Double Your Brain Power

By Swati Sharma
[sub head]
Why are some people’s mind sharp, energetic, and overflowing with creative ideas and
other people’s intellects less than dazzling?
How do people get mentally out of shape? You need to get an answer. Is the brain power
or IQ is inherited from parent or it can be enhanced with certain actions. Answer is yes-
you can increase your brain power.
It is said that more you use your brain more efficient it becomes otherwise your
decreased mental work can make it dull and out of shape so-“Use it or loose it”

Box
“Strength of mind is exercise, not rest.”Alexander pope, 18th century poet.

You probably sometimes wish that you could think faster, grasp new
information quickly and recall more of what you read and hear. If so, you’ll find the help
you’ve yearned for in Double Your Brain Power tricks.
EXERCISE
How would you rate your level of mental fitness?
HIGH
My mental performance is exceptional. Just call me a genious.
MEDIUM
I occasionally think of new things and sometimes challenge my thinking muscles.
LOW
My mind is like a bowl of tapioca pudding.
I’m real need of a mental workout.
No matter which category you selected, remember that mental fitness- your ability to
concentrate, to reason, to visualize, to imagine, to make decisions, to solve problems, and
to think clearly and creatively- depends greatly on how well and how often you exercise
your mind. If you feel that you are mentally out of shape, then cheer up; you can improve
simply by taking the time to work out your mental muscles. If you feel fit, then recognize
that you still need exercise to keep your mind in top shape. Even Olympic athletes need
practice.
HOW DO PEOPLE GET MENTALLY OUT OF SHAPE
A stonemason doesn’t need to go to the gym to build up his arms. In the course of his
work of mixing mortar and hauling bricks, his arms are naturally strengthened. Similarly,
an accountant doesn’t need to go to school to tighten up his arithmetic skills: Because he
is constantly dealing with numbers, his mathematics muscles are kept trim
If your circumstances don’t challenge your thinking muscles, you don’t get the
stimulation you need to keep fit. However, if you are often put in situations where you
need to think clearly and energetically, your muscles become stronger and more
responsive. Perhaps this idea is summarized best in the old saying:
TIP Ask yourself: Which of my mental muscles don’t get a daily workout?

SMART BRAINS ARE FUEL EFFICIENT

Just like any good car, an intelligent brain cannot go further with less fuel.
The brains of high scorers expend less energy than the brains of low scorers in a test of
abstract intelligence, reports psychiatrists of the University of California at Irvine. They
studied brains during the test and monitored the rates of glucose metabolization. The
scans showed that intelligent brains shift into cruise control while less-smart thinkers
need to keep their feet firmly planted on the gas pedal.
They speculate that the lower metabolic rate of high scorers could be the result of
more efficient neural circuitry. “Although one might assume that a good performer’s
brain would ‘work harder’ than that of a subject who did poorly,” they say, “the opposite
is true.” they believe that less-intelligent brains may have a higher metabolic rate due to
greater anxiety.

ADD UP TO A BETTER BRAIN

Do you remember telling your algebra or Latin teacher, “Why do I have to learn
(insert whatever “useless” skill you were objecting to at the moment)? There isn’t a
chance in the world that I am ever going to use it after this class is over.”
Chances are good you still believe that you were right, too. But some psychologists now
think that the abstract rules you learned in school have actually helped you solve
everyday problems in your adult life.

NUTRA-BRAIN
A healthy mind in a healthy body- that ancient Greek ideal is probably familiar to you.
And you know that you need vitamins to protect your body’s well-being. But did you
know that you need a healthy diet, supplied with all the necessary nutrients, to have a
healthy mind, too? Scientists have shown that many vitamins and minerals not only
nourish the body but also have important and far-reaching effects on your mood, your
mental functioning, and even you general outlook.
“A deficiency of any nutrient that is used by the brain can cause irritability, depression,
and mental malfunctioning- and just about every nutrient is used by the brain in some
way,”
Are you getting enough of the right nutrients to keep your head hale and hearty? To be
sure, protect your mind from deficiencies of the following nutrients.

LOOSENING UP INSIDE
If you’re like most people, you’ll find that after a few minutes, your thoughts become
distracting. Your mind starts to plan, to anticipate, or to work out problems. You may
become entranced with a stream of words and images. You may begin to observe how
well you are relaxing. You may want to feel a certain way and begin to instruct yourself
to reach some mental or emotional state. These urges, though subtle, prevent you from
performing fully.
One way to loosen up your mind is to become aware of all the demands it perceives. On a
single piece of paper, write down everything that’s on your mind: long-term goals, short-
term goals, nagging desires, things you’d rather have said, things you have to or want to.
Writing down everything that’s on your mind has to psychological effect of removing
mental clutter. You can then make decisions, set priorities, and free up your attention to
deal with what’s at hand now.
 TAKE BREAKS.
Put forth a regular effort- but take breaks. “Studies show that massed practice, which
means that you go at it continually, is not as effective as distributed practice, which is
when you have regular rest breaks,” says Dr. Lazarus. “If you keep at the learning
without a break, you will get fatigued, which will undermine your efforts. My own
persona strategy for learning is to go at it for an hour, take a 20-minute break, and then
study for another hour.”
Taking much more than a 20-minute break in the middle of learning is probably
counterproductive, he says, since studies show that, within 1 hour, as much as 20 percent
of what you’ve learned will be lost. That will just make it harder to get back into the
subject when your break is finished.
Recent studies show that the process of forgetting happens as the neural connections for
the that skill break down in the brain. To keep the brain cells connected (and also to keep
you sanity), your best bet is to spend a short time learning every day or every other day.

TIME IS IMPORTANT
• Tackle information you want to commit to your short-term memory in the
morning. Reason: The brain section that stores short-term memory items performs
about 15% better in the morning. But switch to the afternoon for items you want
to keep in you long-term memory because that part of your memory bank hits its
stride later in the day.

“REVERSE AND REPHRASE”

* “Reverse and rephrase” to over-come negative thoughts about your ability to learn
something new.
Example: Instead of “I won’t remember what I’m learning,” tell your brain “I’ve already
learned to recall many things- names, dates, computer commands. So I can and will
remember this.”

PLAN
 • Plan for an upcoming learning event by selecting a reward you’ll give yourself
afterward. Pick something you wouldn’t usually buy or do. Picture yourself
enjoying the reward just before the learning event starts. Repeat the process
whenever you feel anxious about learning the information. Note: No matter how
things turn out, give yourself the reward.

ASK QUESTIONS
• Answer these questions after you read something that you want to remember:
What was it about? What parts of it were most important? What opinions, if any,
did it contain? What’s my opinion of it? What element makes it unique? Note: Do
this mentally or in writing- which ever works best for you.

RELY ON GRAPHIC DEVICES

* Rely on graphic devices to increase your reading speed and to help you zero in on the
main points in books and other publications. Examples: italics, boldface, underlining,
bulleted lists, charts, graphs, etc. As you go through pages, ignore regular text and scan
only for these devices. When you find one, slow down and read those sections more
carefully.