1. Make brainpower fun
Once you become good at a specific skill, your brain stops working as hard. The dopamine rush you get when you learn something new or tackle a difficult task isn’t present, and it’s that dopamine that makes you smarter. To ensure your brain keeps working find new ‘brain games’ to explore.
What you can do
Do logic and lateral thinking puzzles like crosswords and Sudoku. Play logic and strategy games. Even video games can stimulate the brain. Studies have shown that playing Tetris leads to more efficient brain activity.
But, as players become more proficient at the game, their brains show a reduced consumption of glucose (the body’s main fuel) because as you become more proficient in any activity the effort required decreases. The rule of thumb is to keep finding something new to challenge yourself with.
2. Exercise the body
When you exercise your body, you exercise your brain. Any and all physical movement is good for the brain though — we know sitting stationary at a desk all day is bad for the body, but sitting in the same mental state day after day is as bad for the mind.
To break out of a cycle of monotony, make it a lifelong goal to continually learn new things.
What you can do
It can be as simple as trying a new route to work, as daring as bungee jumping, or as cultural as visiting art galleries, museums or learning a new craft. The important thing to remember is that the ‘what’ is not as important as actually doing something new. New experiences trigger dopamine.
3. Enjoy society and culture
Expose yourself to new ideas and communities. The more you’re involved with other people, opinions and ideas, the more you’ll learn.
What you can do
Listen to classical music (the Mozart effect has shown that people who listen to classical music for ten minutes a day can make short-term improvements to their IQ), and read voraciously, to enhance your mind’s ability to comprehend new ideas and think critically.
Free tool
Get your free, personalised brain training programme at www.luminosity.com.
Choose what you want to train within five areas:
- Memory
- Attention
- Speed
- Flexibility
- Problem solving.
A series of games a few times a week will then help you hone the areas you want to improve. Go to www.luminosity.com for more information.