Taking a nap immediately after exercise can help your memory. There are other unexpected ways of enhancing your brain power.
Your memory is a dynamic, ever-changing entity, and a number of things — from the food you eat to the exercises you do — can enhance cognition. Here are a few tips on how to sharpen your mind:
Close your eyes when thinking
A study at the University of Surrey found that participants who closed their eyes while answering questions fared 30 per cent better than those who kept theirs open. The reason is that you’re less distracted when your eyes are shut.
Talk to yourself
Don’t assume people will judge you for doing this. Saying and repeating things out aloud mean they are more likely to stick. It’s called the ‘production effect’: Where the simultaneous action of hearing yourself say the words has a beneficial impact on memory.
Check your blood pressure
People with high blood pressure are more likely to have problems with memory and thinking skills, a University of Alabama study found, since high blood pressure reduces flow to the brain.
Try singing
Singing uses the right side of our brain, which improves our problemsolving ability. Memorising words to a new song is thought to be especially beneficial, since the brain stimulates more acetylcholine (the chemical that boosts memory) this way.
Use your wrong hand
The more you use your non-dominant hand, the more your brain will develop new pathways and connections. Studies show that when you use your stronger hand, only one side of your brain is engaged. You can start with mechanical tasks — like brushing your teeth or using the computer mouse — with the wrong hand, and graduate to more complex ones later.
Meditate and do yoga
Participants in a study who meditated for 15-30 minutes a day for eight weeks saw improved connectivity in their brains, while shrinkage of their hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for memory, which shrinks with dementia) also slowed down. Yoga also improves visual-spatial memory, such as the ability to remember locations.
Use the pencil
People who doodled when they were listening or watching things performed almost 30 per cent better in memory tests. Handwriting too, it was found, enhances neural activity of the brain. So, as far as possible, write things with a pen and paper instead of using a keyboard.
Change things about
Break your patterns and routines. Sit in a different chair at the dinner table every day, take a different route to the market, watch the TV from a different position or angle, etc. Keep your mind sharp by constantly challenging it.
SRC: Speakingtree.in
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