How to make the brain work 100%: the secrets of good memory

Memory and cognitive loss may occura natural part of aging. The decline in estrogen during menopause can also cause problems with memory and concentration. There is also a very serious brain disorder that most often affects people over sixty years old - Alzheimer's disease. Whether it is caused by aging, hormonal changes, poor health, or other factors - many of us are not particularly pleased to discover that our memory is no longer as reliable as it once was. Perhaps you would like to know how to make your brain work at full capacity? If you encourage your thinking organ to work, as they say, at 100 percent, by creating all the right conditions for this, you can not only improve its functions now, but also prevent the possible onset of Alzheimer's disease in the future.

Seven ways to activate the brain

So, let's get started with the story of how youYou can boost your mental capabilities, prevent mental aging, and perhaps even increase your life expectancy. You may be surprised to learn that not only do such strategies exist, but many of them are also easily achievable. You just need to get rid of some of your daily habits and adopt a few new ones instead. Here are the brain activation techniques we're talking about:

Sports and physical activity, whatstimulates the brain to work at optimal capacity In addition, physical activity encourages nerve cells to multiply, strengthening the connections between them and protecting them from damage. During exercise, nerve cells produce proteins known as neurotrophic factors; these proteins cause the appearance of numerous other chemicals that ensure the good condition of neurons and even the growth of new nerve cells. (Remember the popular saying that nerve cells do not regenerate? As it turns out, this is not true!) Proteins produced by the body during physical activity significantly improve cognitive functions, including the ability to learn. In addition, physical exercise provides a protective effect on the brain by: producing new connections between nerve cells; increasing blood flow to the brain; improving the development and survival of neurons; reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke. In 2010, American specialists conducted studies on primates. These studies showed that physical exercise led to amazing results: the monkeys began to learn and perform new tasks twice as fast. In addition, such exercises stimulate the mitochondria, which produce energy in every cell of your body; therefore, they help the brain work faster and much more efficiently. Researchers believe that this is true not only for monkeys, but, with 100 percent probability, for humans as well.

A good night's sleep is necessary not only foryour physical body, but also to unwind your mind, allowing you to see new creative solutions to old problems. It is not for nothing that they say, “the morning is wiser than the evening”! Sleep removes the blinders and helps “reboot” your brain to look at a problem from a different perspective, which is crucial for creative problem solving. Good sleep also helps strengthen your memory and improves your performance when it comes to applying complex skills. Indeed, getting at least eight hours of sleep can impact your ability to think clearly the next day. The so-called neuronal plasticity is the basis for the brain’s ability to control human behavior, including learning and good memory. And it is during sleep that the connections between neurons are strengthened and their plasticity increases. This is why a lack of sleep significantly reduces a person’s mental abilities. You have probably noticed that even a short nap in the middle of the day significantly increases brain performance.

Complete nutrition:omega-3 fats Although this is not a medical article, it is simply impossible not to mention the effect of certain components on the active functioning of the brain that should be present in our diet. If you really want to make your brain work “at 100%”, then your diet should also be complete “at 100%”. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a polyunsaturated fatty acid of the omega-3 class - it is the most important structural component of our brain. About sixty percent of our brain consists of fats, twenty-five percent of which is DHA. DHA is also an important structural component of human breast milk, and this is considered the main reason why children who were breastfed always get higher scores on IQ tests than formula-fed children. DHA is found in high concentrations in neurons - the cells of your central nervous system. When you don’t get enough omega-3 fats in your diet, your nerve cells become “stiffer” and more prone to inflammation because the missing omega-3 fats are replaced by cholesterol and the byproducts of omega-6 fat metabolism. Once this substitution occurs, the proper transmission of impulses from cell to cell and within the cell itself is disrupted. The effects of omega-3 fats on mental health have been the subject of intense research over the past four decades, and there is compelling evidence that these fats can help reduce the symptoms of a variety of degenerative brain disorders. For example, age-related memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease have been directly linked to low DHA levels. Even more exciting, these studies have found that degenerative diseases can not only be prevented with omega-3 fatty acids, but they can even be potentially reversed! For example, in one study, four hundred eighty-five elderly people with memory impairment showed significant improvement compared to a control group after taking nine hundred grams of DHA per day for twenty-four weeks. Omega-3 fats must be obtained from food, since our bodies are unable to produce them on their own. Foods rich in omega-3 fats should be present in our diet every day, and in particular these are fish and seafood, liver, flaxseed oil, walnuts, soybeans, dark green leafy vegetables.

Complete nutrition:Vitamin B12 This vitamin, or rather the lack of it, can be disastrous for the health of your brain. According to recent studies, people with high levels of vitamin B12 deficiency show lower results on cognitive tests and also have a smaller overall brain volume. Some confusion and memory problems should be warning signs that you may be vitamin B12 deficient. Research conducted by Finnish scientists has shown that people who consume foods rich in this vitamin can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in old age; for every unit increase in vitamin B12 markers, the risk of developing this disease decreased by two percent. The studies of these specialists have also shown that supplements with B vitamins, including vitamin B12, help slow down brain atrophy in older people with mild cognitive impairment (brain atrophy is the most characteristic sign of Alzheimer's disease). Vitamin B12 in its natural form is only available in animal food sources. These are seafood, beef, chicken, pork, milk and eggs. If you are not 100 percent sure that your diet is sufficiently complete, you can consult a doctor who will prescribe these vitamins for you if necessary.

Vitamin D This vitamin has a pronouncedinfluences the active growth of nerve cells in the brain and the metabolism of the hippocampus and cerebellum, areas of the brain involved in planning, processing information, and forming new memories (i.e., memories of what just happened). It is vital that mothers get enough vitamin D during pregnancy to ensure that their baby’s brain functions properly after birth. In older people, low levels of vitamin D also lead to poorer brain function, while adequate levels help maintain mental health in older people. Vitamin D is produced by our bodies; the only requirement is sufficient exposure to sunlight.

Listening to music It has long been assumed thatthat listening to music can make your brain work much more actively. You’ve probably heard of the “Mozart effect,” which suggests that listening to the works of this composer makes the listener’s intellect sharper. Well, we’d say that’s not 100 percent true, but that’s only because it’s not just the genius Mozart. Research has shown that any classical music can make you smarter. In one study, listening to music increased the subjects’ cognitive abilities, with signs of improved fluency and speech more than doubling. Listening to music has also been linked to increased cognitive function and improved mental focus in healthy adults. So take the first opportunity to turn on your player – you’ll enjoy great music while also benefiting your mind.

"Charging" for the brain Quantity and structureneurons and the connections between them depend on how much you use your thinking organ. One of the easiest ways to keep your brain working is to constantly learn something new. And this does not necessarily have to be learning in the literal sense of the word; you can read new books, travel, try playing a musical instrument, or speak a foreign language more often. You can try doing familiar things in a new way; for example, brushing your teeth, holding the brush not in your right, but in your left hand.

Well, and actually “charging” - that’s alsois very important for your brain! It can be something simple. For example, you can give yourself a task to remember all the famous people whose last name begins with the letter "S". You can solve crosswords - it's trivial, but they really train our memory well! Or you can play board games that make you think about every move. Studies have shown that even web surfing activates those parts of the brain that are associated with decision-making and complex reasoning. Which, by the way, cannot be said about passively watching TV. Memorize to improve your memory. The brain is like a muscle - if you do not use it, then over time it will reduce its functions. This is especially true for memory. By forcing your brain to work - memorizing new songs, poems or names and surnames - you will improve the performance of your memory subsystems. It is very useful to do calculations in your head, and not on a calculator, solve sudoku, solve a Rubik's cube or other three-dimensional puzzles - all this will increase brain function and significantly improve memory.

Commandments of a healthy brain and good memory

It is important to understand that good memory is important forour emotional well-being, as difficulties with this brain function tend to cause stress and serious cognitive impairment. To boost your brain's functionality, make it a point to follow these natural ways to improve memory performance:

Avoid stress and depression Cleanse yourconsciousness from negative thoughts and learn to relax. Learn to see positive things around you, and get used to treating failures as an opportunity to learn important lessons on the way to achieving success.
Ensure that your sleep is healthy and restfulyou real rest To do this, it is important to observe a sleep and wakefulness regime, distribute tasks in such a way that by the evening your head is free of worries, maintain an optimal temperature in the bedroom and do not overeat at night. Remember that sleep is crucial for the normal functioning of your brain; it is a way of processing information received during the day.
Ensure a good supply of oxygen to yourbrain Try to exercise or at least take regular walks – at least thirty minutes every day. Want to get your brain working at full speed from the very morning? Try this simple trick: when you wake up, sit on the edge of your bed, rest your hands on the edges of the bed and pull your knees to your chest several times. Fast walking for fifteen to twenty minutes is very useful. You can walk to work or to your place of study. Starting the day this way, you immediately increase blood circulation and provide your brain with a good portion of oxygen. You will immediately feel how the “fog” leaves your head, your mood improves, and your thinking becomes especially clear and fast. And do not forget to watch your breathing – not only when exercising, but also throughout the day. Breathing should be deep, not shallow, to increase the supply of oxygen to the blood.
Use your hands Try using themto improve your brain function. Remember our suggestion to brush your teeth with your left hand instead of your right? This is one example of using your opposite hand instead of your dominant hand to perform everyday tasks, and this ultimately stimulates your brain. There are tasks that involve using your fingers – these are various crafts, sewing, painting, building models – anything that involves the precision of your finger movements. Doing these tasks will also increase your brain function.
Read more This is a very good workout for your brain! And don't neglect the other opportunities to "pump up" your brain that we've already talked about.
Quit Smoking If You Have This Habit HowAccording to a report from Harvard Medical School, non-smokers perform significantly better than smokers on tests of memory and thinking skills. Smoking slows blood flow and deprives it of significant amounts of oxygen, which leads to decreased blood flow to the brain and oxygen starvation.
"Feed" your brain In addition to those already mentionedabove, try to fill your diet with such products as pumpkin, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, carrots, cabbage, beans, nuts, seeds, apricots, oranges and various berries. Green tea is very useful - it is known for its property to improve brain function and block the development of Alzheimer's disease. Cook with olive oil - it has a very good effect on the brain. Do not use refined vegetable oils; they do not have such useful qualities as unrefined ones. And eat foods high in fatty acids. But try to avoid foods high in saturated fats - chips, popcorn, fried foods and the like. They are very harmful both for your brain and for the whole body in general.
Drink plenty of clean fluids The brain contains a very high percentage of water, so drinking water can increase your energy and obviously helps maintain focus and memory.
Consider taking a supplement such as ginkgo biloba. Taking this supplement is one of the best ways to improve brain function and significantly strengthen your memory.

The main idea we wanted to convey to you– is the postulate that if you use your brain, it will remain strong and functional. If you don’t use it, it will gradually atrophy. You can improve your brain function by working on yourself every day, developing good habits and getting rid of bad ones. Increase the complexity of tasks for your brain, and it will always remain functional! We recommend reading: