Thanks to improvements in medicine, more of us are living longer. That means we have a heightened investment in making sure our brains stay in shape as we age, too.<\/p>\n
Lucky for us, advanced technologies have enabled researchers to understand how the brain works, what it responds to, and even how to retrain it. For instance, we know our brains prefer foods with high levels of antioxidants, including blueberries, kale, and nuts.<\/p>\n
The frequency of\u00a0success matters more than the size\u00a0of success, so don\u2019t wait until the big wins to congratulate yourself, says\u00a0B.J. Fogg,\u00a0director of the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University. Instead, come up with daily celebrations for yourself; your brain doesn\u2019t know the difference between progress and perceived progress.<\/p>\n
Both progress and setbacks\u00a0are said to greatly influence\u00a0our emotions. So the earlier in the day you can feel successful, the better\u2014feelings of excitement help fuel behaviors that will set you up for successes. For instance, a productive morning routine can be used to motivate you through the rest of the day. We feel happier and encouraged as our energy levels increase, and feel anxiety or even depression as our energy levels go down.<\/p>\n
According to neurologist\u00a0Etienne van der Walt, keeping active is one of the best ways to improve brain health. As he told Quartz earlier this year, \u201cSpecific forms of exercises have been shown to be very beneficial for \u2026 brain growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simply speaking, when we exercise, our heart rate increases, oxygen is pumped to the brain at a much faster rate, and new brain cells develop more quickly. The more brain cells we create, the easier it is for cells to communicate with one another, developing new neural pathways. Ultimately, our brains become more efficient and plastic, which means better cognitive performance.<\/p>\n
Like other muscles in your body, if you don\u2019t use the brain, you\u2019ll eventually lose it. This means it\u2019s crucial to exercise your brain and keep it stimulated.<\/p>\n
Tara Swart, a senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,\u00a0notes that it\u2019s especially important\u00a0to target areas of your brain that you use less frequently. Good suggestions for stretching your brain muscles include learning to speak a new language, learning to play a new instrument, or even learning to juggle.<\/p>\n
To enhance his own cognitive prowess,\u00a0author James Altucher\u00a0tries to come up with new ideas every day.\u00a0He\u00a0writes\u00a0about his daily system:<\/p>\n
Take a waiter\u2019s pad. Go to a local cafe. Maybe read an inspirational book for 10 to 20 minutes. Then start writing down ideas. The key here is, write 10 ideas \u2026 a waiter\u2019s pad is too small to write a whole novel or even a paragraph. In fact, it\u2019s specifically made to make a list. And that\u2019s all you want, a list of ideas.<\/p>\n
Mothers everywhere were really onto something when they instructed their children to sit up straight. Not only is an upright position found to\u00a0increase energy levels\u00a0and\u00a0enhance our overall mood, it\u2019s also been shown to increase our confidence.<\/p>\n
Positioning yourself in a powerless, crouched position can make your brain more predisposed towards hopelessness. In the study, the researchers found that people who sit in collapsed positions\u2014usually adopted to look at small wireless devices like smartphones and tablets\u2014were less likely to stand up for themselves.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, participants who were randomly assigned larger devices, like laptops and desktops, were more likely to sit upright and be assertive in asking if they could leave.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of myths and half truths out there about\u00a0how\u2014and if\u2014your smartphone may be affecting the brain. While there is still a lot of research that needs to be done on the topic of wireless devices, there\u00a0does seem to be a link between blue light\u2014emitted by electronic screens including those of smartphones\u2014and sleep. Interrupting or changing our sleep patterns is bad for a lot of reasons. For example, lack of enough deep sleep could be preventing us from flushing harmful beta-amyloid from our brains.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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