We love keeping our bodies active all the time, but why don’t we give the same focus to our brains? Maybe we think that a bit of studying and exercising here and there is ample – but emerging research indicates that strengthening our brains is crucial for long-term success.
The latest findings in neuroscience show that a human brain hits its peak performance at around 16-25 years. Thereafter, the cognitive functions start declining. These findings might not sound good news, especially to people who are well above 25 years. However, the better news is that irrespective of your age and profession, brain training can help boost its power, such as memory and cognitive abilities. Keep reading to learn about the top three habits that you should develop to boost your brainpower.
Exercise Regularly
Over time, humans have evolved to be active beings. Our ancestors had to keep moving to find food, water, and escape from prey to survive. Similarly, our brains have evolved to work at their best when exercised well.
When you exercise regularly, more oxygen gets into the brain and help to sharpen its focus. In one of the studies on brain training, when a previously sedentary group of people started a light exercise program, improvements were noted in their cognitive skills, reaction time, and quantitative abilities.
With regular exercises, finding solutions to problems that previously appeared very complicated is likely to become easier. You might even want to consider thinking of solutions to personal or professional challenges when exercising, and it is likely to be very effective. During that morning jog or evening walk, the big idea, such as how to grow sales or solve that relationship problem, might easily run through the mind.
Learn Something New
Improving your brain requires some commitment, but this might be what gives you the best effect. Learning something new helps to keep the brain on its toes and bring on new challenges. The good thing about new skills is that you can focus on something that will catapult your career steps ahead. Some things that you might want to consider include:
- Learning a new language.
- Playing a musical instrument.
- Learning how to do a new recipe.
Meditating
Although meditating has been in use for thousands of years, it is only recently that its application for health purposes has intensified. In particular, some psychologists, trainers, and medical practitioners recommend mindfulness meditation as a method of boosting their brainpower.
In one of the studies published in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience journal, researchers concluded that mindfulness meditation is able to engage new neural pathways in a human brain, culminating in improved self-observational skills. Furthermore, it can help to increase mental flexibility.
Intelligence is not a fixed characteristic in a human being. Even if your IQ score is poor, you can progressively improve it by adopting good brain training habits, such as the ones we have brought out in this post. To make it more effective, consider working with a good brain training program and using personalized, motivating, and goal-specific activities.
