Wondering how to increase brainpower?
Having a sharp brain makes it easier to do. . . well, anything!
Think about it. Brainpower helps us focus on work, make smarter decisions, and reach our goals.
But sometimes it can be more difficult to think clearly or complete your tasks. This could be due to stress, fatigue, or daily anxiety preventing your gray matter from performing optimally.
The good news is that you can boost your brainpower by making some simple lifestyle changes. From adding more brainpower foods to your diet, to turning on the right music and getting your nose stuck into some mind-empowering books – there are tons of brainpower boosters you can easily get your hands on to keep your thinker thinking!
Here are some things to do daily to boost it!
How to Increase Brainpower Daily
Daily habits play a crucial role in nurturing our brain’s health and cognitive abilities. By integrating simple yet effective activities into your routine, you can enhance mental clarity, memory, and overall brain function.
Here are some practical steps to boost your brainpower every day.
1. Meditate
Meditating triggers positive changes in your brain and improves its resilience under stress, boosts memory, and even raises your IQ. Meditation has been shown to activate and engage both hemispheres in the brain, which leads to greater processing power. Simultaneously, it stimulates the areas in the brain linked to creativity and learning. There are even more science-backed facts to encourage you to take up this ancient practice.
To reap the brain booster benefits, set aside dedicated time to meditate for at least 10 minutes every day. You can do it at home, during your lunch break, or whenever you have a spare moment.
2. Do Puzzles
Whether it’s a 1,000-piece jigsaw of the Eiffel Tower or just 100 pieces of Mickey Mouse, having some fun with a puzzle is an excellent way to strengthen your brain! Research has shown that doing puzzles recruits multiple cognitive abilities and is even a protective factor against visuospatial cognitive aging. In other words, when you’re putting a puzzle together, you have to look at different pieces and figure out where they fit within the bigger picture. So get out a puzzle and get mentally sharper piece by piece.
3. Build Your Vocabulary
Enriching your vocabulary has a way of making you sound smarter, but did you know it can also stimulate your brain? A neuro-imaging study found that more regions of the brain are involved in vocabulary-related tasks, particularly in parts that are important for visual and auditory processing.
To test this theory out on your own gray matter, try this brain-boosting activity:
- Keep a notebook with you when you’re reading. (More on brain booster books later).
- Write down one (or more) unfamiliar words and then look up the definition.
- Try to use that word at least five times the next day.
- Enjoy your improved vocab and notice how your brain improves too!
4. Learn New Skills and Languages
Not only is learning a new skill fun and interesting, but it may also help strengthen the connections in your brain. There must be something you’ve always wanted to learn how to do! Maybe it’s how to repair your car, or use new software, or maybe even how to juggle!
Well, findings show that learning a new skill can help improve memory function in older adults.
So now you have another good reason to finally learn that new skill!
There are overwhelming cognitive benefits of being able to speak more than one language. And numerous studies have shown that being bilingual can contribute to better memory, higher levels of creativity, and improved-visual spatial skills! Being fluent in more than one language may also help you switch more easily between different tasks and delay the onset of age-related mental decline. And it’s never too late to reap the rewards of learning a new language.
So, download an app and parlez-vous-le-Francais!
5. Dance and Exercise
Did you know that dancing your heart out is a great brain booster?
Yes! A study found that learning new dance moves can aid in the treatment of disorders such as autism, as well as battling degenerative diseases like. In other words, busting out those killer moves the next time you’re on the dance floor (or in the living room) your brain will thank you for it!
Why not give one of these dance activities a try?
- Join a dance class – take up salsa, tap, hip-hop, or even contemporary dance lessons!
- Try a dance exercise class – Zumba anyone?
- Watch an online video with fun dance moves you’ve always wanted to learn. Time to download TikTok!
- Take a partner and learn how to ballroom dance!
- Gather your friends and hit the club! (If they’re open of course!)
- And if you’re not really feeling your inner Dancing Queen or King – don’t worry. You can just crank up the volume and listen to some music. More on that in a bit!
Going hand in hand with the dancing, it’s obvious that exercise benefits both your mind and body. Not only does it promote the growth and development of nervous tissue, which improves brain function, but it also relieves stress and anxiety. Studies show that exercising keeps your brain sharp and boosts your productivity, as well as reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and cognitive decline. A Harvard study showed that moderate-intensity exercise can help improve your thinking and memory in just six months!
6. Listen To Music
So, if you’re not in the mood for dancing, you can still reap the brain-boosting benefits . . . Of music, that is! If you’re anything like me, you’re always listening to music – but what if you knew that it would increase your creative brainpower! Well, the answer may indeed lie in music.
According to a study, listening to happy tunes helps generate more creative solutions compared to just sitting in silence. That means that turning on some feel-good music can help boost your creative thinking and brainpower. And if you’ve always wanted to learn how to play music, you’re killing two brain booster birds with one stone: by learning a new skill and listening to music! Wondering what music increases brainpower? Onward, dear reader.
7. Read
Bookworms listen up!
There are a number of books that can help boost your brainpower too.
Here are a few of our favorites:
- Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain by Ryuta Kawashima.
In this book, Japanese scientist, and neuroscience specialist Ryuta shares his 60-day program of simple logic challenges that simulate “gray cells.”
- Unlimited Memory: How to Use Advanced Learning Strategies to Learn Faster, Remember More, and Be More Productive by Kevin Horsley.
In this book, you’ll receive strategies and techniques for improving your memory by learning how to concentrate at will, remember useful information, and eliminate wasted time.
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
Nobel prize-winning economist, Kahneman explains the mind and its two systems that drive the way we think. Learn how to tap into the benefits of slow thinking and find out when you can and cannot trust your intuition.
- Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell.
Discover that great decision making isn’t about time spent deliberating – it’s about knowing which filters matter.
- Tactical Thinking: 50 Brain-Training Puzzles to Change the Way You Think by Charles Phillips.
A book filled with work puzzles created to develop and train your intellect. From warm-up exercises to advanced simulators, your brain will get a real workout from this book.
8. Eat Brainpower Foods
Did you know you can eat to boost your brainpower too? Yes, what you eat affects your brain health. Certain foods, especially those rich in omega-3 essential fats, protein, and antioxidants, can both boost brainpower and sharpen memory!
Some foods that boost brainpower include:
- Fatty fish: Including salmon, trout, albacore tuna, herring, and sardines; all of which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
- Coffee: Caffeine helps increase alertness, improves your mood, and sharpens concentration, among other things!
- Turmeric: The active ingredient in turmeric (curcumin) has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier, meaning it directly enters the brain and helps the cells there.
- Dark chocolate: Packed with a few brain-boosting compounds, including flavonoids, caffeine, and antioxidants, enhance memory and also help slow down age-related mental decline.
- Nuts: Research shows that eating nuts can improve heart health which is linked to having a healthy brain. As well as lowering the risk of cognitive decline in older adults.
- And while you’re at it, why not add these probiotic-rich foods to your diet to benefit your gut.
Supplements: Do You Need Them?
Is a brain supplement necessary and do they even work to boost your brainpower?
Well, according to Yahoo! Finance, the brain health supplements industry was valued at $6.6 billion. So, they’re getting increasingly popular!
While many of the ingredients in brain health supplements have been linked to brain health, much of the research comes from research on food and diet, not supplements. So it might be best to just eat your way to brain health instead.
Conclusion & When to See a Doctor
While focusing on your brain health is one of the best things you can do to boost your brainpower, you might decide to incorporate these activities to challenge your mind and sharpen your cognitive skills. But if you think your gray matter isn’t up to speed, you should have a chat with a doctor to see if you need to take further steps to improve your brainpower.
Download the Air Doctor app on your Apple or Android device to find a doctor near you.
