How to increase brain productivity. How to improve brain performance How to improve brain performance

In some ways it functions in the same way as muscles. Therefore, just as muscle tension and exercise increase muscle strength, activities and habits can increase brain performance. Your brain is like the interface between your consciousness and the outside world. Below are 8 ways that you may not have heard of, but they can seriously improve your mental abilities.

• Eat the right foods

Did you know that eating a variety of foods is directly linked to increased “brain power”? You may have already heard that the main ones are fruits and berries (especially blueberries), as well as vegetables rich in vitamins A, E, B, C, magnesium and folic acid. But there are some foods that you would hardly classify as brain energy drinks, one of them is dark chocolate. It stimulates the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, which helps the brain function at an optimal level. Another example is fish oil, which is used as a raw material for the brain and has a beneficial effect on mental health, as well as increasing alertness.

• Drawing

In creative activities such as drawing, it is mainly used. This is the part of the brain that thinks, holistically and essentially non-verbally. Drawing also coordinates and strengthens the motor areas of the brain.

• Learn a new language

Learning a new language greatly stimulates the other side of the brain—the left side. The left hemisphere of the brain deals with analytical and verbal functions, and both of them are trained when you learn a new language. This is a challenging activity for the left hemisphere and can be an excellent technique for stimulating the brain as a whole. So pick a language you've always wanted to learn (perhaps spoken in a country you've always wanted to visit) and start learning!

• Use your non-dominant hand

If you are right-handed, try performing some tasks with your left hand. If you are left-handed, try doing them with your right hand. This simple action will challenge your brain in new ways that involve muscle coordination. An added benefit is that if you get good enough at this, you can boast symmetry.

• Cross-country walks

Walking on uneven surfaces such as rocky roads helps improve mental performance. This type of activity stimulates coordination and improves overall mental abilities.

• Move your fingers

Moving your fingers and toes and paying close attention to these parts of the body will do great things for your brain. Try doing this first thing when you wake up in the morning. Move and move your fingers and toes slowly, while remaining acutely aware of what is happening. After this, you may find that you wake up more alert and able to focus on the activities of the day.

• Creating vivid images

Important for the brain are the functions of imagination and visualization. You can use this ability and at the same time increase the power of your brain. Try to visualize and vividly imagine different scenarios. Try to insert yourself into these scenarios; this kind of “meditation” gives a tangible effect. In addition, try to visualize all the senses - vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste as clearly as possible. There is also a way to recreate an event, for example, lying on a bed, imagine how you get up from it, the most difficult thing to achieve is slowdown, since it is difficult for our brain to recreate a detailed slow picture, so everything in our thoughts happens quickly, and the brain misses a lot of details, it seems easier for him. But if, through training, you force your brain to recreate the event in detail and slowly, then it will become more productive in other life situations.

Thinking in terms of increasing your brain power is a very good approach. Research shows that this is quite possible to make it a reality. Just as you can take control of your physical development, by doing this you will become the captain of your own ship.

Knowing how the brain works can improve our mental productivity and make it easier for our children to learn. Here are a few methods that will increase creativity, improve memory and concentration:

1. Physical activity in the fresh air.

Exercise and even simple walking increase the supply of oxygen to the brain, promote the synthesis of new cells and restore the balance of neurotransmitters. A study conducted at the University of Michigan showed that after an hour of interaction with nature, memory and concentration improve by 20%. It turns out that you don't have to enjoy the walk: visiting the park in cold weather provides the same benefits. Additional vitamin D may also play a role.

2. Get enough sleep.

While we sleep, the brain continues to work. It is during sleep that he processes the information received during the day. Lack of sleep has a negative impact on cognitive function, motor activity, thinking abilities and mood.

3. Avoid multitasking.

When someone calls, your smartphone automatically stops the music and prioritizes the call. In the same way, to solve each specific problem, the brain uses a specific function, which should not interfere with other functions. To avoid brain conflicts, you should focus your attention on only one task. If you try to combine several mutually exclusive functions, brain performance suffers.

Techniques for better memorization

In 1956, George Miller theorized that our short-term memory can hold 7 pieces of information (give or take 2) simultaneously. After 30-60 seconds, this information is sent to either long-term or working memory. It is now known that we can expand our short-term memory in several ways:

1. Combining information into semantic groups.

Let's take the number 568975638. It is unlikely that you will remember it right away. Now try dividing it into sectors: 568-975-638. It's probably gotten a little easier.

2. Associations.

Some people will remember that their phone number contains the numbers 975, or 638 - the year and month of their birth. This means that associations come into play.

3. Repetition.

The most common strategy that strengthens or consolidates memory.

4. Using all five senses.

New information and any presentations are remembered much better when we use video, music, photographs, smells and touches (tactile coding).

Happy and healthy people are more creative and productive. What can affect brain function and what prevents you from achieving the desired results in life? How to increase brain productivity?

The human brain is always in motion, up to a hundred thousand different thoughts rush through your head every day, and in today’s crazy pace of life we ​​experience a load much greater than our grandparents did in their time. Add to this more working hours, traffic jams, various distractions, and increased stress levels.

How can we cope with the madness in our daily lives and provide the brain with normal working conditions? Here is a summary of what may be affecting its performance and what is preventing you from achieving the results you want.

What does an out of control brain look like?

Constant transitions from thought to thought, doubts, resemble the behavior of a monkey jumping from one tree to another. This phenomenon is called uncontrollable or monkey brain. The Buddha also described the mind of an ordinary person who was easily distracted and in constant motion, like a monkey's mind.

What determines our productivity?

People sometimes get so busy creating their own productive lifestyle, but sometimes it’s worth just stopping, relaxing and turning on the most important tool - the mind.

If you are a busy person with a busy work schedule and many tasks that need to be completed in a short time, you send too many signals to the brain, as a result, you become nervous and absent-minded.

Constantly racing thoughts give you a feeling of anxiety, you may be overcome by a feeling of fear, and you will not be able to focus on one thing for a long time.

The inability to organize your brain is one of the most common productivity blockers.

There are often situations when there are so many things to do that you don’t know what to do or where to start. You find yourself unaware of what is currently happening. This happens due to the fact that you are unable to adjust your focus, do not know how to deal with distractions, thus simply burning your brain and mental resources.

If you constantly switch between tasks instead of concentrating on one thing at a time, you will end up not doing anything well. You seem to be doing more, but the quality of work may decrease significantly.

Your brain is distracted by unimportant tasks, and you waste time and energy. All these are significant preconditions for stress; the brain will not be able to work efficiently, which will also significantly affect your productivity.

Meditation will help improve brain function and increase its productivity.

Monk meditation is a great way to improve your own productivity. When you do meditation, your brain is in peace and harmony. Meditative techniques provide clarity of mind and thoughts, and life harmonization occurs.

The Buddha demonstrated how meditation techniques can pacify the monkeys in your head. Regular practice helps develop strength, concentration, creativity, the ability to focus and relax, improve mental abilities, and increase productivity.

Meditation helps you achieve awareness - a special mental state when you feel yourself in the present time. Research clearly shows that meditation helps you concentrate on the task at hand for longer, reduces distractions, improves memory, and reduces the likelihood of stress.

Improving concentration and productivity

Focus on the present moment and accept everything that happens around you. Don't worry about the past, the future, or anything else that is important to you at this time. You will be able to get more things done because meditation techniques will help you focus on the task, adapt to it and not be distracted. Awareness will allow you to enjoy the work you do, and you will put your best effort into it.

Focused efforts will be more rewarding than when you work with distracted attention.

Be purposeful, let go of unimportant things, focus on the important things. A clear mind will tell you what is important to you in life at the moment and what is a waste of energy and time. This way you can switch gears and not waste energy on matters of secondary importance.

How a trained brain works

A trained and focused brain creates a feeling of peace and well-being, you are confident in what you are doing, which increases motivation. Several scientific studies have proven that meditation reduces stress hormones and the brain begins to work more stable and focused. Productivity improves and you are not at risk of severe depression.

Happy and healthy people are more creative and productive.

Increase your productivity by eliminating the incessant chatter in your head, which can drive you crazy if left unchecked. Practice meditation, it will improve your productivity and the efficiency of your work. Avoid the ineffective practice of multitasking and enjoy life at a more relaxed pace.

Start your next morning with a specific schedule to keep your mind clear throughout the day:

make a list of priority tasks;
meditate;
do an exercise before you start your to-do list;
A nutritious, balanced breakfast is the right start to the day.

Forming new habits is not always easy. You may feel unsure or uncomfortable, but if you remain steadfast in your resolve, new habits will become part of your day and work their magic for you, creating a clear mind and a productive lifestyle.

A computer is an analogue of the human brain, but increasing the “computing power” of the brain is not so easy. When neurologists and neurophysiologists talk about brain speed, they mean the speed at which a person receives new information, processes it, and formulates a response. Based on this definition, increasing the speed of the brain can be done by creating strong connections in the brain, which will lead to an increase in the speed of signal transmission. Most connections are formed during childhood, but you can still take steps to maintain and even increase the speed of your brain.

Steps

Healthy lifestyle

Do more aerobic exercise. The speed of the brain depends on the speed at which signals are transmitted along axons, which are essentially conductors of nerve impulses within the brain. The white matter of the brain is made up of axons and is nourished by blood vessels, which means that vascular problems, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, lead to a decrease in the supply of oxygen and glucose to the axons. So, do more aerobic exercise to oxygenate your blood and increase your brain speed.

Eat the necessary foods. Physical health is linked to brain health. Along with exercise, you should maintain a balanced diet. Eat certain foods that affect brain health, such as:

• Blueberry. It contains many antioxidants that protect the brain from excessive oxidative processes and reduce the impact on the brain of processes associated with aging. Eat one glass of blueberries daily. Pomegranate juice and dark chocolate are also rich in antioxidants.
• Salmon (sardines, herring). Rich in fatty acids necessary for the proper functioning of the brain. Eat 100 g of fish two to three times a week.
• Nuts and seeds. They contain vitamin E, which helps fight the negative effects on the brain of processes associated with aging. Eat 100 g of nuts daily.
• Avocado. Helps prevent vascular diseases (such as high blood pressure) and improves blood flow, which is important for brain health. But avocados contain a lot of fat, so eat no more than a quarter or half of an avocado daily.

1. Get enough sleep. Doctors recommend adults sleep 7-8 hours (and teenagers 8-9 hours). During sleep, new connections are formed in the brain; Moreover, adequate sleep directly affects learning and memory. Sleep also plays a big role in restoring the body's circulatory system, which supplies the brain with oxygen and other substances.

   Keep learning. The brain forms new connections throughout a person's life. Mastering new skills and learning new subjects allows you to form new and strengthen old connections in the brain, which leads to an increase in the speed of signal transmission along axons. (Glial cells surround nerve fibers (axons) to form the electrically insulating sheath of myelin.)

   Learn to play a musical instrument. It also leads to stronger connections between different areas of the brain (since when you play a musical instrument, you are simultaneously reading notes, listening to what you're playing, and moving your fingers and/or hands, which causes different areas of the brain to work).

   Maintain social connections. Here we are talking not so much about social networks on the Internet, but about live communication with other people, since such communication requires quick thinking, which will help you maintain the speed of your brain at the proper level.

   Stop smoking. If you don't smoke, don't start; otherwise, quit smoking. Besides the fact that smoking causes cancer and emphysema, it is also responsible for reducing connections in the brain. Smokers lose nerve cells much faster than non-smokers, which negatively affects their cognitive abilities.

   Brain Games

   1. Enlarge the picture by opening it in a new window. Research has shown that brain games sometimes have an impact on cognitive abilities and sometimes not. The popularity of brain games is growing, but so far there has not been a single serious (long-term) study that has confirmed or refuted their effect on brain function. Many people believe that brain games help them learn new things. This section describes a demanding brain game.

      Moving from left to right and from top to bottom, name the direction of the eyes - down, left, up, right. Ask someone to time it. Do it without errors in 30 seconds. Keep practicing until you can do it in just 15 seconds.

      Now do the same, but look at the picture below, or to the right, or above, or to the left. It's harder, isn't it? You have increased the difficulty of the task because you have changed your perspective.

      • Do it without errors in 30 seconds. Keep practicing until you can do it in just 15 seconds.

   2. Now go back to step 2, but point your finger in the opposite direction of the eyes in the picture (if the eyes are pointing down, point your finger up, etc.). This one will be even harder because you've added motor skills to the verbal component.

      • This challenge explains the fact that music education can improve brain speed. This exercise requires the coordinated work of several areas of the brain: visual (responsible for interpreting information in a picture), speech (responsible for voicing this information) and motor (responsible for moving fingers or hands).
      • You can continue to complicate the described game, for example, by voicing the direction of the eyes of only the green “faces” or every third “face”.

   3. Play different brain games that can be found on the Internet (such games develop memory and information processing speed). You can also find many word games and logic puzzles online that are designed to develop your cognitive abilities.

   Warnings

   • Until now, there has not been a single serious (long-term) study of brain games that has confirmed or refuted their positive effect on brain function.

• Make your brain sweat
• Eat right
• Don't overeat
• Wake up easily
• Do a head massage

The pace of modern life with its constant overload and stress does not contribute in any way to clarity of thought and mental performance. Inability to concentrate, absent-mindedness, lack of interest, weakness, indifference - these are clear signs of decreased brain performance. They don’t need to be given much importance if they appear in the evening or when you go to bed, because during the night the body will rest and gain strength. But what if the same signs appear on your face in the morning? How to increase brain performance?

How to improve brain performance

Make your brain sweat

Exercise for the mind improves the neural connections of the brain and creates a foundation of intellectual power. Perform special exercises for memory development, start learning foreign languages, solve crosswords and solve math problems, play games that develop thinking (for example, board business games). Tighten your gray matter more often, and you won’t have to wonder “How to improve brain performance.”

Surrounded by all kinds of gadgets, we use our brains too rarely. Put down the calculator and do the math in your head (if you take out the calculator every time you need to add more than two numbers, you won’t be able to increase your brain performance, and your mental abilities will weaken day by day), plan your trip route mentally, without resorting to the help of a navigator , try, without looking in your notebook, to remember the phone number you need (the more numbers spinning in your head, the more new connections appear between neurons).

Eat right

It is known that the brain needs sugar to function, and many, wanting to increase brain performance, eat kilograms of sweets. When working sedentarily, this is a sure path to obesity: sugar is quickly absorbed and burned. It is better to eat foods that contain natural starch and sugar: potatoes, legumes, rice, brown bread, nuts, etc. This food will be digested more slowly, and the brain will have enough energy for several hours.

About how to eat right to increase mental performance, You will find out in the article - “ Vitamins for the mind - food for memory».

It is important not only what we eat, but also what we drink. Drinking a cup of coffee every hour is not the best way to increase brain performance. Place a bottle of plain water on your desk and drink a glass every hour, even if you don’t feel like drinking. This will save you from the heat (it will come soon) and from dehydration of the body (including dehydration of brain cells), which is often the cause of loss of performance and fatigue.

Don't overeat

The performance of the brain depends on the amount of food we consume. Scientists from the University of Florida have used an experiment to prove that satiety leads to dullness and negatively affects mental performance.

During the experiment, laboratory rats were divided into two identical groups. The first group received food in abundance, while the diet of the second group was significantly limited.

Regular observations have shown that the body of malnourished rats produces an order of magnitude less cytochrome (a protein that destroys brain cells), which, according to scientists, causes irreparable harm to the brain, and therefore affects the performance of the brain in general, and in particular decision making process, on development of memory and thinking.

The response of the second group of rats, the hungry ones, was much better than those who ate as much food as they wanted. They summed up the interview that the scientists gave to the media with the following words: “ Now we can confidently say that hunger is good for health and has a positive effect on increasing brain performance ».

Surely many who overeat during lunch feel their performance deteriorating, and makes you fall asleep right at your workplace. So don't overeat!

Read useful literature more often

I think no one doubts the benefits of reading for improving brain performance.

Reading not only increases concentration, but also stimulates the imagination: the content of the book turns into visual images in our heads. Therefore, the brain works. Scientists from the Mayo Clinic (USA) are convinced that reading reduces the likelihood that over time we will become stupid about any reason. " New material means not only new information, but also new images in the head. Any history book will force you to make comparisons with the present, which engages the analytical abilities for which the right hemisphere is responsible“says one of the Mayo Clinic researchers.

Instead of staring at the TV, take some educational book and read it for at least 30 minutes (reading for half an hour every day will increase the performance of your brain).

When talking about educational and useful literature, I mean domestic and foreign classics, historical and specialized literature, and poetry. But the yellow press (who with whom, who has more, and who has more), comics and other similar reading matter are unlikely to have a good effect on increasing the performance of the brain.

Take a break, relax and get enough sleep

Working without rest always leads to loss of performance. The American Journal of Epidemiology recently published a study stating: Fifty-five or more working hours per week (eleven hours per day on a five-day basis) leads to fairly low scores on vocabulary and intelligence tests. The optimal option is 35-40 - hour work week" It’s clear that you can’t go up to your boss and say: “ If you want your team to work better, reduce working hours" In such conditions, performance can be increased through short breaks.

Feel free to scratch your tongue over a cup of coffee with your work colleagues. Here's what Oscar Ibarra, the author of one of the studies conducted at Michigan State University, says about this: “ Sometimes idle talk can be useful. Those who take breaks from work and chat with co-workers for ten minutes do better on agility tests than those who do them straight away without talking. And that's why - communicative communication sharpens memory and activates other brain functions because it requires information processing (for example, determining whether the interlocutor is lying or telling the truth)».

To those who distant work, can control their working hours and take a break for an hour or two without fear of being reprimanded. The main thing is not to sit like a robot and remember that if you are distracted and rested, it will improve your performance.

Don’t forget to give yourself days off (especially for those who work remotely and for themselves). The best vacation is outdoor recreation! Hunting, fishing, hiking in the forest to pick berries, climbing mountains, barbecuing in the country - all these are good ways to give your brain a break from stressful everyday life, recharge your batteries and increase brain performance.

And of course, speaking about rest and its impact on increasing brain performance, it should be noted the importance of healthy and adequate sleep. After all, it is known that sleep deprivation and sleep deprivation lead to premature fatigue and short-sighted decision-making.

Keep a routine: go to sleep and wake up at a certain time every day. Even on weekends, try to stick to the established routine.

Wake up easily

Physiologists around the world advise to increase mental performance learn to wake up without an alarm clock. If you get up at the right time without the help of an alarm clock, you feel more sleepy. Consequently, you have more energy and strength, a clearer head and a better mood.

Give up bad habits

Much has been said about the dangers of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages, but there are people who claim that tobacco and alcohol (especially smoking) stimulate the performance of brain activity. However, doctors, through their numerous experiments (I will not go into details), have proven that the opinion about tobacco and alcohol as stimulants of brain activity is false and unfounded. Tobacco, like alcohol, is not a true, but a false stimulant of performance and productivity. It only creates the illusion of “enlightenment” of the head and a surge of strength. In reality, smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol do not allow focus on study and work, reduce the level of efficiency, reduce the volume of work performed, and also deteriorate their quality.

Don't know how to improve brain performance? The first thing to do is quit smoking and excessive alcohol consumption!

Force yourself to move as much as possible

Daily physical exercise will help improve vascular elasticity and blood circulation, help restore lost neural connections and promote the emergence of new ones, which will lead to improved brain performance.

Do a head massage

Head and neck massage improves blood flow in the cerebral cortex, and is therefore beneficial for cellular cerebral circulation. If possible, visit a professional massage therapist; if finances or time are tight, self-massage will help. Information on how to do self-massage of the head and collar area on the Internet is a dime a dozen. I will only say that if you perform this massage every day for ten minutes for several weeks, you will notice that by the evening the ability to think clearly and clearly will not disappear, and fatigue will no longer be so obvious.

Use colors and aromatherapy

It has been proven that some smells and colors have a calming effect, while others, on the contrary, are stimulants and irritants for the brain (for more details, see the article “Color Therapy”). The yellow color stimulates brain function well - it tones and invigorates, increases mental performance and lifts your mood (you can hang a picture above your desktop in which this color predominates). Among the smells, citrus and woody aromas are good for increasing brain performance. Use natural essential oils rather than air fresheners.

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