Irina Davydova

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Stress, chronic fatigue, ecology and life “on the run” over time lead the body to a state from which it is very difficult to get out. Irritability increases, self-esteem falls, attention is scattered, and you don’t even have the strength to “get up and make yourself a cup of coffee.” Not to mention finishing the job.

Which ones exist? methods of restoring mental and physical performance ? How to become energetic, active and positive again?

20 methods to improve mental performance

One of the most effective means – stable and correct daily routine . No ginseng roots, energy “energizers” or medications can compare with it. And we’re not just talking about “you’re supposed to sleep 8 hours, period!” (6 hours is enough for one, the other only gets enough sleep in 9-10) – but about a stable and natural regimen. That is, morning awakening, daytime wakefulness, evening rest and night sleep. A red-eyed “owl” is a person who is simply too lazy to take care of his health. In fact, owls and larks simply do not exist. The norm is to sleep at night and get up in the morning. And even if it seems that night is a more productive time of day, this is self-deception. Because after a few years of this regime, the body wears out, and diseases appear that could easily be avoided. Ideal option: fall asleep before 23.30 and wake up no later than 7.30. Healthy sleep is a complete restoration of strength lost during the previous day.
Easy awakening. It just seems difficult to crawl out from under a warm blanket. In fact, there is no point in turning off the alarm clock 10 times, muttering “five more minutes...” - it’s enough to just immediately take a vertical position. Afterwards, we immediately turn on the light, get up, take a contrast shower and go have a proper breakfast.
Sleep correctly. To establish a stable regime, this point is also important. Basic requirements: a minimum of light, a ventilated room, a clean (not stuffy) nose, an aromatic bath before bed and a cup of warm milk.
Relax at work . We don’t smoke or drink coffee while looking at new messages on social networks, but change the environment, breathe air for 5-10 minutes, move as much as possible - that is, we restore blood flow and tone of blood vessels and muscles, and “feed” the brain with useful oxygen. Read also:
Relax outside of work. We open/turn on the computer and mobile phone only when absolutely necessary. Instead of a sofa and TV - outdoor games, a bicycle, a swimming pool, roller skates, etc. “Refreshing” your space is also a useful process. We are, of course, talking about cleaning your house at least once a week – on your legal day off. This is both a movement and an excellent psychotherapeutic tool, and an automatic projection of cleanliness/order into all one’s activities (“order around – order in the head”).
Make your life as varied as possible. Namely, we don’t relax with those we work with (and vice versa), we go to work on different routes and using different transport (if possible, we walk), we don’t eat only hamburgers and dumplings, we have fun in a new place every time (bowling, cinema, theaters, walks, picnics, etc.).
Give up all bad habits . Hypoxia of cerebral vessels is the main cause of lethargy at work. It is impossible to improve performance by continuing to resin pack after pack. If you are unable to quit, smoke only outside the office, only alone and very quickly. Without being tied to this “ritual”, without coffee with a cigarette, without beautiful lighters and other nonsense.
Creating the right lighting in the workplace . Darkness is a signal to the brain - “it’s time for a treat.” And the contrast of the monitor light and the darkness in the room tires the eyes and visual analyzer.
We organize the workspace correctly. That is, so that the venous outflow is not disrupted, so that the neck muscles do not strain, and cerebral circulation does not deteriorate.
Train your mind — we give up gadgets in favor of our brain. We count mentally, and not on a calculator, we remember the phone number, and do not look it up in a book, we plot the route without the help of a navigator. The more numerical problems the brain receives, the more connections there are between neurons.
“Feeding” our memory. We take care of regular nutrition of the brain with the help of vitamin complexes, carbohydrates (cereals, vegetables, fruits, berries), proteins (minimum meat, more dairy products), fats (fatty fish - at least 2 times a week).
We master breathing exercises. Oxygen saturation of the brain is the most important part of a program to improve performance. Oxygen starvation means heaviness in the head, decreased brain activity, and drowsiness. One of the simple exercises is holding the air for 3-5 seconds after exhaling. The most effective exercise (for 5-7 minutes): inhaling air through either the right or left nostril - to activate both cerebral hemispheres.
Aromatic brain stimulant . Make sachets (cloth pillows) from rose hips, linden, roses, lily of the valley, hop cones, mint and oregano. Place them under your pillow at night.
Head and neck massage. This will help improve blood circulation in the cerebral cortex and, accordingly, in the cells of the brain itself. Spend 7-10 minutes daily on a massage - just stroking, rubbing, patting, etc. And also rubbing your earlobes and even rolling them into a tube.
Let's reset our thoughts. When the brain is overstrained, the blood thickens, the stress hormone is released, and the conductivity of the membranes of brain cells decreases. Therefore, we learn to relax and turn off thoughts with the help of yoga, auto-training, and meditation. A good method is to turn off the lights and wander around the room blindfolded for 15-20 minutes. The main thing is to deprive the brain of the usual sources of information to sharpen hearing, smell and touch. “Thought reset” is an excellent workout for activating brain function and improving memory.
We learn to concentrate the mind on one idea or subject. For 5-7 minutes we concentrate on some point, on a tree outside the window, on a memory or idea, without being distracted by anything else. Such exercises allow you to accumulate energy to solve serious specific problems.
We think only positively. Even if luck has run out, and the general state can be described as “I want to hang myself a little, but in general - nothing” - only a smile, optimism and humor. We categorically avoid despondency and depression by any means. Laugh heartily, communicate only with positive people, watch good films, learn to see white in black. Hormones of happiness increase brain performance tens of times.
Learning to concentrate. We don’t scatter it across several tasks at once, but sequentially process thoughts on each of the tasks, highlighting the most important ones.
We train both hemispheres of the brain. We draw 5 circles with our left hand, and the same number of triangles with our right hand. Everything takes a minute. We regularly take tests (there are many of them on the Internet) from the series - “memorize objects on a page in 10 seconds and list them in detail from memory.”
Developing brain abilities – we do familiar things with our left hand, try new tastes, read good literature, ask ourselves the question “why?” 10 times a day, solve crosswords, put together puzzles, listen to Mozart (proven to activate mathematical abilities), discover creative talents in ourselves, improve estrogen level through regular sexual activity, developing vocabulary and gaining new knowledge, keeping diaries and blogs, etc.

10 Best Ways to Improve Physical Performance

Cleanse the blood and blood vessels of the brain. In the morning - a glass of water on an empty stomach (maybe with lemon) on even-numbered days, a glass of herbal tea on odd-numbered days. For lunch, don't forget to eat a clove of garlic, carrots and parsley. 1.5-2 liters of fluid per day is a must. We stop eating fast food and “bum bags”, reduce salt to a minimum, and categorically refuse foods (regular consumption leads to serious changes in nervous tissue). Don't forget about vitamins. We don’t get carried away with veganism (a person cannot live fully without amino acids in meat) and have a proper breakfast!
Fight physical inactivity. That is, we remember that movement is life. We ride bicycles, do exercises, use any free minute to improve blood circulation (at least take a walk, and don’t sit in a chair, “resting”).
Visit the sauna regularly (time for “steam” - no more than half an hour). Removing toxins, treating chronic diseases, sweating out negativity in every sense are the main advantages of a bathhouse.
Give up coffee in favor of mineral water.
Eat enough to feel a little full , and not fall on the bed with a full belly. Overeating slows down both physical and mental processes.
The best vacation is in nature! To the forest with a basket, fishing, to the mountains, to country barbecues, to pick up leaves for a children’s herbarium, etc.
Constantly ventilate the room.
Plan your day correctly. A drawn up work plan means order in your head and high productivity. Don't forget to include 10 minutes of rest in your plan.
Temper your body. Don’t insulate yourself like a head of cabbage in winter, sleep with the window open, and walk barefoot more often.
Boost your immunity without the help of medications.

Your body is your personal computer. Its power and operation without crashes and freezes depends only on what programs you load into it. Positivity, health, movement - three components of success in the task of increasing performance.

In a dynamic era of fierce competition and abundant information, the success of an individual in all spheres of life directly depends on the size of intellectual capital. However, constant overload and chronic stress do not contribute to clarity of thinking and high brain performance.
Inability to concentrate, muscle weakness, indifference to current events, loss of interest in exciting activities are clear symptoms of deteriorating brain function. You may not pay close attention to such signals if these signs occur in the evening hours after a busy day at work or they appear during a viral illness.

However, if such symptoms begin to overcome after a full night's rest and constantly interfere with usual activities, it is necessary to take measures to activate the brain.

The human brain is an amazing organ, the secrets of which are still not fully understood. Despite the fact that the work of a person’s “main computer” is influenced by a certain proportion of genetic factors, brain functions need to be improved daily: develop memory, improve concentration abilities, polish logic and analysis.
If an individual neglects his body, the first signs of a decrease in brain performance will appear without waiting for old age. It has been confirmed by numerous studies that in people over 40 years of age, cognitive and mnestic functions gradually deteriorate.
Some mature people find it increasingly difficult to concentrate on one task. It becomes increasingly difficult for them to keep important details of the task in their heads. A more labor-intensive task becomes clearly expressing your thoughts, conducting the necessary analysis, and drawing up a logical conclusion.

Deterioration in the performance of the main computer cannot be considered the norm. It has been established that you can maintain clarity of mind and excellent memory into old age if you do not let the process of biological withering take its course, lead a healthy lifestyle and train your brain daily.

Causes of decreased brain performance
The reason for a decline in brain performance is not always natural age-related changes in the body. There are a huge number of factors influencing brain activity that are relevant both for people of working age and for children. Let us describe the main reasons for the decline in brain performance.

Factor 1. Chronic stress or one-time mental stress
Long-term exposure to negative external factors or a one-time strong nervous shock, a feeling of irrational anxiety or sudden fear causes the destruction of cells of the nervous system and prevents the formation of new neural connections. The consequence of this is a deterioration in the quality of all cognitive processes: attention, memory, thinking, imagination, perception and sensations.

Factor 2. Lack of sleep
Sleep deprivation reduces a person's ability to concentrate, causes memory loss, causes unclear speech, and initiates a slowdown in all reactions. It can be argued that depriving a person of sleep is a terrible torture, insidious with serious consequences in somatic health and the mental sphere.

Factor 3. Depressive states
With depression, there is a significant decrease in the synthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which not only causes a depressed state, but also “rewards” the person with cognitive impairment and interferes with high-quality intellectual activity. A drop in the level of another neurotransmitter, dopamine, initiates a significant deficit of attention, a decrease in working memory, and depression of executive functions.

Factor 4. Impaired functioning of the thyroid gland
Insufficient production of thyroid hormones leads to delayed mental and physical development in children and causes a significant deterioration in intellectual abilities in adults. The entire brain, including the parts responsible for attention and memory, suffers from a deficiency of such hormones.

Factor 5. Lack or excess of estrogen
Increased or insufficient production of the female hormone estrogen can cause enormous disruptions in the functioning of the brain. An inappropriate level of this hormone causes a sharp deterioration in memory and a decrease in the ability to concentrate.

Factor 6. Alcohol abuse
Excessive alcohol consumption has far-reaching negative effects on the brain. Alcoholism is memory loss, clouding of consciousness, organic changes in brain cells, compression of the brain and, as a consequence, Korsakov’s psychosis and complete collapse of personality.

Factor 7. Traumatic brain injuries
The dire consequences of head injuries can appear either instantly or over a long period of time. Common complications of traumatic brain injury: unclear speech, severe decrease in intelligence.

Factor 8. Vascular pathologies
Chronic vascular disorders or acute disruption of the blood supply to the brain have an extremely negative impact on the functioning of the “main computer”. Problems with blood vessels cause a deterioration in the integrative activity of the brain, interfere with memory consolidation, and complicate learning processes.

How to Increase Brain Performance: Mind Training
To have a toned, athletic figure, you need to train regularly, providing your muscles with a reasonable amount of stress. This statement is also true for a high level of higher nervous activity, for excellent indicators of intellectual abilities, for the absence of problems with cognitive functions and memory: the brain should be regularly trained.

Rule 1. Do mental exercises every day

We try to remember as much new information as possible, for this we memorize poems, jokes, and excerpts from fiction.

Let's start learning a new foreign language.

We solve puzzles and crosswords.

We solve logical and mathematical problems.

We play board games, the conditions of which require logic and analysis.

Instead of using a calculator, we do arithmetic calculations in our heads.

We mentally plot the route to our destination, without using a navigator.

We are trying to remember the required phone number without looking at the contact list on the phone.

We remember and write down the birthdays of relatives and friends on a piece of paper.

After watching the movie, we retell the plot and name the actors.

We write down and memorize unusual sayings and witty quotes.

In the evening, we restore the sequence of events of the day and analyze the events that occurred.

We list the names of famous writers, poets, artists.

We try to name as many concepts from one area as possible, for example: we list all known species of animals.

We play computer games that require attention, for example: searching for hidden things.

Rule 2. Include brain food in your diet
Adjusting your diet can improve the quality of brain activity. Scientists have determined which foods promote maximum brain activity and increase a person’s intellectual potential. Among the components essential for the brain are the following products.

Muscat grapes contain anthocyanins - substances that ensure metabolic processes in the body.

Apples can eliminate defects in the nervous system. They are a powerful blood purifier and prevent the deformation of vascular walls, which has a beneficial effect on the productivity of brain activity.

Choline, also called vitamin B4, has a pronounced anti-atherosclerotic and nootropic effect, improves metabolic processes in nervous tissue. The most generous product in terms of choline is egg yolk.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are found in seafood and sea fish, such as salmon, can improve brain performance.

A valuable product for the high-quality functioning of the “main computer” is folic acid, which is rich in leafy greens, for example: spinach.

A powerful antioxidant, tocopherol, can prevent natural age-related changes. Valuable products containing vitamin E are olive, sunflower, and corn oil.

The source of energy for brain tissue is taurine. The maximum content of this amino acid is found in turkey, chicken, tuna, raw red fish and oysters.

Regular consumption of green tea can protect neurons from destruction.

Walnuts will prevent the development of hypertension, atherosclerosis, and coronary heart disease.

Rule 3. Get rid of bad habits
Many treatises have been written about the damage that smoking and alcohol abuse cause to health. However, there are people who are sincerely convinced that alcohol and cigarettes help them think better and faster. The fallacy of this point of view has been proven as a result of numerous scientific studies.
Tobacco and ethanol are false activators of brain activity, which for a short period of time create the illusion that the brain has begun to function more productively. In fact, these bad habits lead to the destruction of existing neural connections, which deteriorates the cognitive and mnestic functions of the psyche. The conclusion is simple: to improve brain performance, you need to say goodbye to addictions once and for all.

Rule 4. Move energetically
Vigorous physical exercise, brisk walking, swimming, cycling activate the work of all body systems. Thanks to daily half-hour exercise, it is possible to improve the elasticity of blood vessels, increase blood circulation and lymph circulation, and naturally cleanse the body of toxins. Physical exercise stimulates the restoration of nervous tissue, promotes the emergence of new neural connections, which ultimately has a beneficial effect on brain performance.

Rule 5. Perform a head massage
Daily massage of the head and collar area increases blood circulation in the vessels of the brain and promotes venous outflow. The ideal option is to visit a professional massage therapist’s salon once a season, and the rest of the time to perform the massage yourself. You can perform the procedure in the classic way - with your hands, or using a special device - a massager. Simply brushing your hair with a brush for 10 minutes can improve blood circulation.

Rule 6. Use color therapy and essential oils
It has been established that each specific color has a specific effect on the functioning of the body. Some shades excite the nervous system and activate the brain, others calm and pacify. A picture made in bright yellow tones can improve brain performance - this color significantly improves a person’s intellectual abilities. The rich orange color will be an effective stimulant for achieving new heights and self-affirmation.

You can achieve progress in brain performance with the help of aromatherapy. Natural essential oils with a citrus aroma and woody scent have a tonic effect on the body, promoting the development of cognitive functions.

Rule 7. Developing our abilities
To discover our hidden talents, we use a proven technique: we block one of the channels of perception for a short time. We can eat with our eyes closed, brush our teeth or comb our hair with our left hand. We try, with our eyes closed, to identify the object by touch and recognize the product by smell. We also develop the ability for ambidexterity - we train the functions of both hands, for example: we draw geometric shapes with both hands at the same time.

High brain performance is a state in which this organ is able to work for a long time without fatigue, and also create information flows within its structures. This operating mode allows you to cover many information connections, identify the necessary fragments and ways to solve problems.

Let's look at how to increase brain performance and for what reasons it decreases.

We are engaged in self-development

Self-development using Youtube

How to improve brain performance? Continuous lifelong learning is the key to an active brain, as well as a way to prevent age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and memory loss. Anyone who learns something new retains clarity of thought into old age.

The Internet is a huge repository of useful information, particularly in video and audio format. The largest video hosting site, for example, has many educational channels on a variety of topics.

Russian-language channels on YouTube:

Post-science - scientists and research institute employees explain complex scientific things in simple words;
Science - the video on the channel is presented in animated videos that clearly explain various facts;
Science and Technology, It Works - translations of famous Western programs.

There are even more English-language educational channels:

Crash Course – intensive course on the entire history of mankind;
Discovery Channel is a resource that covers topics of geography, technology, world science, etc.;
Veritasium - an explanation in simple language of how everything in the world works;
National Geographic - a channel about wildlife, archaeological finds, natural history;
Science Channel is a scientific resource about space, technology and discoveries in science.

There is also a paid resource, The Great Courses by The Teaching Company - audio and video lectures in English on a variety of topics (Psychology, History, Natural Sciences, Cosmology, Physiology, Religion, Creativity, Literature and much more).

Learn foreign languages

Scientists have found that for high intelligence it is better to know several languages “little by little” than one, but thoroughly. This is the basis for increasing brain performance.

When learning a foreign language, certain areas of the brain begin to increase in size. Thus, professional translators always have a larger volume of gray matter compared to people who do not know other languages.

As with lifelong learning, learning foreign languages prevents the onset of Alzheimer's syndrome. For those who speak two or more languages, dementia occurs on average a year or several years later.

Foreign languages also improve memory and multitasking abilities (the ability to quickly switch between different things, solve a number of problems in the mind at the same time).

Where you can study foreign languages in your free time and for free:

BBC Languages – 40 foreign languages are available for study, lessons are presented in the form of texts and videos;
Busuu is a gaming application for learning popular foreign languages in the form of tests and pictures;
Livemocha – foreign courses, there are also blogs and forums with useful information;
Interpals is a network that unites many people from all over the world: to find new friends and communicate with them, a basic level of foreign language proficiency is enough;
on the Duolingo service you can study the 6 most popular foreign languages according to a program that is structured in the form of achievements.

Read the right literature

How to increase your mental performance to the maximum? You shouldn't kill time with modern romance novels and low-grade detective stories. The best option is classical fiction, poetry, historical, philosophical and scientific works, analytical articles and notes. Try to read one fiction book a week whenever possible.

There is also a separate segment of literature devoted to how to improve the performance of the human brain. The most popular books include: “Training the Mind” (Tom Wujek), “Develop Your Intelligence” (Philip Carter), “100% Brain” (Olga Kinyakina), “Fundamentals of Rote Memorization” (Zach Belmore).

So, in order to increase the activity and performance of the brain, it is important to regularly load it. But don’t forget about rest: without allowing it to recover, you will not achieve results.

How to rest properly

Develop a sleep routine

The ability of the brain to work effectively can be quickly developed if you follow a sleep, work and rest schedule.

It is recommended to adhere to the natural circadian rhythm - evening rest, night sleep, morning awakening, daytime wakefulness. If a person is used to working at night and considers himself a “night owl,” then he has simply adapted to an incorrect daily routine. When he returns to his natural sleep-wake cycle, his brain will become more productive.

As for the number of hours of sleep, it is individual for everyone, but it is better to sleep at least 6 and no more than 9 hours a day.

In addition, melanin production occurs at night. 70% of its creation occurs at night. Melanin cleanses the body of harmful elements, prevents the effects of cancer cells, and helps restore cellular processes after taking alcohol or drugs. With its help you can improve the condition of your skin.

By the way, scientists claim that during sleep, information is transferred to long-term memory, as well as the creation of new connections between neurons. This improves your thought process.

Wake up correctly

After the alarm clock rings, you need to get up immediately. If you woke up shortly before him, you also need to get up, even if you want to sleep. When you get up, within a couple of minutes the drowsiness will completely disappear.

It is useful to wake up in the light. In winter, it is better to buy special alarm clocks that ring after the lights are turned on.

Come up with some invigorating rituals for yourself, for example, a contrast shower, and perform them constantly. It is best to do a contrast shower in the morning, and a warm one in the evening.

Get ready for bed

The bedroom should not be stuffy, hot and light.

It is not recommended to use sleeping pills, as they depress the nervous system and carry with them many unpleasant side effects. A few hours before bedtime, it is advisable to take a walk in the fresh air and do some exercise.

To live an active lifestyle

The average city dweller experiences many unpleasant effects due to a sedentary lifestyle. Cycling, morning or evening jogging, and visiting the gym will help solve this problem. Instead of standing in a traffic jam or jostling in the subway for an hour, you can spend the same hour in the fresh air - on a bicycle.

In this case, it is better to get up and leave the house before traffic jams and rush hour - the air will be cleaner and fresher, the percentage of harmful impurities in it will decrease. In addition, after a bike ride your appetite wakes up - you can happily eat a healthy breakfast.

If you cannot afford to get to work this way, then just get off 1-2 stops before yours and walk.

Relax while working

How to increase productivity? Proper rest involves new activities, not coffee, going to the smoking room or mindlessly browsing entertainment sites.

It is best to leave the office, do some exercise, walk down the street, or at least stand by an open window. Light physical activity helps restore blood flow, tone relaxed blood vessels and muscles, and also accelerates the removal of cell waste products from the body.

Relax after work

The best recreation is jogging, going to the pool, roller skating and skating. Simple cleaning of the apartment on the weekend also helps to take a break from mental activity.

Avoid monotony in your life: master new routes, change your usual store, learn new recipes, don’t watch your favorite films several times, visit museums, theaters and cinemas, read a lot of different literature.

Why does brain performance decrease?

Let's consider how you can increase the performance of a person's brain by improving the environment and getting rid of bad habits.

Unfavorable working conditions

Lighting

One of the main reasons for feeling tired is improper lighting in the workplace. You should not stay in twilight or darkness for a long time, as this indicates to the brain that it is time to fall asleep. Also, the contrast between a bright monitor and a dark room negatively affects vision and tires you.

It’s also not worth rushing to extremes. Some companies decide to decorate their offices “outside the box” - in such rooms there are many different light sources, glare, and the walls are painted in bright, toxic colors. Such a workplace only destroys productivity.

Extraneous sounds, noise

Music in headphones and constantly playing radio strain the auditory analyzer, which does not have the best effect on brain activity. It's better not to listen to anything while working.

Inconvenient workplace

The most common example is the monitor being placed too high. This leads to tension in the neck muscles, which interferes with normal venous outflow and inflow of blood. The blood supply to the brain begins to deteriorate. In the future, this leads to decreased performance and frequent headaches.

Bad habits

Poor nutrition

Instant noodles, chips, crackers and other similar products contain glutamate, the purpose of which is to enhance the taste. At the same time, glutamate causes a nootropic effect in the central nervous system. The nootropic wears off quickly, but abuse of harmful products changes the biochemical processes that occur in the nervous tissue.

Also, poor nutrition gradually leads to a lack of vitamins and other vital elements in the body. Without them, cells are unable to function normally.

The diet should contain vegetable fats, fish and fresh vegetables.

Vegetable fats and fish are fat-soluble vitamins and fatty acids. These products contain vitamins E and A, which take part in many synthesis reactions and act as antioxidants.

Vegetables are useful because they contain vitamins, provitamins and their derivatives.

Brain performance also decreases in those who adhere to veganism. Meat contains many essential amino acids and iron in a form that is absorbed by the body much more easily and quickly compared to foods of plant origin. To increase the working capacity of the brain, you cannot give up meat.

Eating a healthy, nutritious breakfast can boost your brain performance throughout the day.

6 Ways to Improve Brain Function Without Nootropics

In the not-too-distant past, scientists were confident that brain development occurred primarily in the early years of life and became difficult or impossible with age. But recent research has shown that the human brain is more plastic and flexible than previously thought. This means that the adult brain can change, a phenomenon called brain plasticity or neuroplasticity.

New evidence of the phenomenon of neuroplasticity allows people to find ways to improve their cognitive functions (cognitive abilities). Cognitive performance is usually thought of as intelligence, but it means much more: concentration, long-term and working memory, attention and mental health - all of which affect how productively you can think.

Modern research shows that by incorporating certain habits into your lifestyle, you can improve various aspects of your cognitive performance. Here, you'll learn how six habits—mindfulness practice, exercise, diet, sleep, new experiences, and socialization—can impact your brain and improve your performance.

#1: Mindfulness Meditation: Training Focus and Attention

This ancient spiritual practice has recently received a lot of attention for its ability to help decompress from 21st century stress and improve concentration.

Mindfulness is a mental state that is achieved through awareness of the current moment, calm recognition and acceptance of one’s feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic method.

RonaldD. Siegel of Harvard Medical School defines mindfulness as “being aware of what is happening and accepting it.” It sounds simple enough, but anyone who has experienced a cycle of thoughts knows how uncontrollable the mind is, how it can easily carry us from one stressful thought to another.

Practicing mindfulness is just that: a practice; it's like a daily workout for your brain. What exactly is being trained? Your ability to focus and develop cognitive self-discipline are two signs of advanced cognitive function.

In a 2013 Time Magazine article, Daniel Goleman writes, “Forget delayed gratification: all kids really need is cognitive control.” The same can be said about adults.

Cognitive control(also called executive function) is a term used to briefly express the process of regulating many cognitive functions, including reasoning, memory, attention, problem solving, and planning.

The ability to exercise cognitive control is associated with increased efficiency, decreased performance, and increased performance. For example, if you find yourself wanting to check your email after five minutes of starting work and are able to put that thought aside for a while, you can reduce the stress that leads to inefficiency and perform better.

Practicing mindfulness

While mindfulness is a key component of ancient spiritual traditions such as Buddhism, it is possible to practice mindfulness meditation without necessarily adopting a spiritual faith.
A mindfulness practice can be a daily meditation session in which you focus on one thing, usually your breath, and gently, without straining, bring your attention back to your breath when your thoughts inevitably try to distract you.

Food, gut and brain

The connection between food and mental performance has been suspected for a long time. The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract contains a surprisingly large number of neurons, followed only by the brain. Additionally, serotonin (a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in sleep, mood and pain) is primarily produced in the gastrointestinal tract—almost 95 percent of all serotonin is synthesized in the human intestine.

With more and more research, the idea of taking care of your gut to support mental health is being promoted. One study found that individuals who took a daily dose of probiotics - a dose of so-called "good" bacteria - were less likely to develop depression.

The reason is likely that the study subjects' guts were filled with beneficial microbes that keep harmful or pathogenic bacteria at bay, support digestion, support vitamin production, protect the immune system and regulate appetite.

Because the GI tract is filled with neurons, researchers believe that bacteria in the gut play an important role in activating neural pathways, maintaining neuronal function, and influencing the production and use of neurotransmitters such as serotonin.

With growing evidence of a connection between the GI tract and the brain, make sure you eat healthy foods and support your gut's good bacteria, which influence mental health and cognitive function.

Nutrition for a healthy biome

The gut biome is the collection of bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract. Eat right to stimulate the growth of "good" bacteria, which can prevent mental illness and support cognitive function.

Tim Spector, professor of genetics at King's College London, recently wrote a book called Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat. He recommends eating foods that contain prebiotics, nutrients that bacteria need to grow and thrive, and probiotics, fermented foods that contain beneficial bacteria.

Prebiotics are foods high in fiber and indigestible components, such as inulin, that cannot be broken down in the upper gastrointestinal tract and reach the lower gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics, such as yogurt, contain beneficial bacteria that support the bacterial population in the gut.

To support your gut biome, check out Professor Spector's list of TOP 10 gut-friendly foods:

Jerusalem artichoke
Leek
Garlic
Legumes
Apples
Nuts
Yogurt
Extra virgin olive oil
Red wine
Dark (bitter) chocolate

Diet and mental health

Researchers have found that diet may influence the likelihood of developing mental illnesses such as depression. But they are also studying how different diets affect brain size and structure.

A recent scientific review noted that people who ate a Mediterranean-style diet—high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and fish—had larger hippocampi than those who ate a traditional “American” or fast-food diet. The Western pattern diet is high in animal fat and simple carbohydrates and correlates with a decrease in a specific protein (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) that helps maintain brain health and function and also affects the size of the hippocampus (the brain structure presumably influencing the consolidation of short-term memory into long-term memory).

This study and several others like it suggest that consuming foods high in essential nutrients may help maintain brain health.

Diet and Inflammation

There is also growing evidence that chronic inflammation can lead to cognitive decline. Inflammation is the body's natural response to harmful invaders such as viruses and pathogenic bacteria. Inflammation is an important immune response that is essential to maintaining health, but in a chronic condition, inflammation can lead to a number of consequences.

The researchers concluded that chronic inflammation may play an important role in the development of depression and other mental disorders. To reduce inflammation, preserve cognitive function, and reduce your risk of mood disorders, consume foods with anti-inflammatory properties.

Conclusion

The more research reveals plasticity in the brain that contributes to cognitive development, the more reason there is to work toward a healthier lifestyle.

Get enough sleep. Go for walks with friends. Make healthy food choices. Keep an open heart and try new things, maybe even meditation. Scientific research once again confirms that these lifestyle fundamentals go a long way towards good mental and physical health.

In order to achieve success and develop intellectual abilities, you need to know how to increase brain performance and develop certain skills and abilities. Surely, you are familiar with the state when you cannot concentrate, remember information, are easily distracted and cannot begin to complete a task. This all happens due to information “garbage”, insomnia, workload and other problems of modern society.

To make it easier to live in the modern world, you need to regularly train your brain and engage in self-improvement. The human brain, if developed, can pleasantly surprise, yet it has long been known that for the average person it does not work at full capacity.

There are also several reasons for this. For example, more often than not, with age, not only brain performance deteriorates, but also memory and the ability to learn and assimilate new information. In addition, we are accustomed to performing routine actions on an automatic basis every day, which also applies to work activities.

In the age of information technology and communication on the Internet, people have stopped reading and striving to study the world around them. Frequently spending time on the Internet or watching television does not in any way contribute to the development of abilities, but people are accustomed to relaxing in this way.

How to improve brain function and make it work? There are enough ways, but in order for them to really work, you need to be patient, willpower, great desire and diligently engage in self-development every day. The main criteria are the development of thinking and memory.

Development of thinking:

Solving crosswords, scanwords, logic problems, puzzles;
Educational strategy games (also board games and monopolies);
Solving mathematical problems (it will also be useful to remember algebra);
Perform various calculations in your head. You can start with two-digit numbers first and then move on to more complex examples;

Memory development:

Foreign languages. You can learn several new foreign words or phrases every day. An excellent option would be to enroll in a foreign language course. If this is not possible, then today there are many options for online learning on the Internet (distance learning, learning via Skype, online courses).
Poetry. Learn one short poem every day, pay attention to the classics. This will contribute not only to the development of memory, but also to literacy, education and the formation of taste and morality.
Memorizing numerical information. Try to remember important phone numbers, also pay attention to price tags in supermarkets, in other words, try to remember all the numbers that surround you. It is perfectly . It will be especially useful if you perform various mental calculations with these numbers.
Give up all kinds of calculators and modern gadgets, use a pencil and paper. Let your brain handle the simplest tasks on its own, and then move on to more complex ones.
Also don't forget about proper nutrition. If you want to increase brain performance, eat fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and grains. Drink more fluids, but do not overuse strong tea, coffee and energy drinks. It is better to give preference to plain water and natural freshly squeezed juices. Feed your brain with vitamins and new knowledge.