improve a number of cognitive abilities, such as spatial orientation, vision and
multitasking. A study made by associates of the Rochester Center for Brain Imaging in New York
explored the effects of action video games on the nervous system, and they discovered that
playing video games enhances visual selective attention. In addition, research published
in Current Directions in Psychological Science found that regularly playing video games
improves reaction time and accuracy in real-life tasks. Gradually over time, video gaming is
being considered more of a mental exercise than a mere pastime.
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In the mid 1970s, Albert Frank, a Congo-based school teacher, looked into the effects of chess
on children who took up classes for two hours each week. His study, published in the
book Chess and Aptitudes, revealed stellar results. He concluded that those students who
practiced chess exhibited enhanced verbal and mathematical skills. Frank believes that despite
the absence of verbal communication during the game, chess improves verbal skills by utilizing
all the abilities of a person, as many aptitudes or faculties of the mind are utilized whenever the
game is played.
Additionally, a study done in Venezuela shows that children who took chess classes for 4
months have increased their IQ points. This conclusion is also backed up by a 2003 study of
Murray Thompson, a Ph.D. Education student at the Flinders University in Australia. In his
research, participants who played chess also demonstrated improved IQ levels. Thompson
ascribes this to the concentration and logical thinking a chess game calls for.
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28) Read
The act of reading itself keeps the brain working. However, to go beyond keeping your brain
healthy and improve your brains cognitive abilities, you should strive to read difficult material; the
more difficult the material, the more your brain will be stimulated and grow. Several renowned
neuroscientists recommend reading mystery novels to increase brain capacity because of the
highly involved storylines and mystery of the plot.
According to Albarracin et. al., certain spices help preserve memory and cognitive function.
Spices contain polyphenols that have antioxidant properties that protect the nervous system. In
addition, these substances have been thought to prevent various neurodegenerative diseases
such as Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Cinnamon,
sage, cumin, and cilantro are powerful memory boosters that can be readily sprinkled into foods.
Creating and appreciating art are powerful ways to develop a healthy brain. If you engage
yourself with painting and sculpture, you get to develop new skills such as color and textural
discrimination, spatial differentiation and creative thinking.
Further reading:
7 Secrets of Highly Creative People
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abilities. Other research studies have also established the effect of yoga in helping with mood
regulation and concentration.
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35) Nap.
Naps are just the thing for people who dont get enough sleep at night. Although its difficult to
determine the sufficient nap length, taking naps nevertheless add up to sleep hours and
contributes to improving focus and memory. Lovato and Lack studied the effects of napping on
cognitive functioning, and they suggested that naps increase alertness. Although there is no
direct evidence that naps compensate for lost sleep, there is evidence that taking naps is
beneficial to the brain if one reaches the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep.
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The brain always needs to be stimulated to keep it running. Solving puzzles such as Sudoku are
a great pastime that increases oxygen delivery and glucose uptake in the brain. It also stimulates
the release of dopamine which increases motivation and growth of new brain cells.
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39) Do self-hypnosis.
You can change your thought process and learn how to switch your focus by doing some selfhypnosis. Research shows that with self-hypnosis, a person gets to experience reduced stress,
increased tolerance to pain, and sharper thinking.
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A study by MacLeod et.al. explored the production effect (the act of saying a word aloud) and
what it does to the brain. It revealed that saying a word aloud rather than saying it silently
improves memory. So when you prepare for an exam, dont just mumble the words that you read.
Saying it aloud does make a difference.
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Though this is quite self-explanatory, many people still neglect the impact of drug and alcohol
abuse on their brain. A little bit of alcohol has been shown to be good for us but habitual drug
and alcohol use can potentially disrupt brain function in areas that are most crucial to retention,
cognition, judgment, and behavior control.