Do you feel your brain isn’t smart enough? Do you look at others and think that they are so much smarter than you?
While “smart” is a relative term. It generally implies being able to meaningfully engage in a wide range of skills and abilities. Some people appear to be smarter than others because they perform at a higher level than most in particular areas. It’s as if they have a natural talent that allows them to more easily acquire skills and/or knowledge.
But, does that mean that the rest of us are stuck with what we got and can’t do anything about it? No, not at all. There’s not just hope but actually things you can do to increase your brain smarts.
Start here with 10 simple things to increase your brain smarts.
- The brain trifecta – feed, hydrate and recharge. These are the three basics. Feed your brain high quality nutrition (fast foods do not count). Hydrate your brain with a pure water source (not water that has be filtered from colas or fruit juices by your kidneys first). Recharge means adequate sleep. Not the 4- 5 hours that most sleep deprived people are accustomed to getting. Your brain needs 6-8 hours to process the day’s activities and recharge it’s batteries for top performance the next day.
- Physical exercise. If you did just one more thing and include some form of physical exercise in your daily routine, you couldn’t ask for a better thing to perk up your brain. Physical exercise has been proven to be the best thing for keeping the brain sharp for the long run.
- Change your routine. Get your brain out of a rut by doing things differently. It can be as simple as changing the order in which you do things. Change the route you take to work. You don’t have to do it everyday, but pick a day and get out of your comfort zone and create a new routine for yourself.
- Expose yourself. Not what you’re thinking. Expose yourself to new experiences. Again, this is getting out of your brain rut. Go somewhere different. Check your local newspaper that lists all kinds of activities and pick one and just go. Go for the experience even if you didn’t enjoy yourself. It will give you something to remember and talk about to others.
- Challenge your brain with mental mind games. Just Google brain games or go to a great source like Lumosity. You can’t expect to make your brain respond at a higher level without giving it some training and challenges to get it in shape.
- Read a physical book, and while you’re at it make it a thick one. Nothing challenges the brain more than a nice thick book, because it means your have to mentally keep track of the story line and characters over a longer period of time. It also requires focus, attention and commitment on the part of your brain. Mastering those skills will definitely make your smarter.
- Learn differently. Most of the population is visual learners and that is why education is geared to learning from word based materials. If you are a visual learner attend free lectures offered in your community through libraries, universities and health associations. See how much you can remember without writing anything down. If you’re an auditory learner sign up for a creative writing class, keep a daily journal or set up an Internet website where you start a blogging. If you’re a kinesthetic learner and like physical contact with things or things that you need to get a mental sense or feel for, then give any of the auditory or visual experiences a try.
- Do a memory workout. Your working memory needs a workout. In the good old days, this training was done by having children memorize long poems. You can get a poetry book and do the same, or become like the Greeks and learn memorize using mnemonic techniques. Or, join Toastmasters, a public speaking organization, where you get to experience giving a speech without notes.
- Go back to school. Whether it’s a physical school or an on-line program learning something different and out of comfort zone will stretch your brain’s muscles. If you think you’re far from smart when it comes to math or any other subject, there are great free tutorials to be found on-line. Check out Kahn Academy.
- Listen and then converse. Since our brain has already formulated all kinds of ideas and opinions it’s hard to listen to something we really don’t want to hear. However, if we practice good listening skills, we become much better at communicating with greater clarity. It also sharpens our thinking skills and makes it easier to be more specific in addressing points of disagreement.
By following these 10 simple things, you get your brain out of a rut, fill it with new experiences, sharpen your brain processing skills, increase your knowledge base and communicate with people who are interested in what you have to say.
You will feel smarter and others will think you’re smarter – can’t beat that.
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I am trying to do 1,2,4 this fall. I feel drained, and cannot get a good night sleep. Maybe exercise or eating differently can help. My 3 youngest kids are the only ones left at home and so I am going to learn to draw this year.