22条途径超频你的大脑.docx

22条途径超频你的大脑.docx

《22条途径超频你的大脑.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《22条途径超频你的大脑.docx（15页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

22条途径超频你的大脑

22条途径超频你的大脑

“Ijustfoundoutthatthebrainislikeacomputer.Ifthat’strue,thentherereallyaren’tanystupidpeople.JustpeoplerunningDOS.”Thebrainisathree-poundsupercomputer.Itisthecommandandcontrolcenterrunningyourlife.Itisinvolvedinabsolutelyeverythingyoudo.Yourbraindetermineshowyouthink,howyoufeel,howyouact,andhowwellyougetalongwithotherpeople.Yourbrainevendeterminesthekindofpersonyouare.Itdetermineshowthoughtfulyouare;howpoliteorhowrudeyouare.Itdetermineshowwellyouthinkonyourfeet,anditisinvolvedwithhowwellyoudoatworkandwithyourfamily.Yourbrainalsoinfluencesyouremotionalwellbeingandhowwellyoudowiththeoppositesex.

Yourbrainismorecomplicatedthananycomputerwecanimagine.Didyouknowthatyouhaveonehundredbillionnervecellsinyourbrain,andeverynervecellhasmanyconnectionstoothernervecells?

Infact,yourbrainhasmoreconnectionsinitthantherearestarsintheuniverse!

Optimizingyourbrain’sfunctionisessentialtobeingthebestyoucanbe,whetheratwork,inleisure,orinyourrelationships.

It’ssimple,yourbrainisatthecenterofeverythingyoudo,allyoufeelandthink,andeverynuanceofhowyourelatetopeople.It’sboththesupercomputerthatrunsyourcomplexlifeandthetenderorganthathousesyoursoul.Andwhileyoumayrun,liftweights,ordoyogatokeepyourbodyingoodcondition,chancesareyouignoreyourbrainandtrustittodoitsjob.

Nomatterwhatyourage,mentalexercisehasaglobal,positiveeffectonthebrain.So,hereare22waystoboostyourbrainpower:

1.Runupyourbraincells.

Researchsuggeststhatpeoplewhogetplentyofphysicalexercisecanwindupwithbetterbrains.ScientistsattheSalkInstituteforBiologicalStudiesinLaJolla,Calif.,foundthatadultmicewhoranonanexercisewheelwhenevertheyfeltlikeitgainedtwiceasmanynewcellsinthehippocampus,anareaofthebraininvolvedinlearningandmemory,thanmicewhosataroundalldaydiscussingLordoftheRingsinInternetchatrooms.Theresearchersweren’tsurewhythemoreactiverodents’brainsreactedthewaytheydid,butit’spossiblethatthevoluntarynatureoftheexercisemadeitlessstressfulandthereforemorebeneficial.Whichcouldmeanthatfindingwaystoenjoyexercise,ratherthanjustforcingyourselftodoit,maymakeyousmarter-andhappier,too.

So,playasport,trainforaneventsuchasamarathon,triathlonor“funrun,”orworkoutwithabuddytohelpkeepthingsinteresting.

2.Exerciseyourmind.

Itisn’tjustphysicalexercisethatgetsthosebraincellsjumping.Justlikethosehead-pumpedcabbiesandpianojockeys,youcanbuildupvariousareasofyourbrainbyputtingthemtowork.DukeUniversityneurobiologyprofessorLawrenceC.Katz,Ph.D.,co-authorofKeepYourBrainAlive,saysthatfindingsimplewaystouseaspectsofyourbrainthatmaybelaggingcouldhelpmaintainbothnervecellsanddendrites,branchesonthecellsthatreceiveandprocessinformation.Justasanewweightliftingexercisebuildsupunderusedmuscles,Katzsaysthatnovelwaysofthinkingandviewingtheworldcanimprovethefunctioningofinactivesectionsofthebrain.

Experiencenewtastesandsmells;trytodothingswithyournondominanthand;findnewwaystodrivetowork;traveltonewplaces;createart;readthatDostoyevskynovel;writeabuddycomedyforTedKennedyandRushLimbaugh-basically,doanythingyoucantoforceyourselfoutofyourmentalruts.

3.Askwhy.

Ourbrainsarewiredtobecurious.Aswegrowupand“mature”manyofusstifleordenyournaturalcuriosity.Letyourselfbecurious!

Wondertoyourselfaboutwhythingsarehappening.Asksomeoneintheknow.Thebestwaytoexerciseourcuriosityisbyasking“Why?

”Makeitanewhabittoask“why?

”atleast10timesaday.Yourbrainwillbehappierandyouwillbeamazedathowmanyopportunitiesandsolutionswillshowupinyourlifeandwork.

4.Laugh.

Scientiststellusthatlaughterisgoodforourhealth;thatitreleasesendorphinsandotherpositivelypowerfulchemicalsintooursystem.Wedon’treallyneedscientiststotellusthatitfeelsgoodtolaugh.Laughinghelpsusreducestressandbreakoldpatternstoo.Solaughtercanbelikea“quick-charge”forourbrain’sbatteries.Laughmore,andlaughharder.

5.Beafishhead.

Omega-3oils,foundinwalnuts,flaxseedandespeciallyfish,havelongbeentoutedasbeinghealthyfortheheart.Butrecentresearchsuggeststhey’reabrainboosteraswell,andnotjustbecausetheyhelpthecirculationsystemthatpumpsoxygentoyourhead.Theyalsoseemtoimprovethefunctionofthemembranesthatsurroundbraincells,whichmaybewhypeoplewhoconsumealotoffisharelesslikelytosufferdepression,dementia,evenattention-deficitdisorder.Scientistshavenotedthatessentialfattyacidsarenecessaryforproperbraindevelopmentinchildren,andthey’renowbeingaddedtobabyformulas.It’spossiblethatyourownmentalstate,andevenyourintelligence,canbeenhancedbyconsumingenoughoftheseoils.

Eatingatleastthreeservingsaweekoffishsuchassalmon,sardines,mackerelandtunaisagoodstart.

6.Remember.

Getoutanoldphotoalbumorhighschoolyearbook.Yourbrainisamemorymachine,sogiveitachancetowork!

Spendtimewithyourmemories.Letyourmindreflectonthemandyourmindwillrepayyouinpositiveemotionsandnewconnectionsfromthememoriestohelpyouwithyourcurrenttasksandchallenges.

7.Cutthefat.

Can“bad”fatsmakeyoudumb?

WhenresearchersattheUniversityofTorontoputratsona40-percent-fatdiet,theratslostgroundinseveralareasofmentalfunction,includingmemory,spatialawarenessandrulelearning.Theproblemsbecameworsewithadiethighinsaturatedfats,thekindthat’sabundantinmeatanddairyproducts.Whileyoumayneverbecalledupontonavigatealittlemazeinsearchofacheddarcube,theseresultscouldholdtrueforyouaswell,fortworeasons:

Fatcanreducetheflowofoxygen-richbloodtoyourbrain,anditmayalsoslowdownthemetabolismofglucose,theformofsugarthebrainutilizesasfood.

Youcanstillgetupto30percentofyourdailycaloriesintheformoffat,butmostofitshouldcomefromtheaforementionedfish,oliveoil,nutsandseeds.Whateveryoudo,stayawayfromtransfats,thehardenedoilsthatareabundantincrackersandsnackfoods.

8.Doapuzzle.

Someofuslikejigsawpuzzles,somecrosswordpuzzles,somelogicpuzzles-itreallydoesn’tmatterkindyouchoosetodo.Doingpuzzlesinyourfreetimeisagreatwaytoactivateyourbrainandkeepitingoodworkingcondition.Dothepuzzleforfun,butdoitknowingyouareexercisingyourbrain.

9.The“MozartEffect.”

AdecadeagoFrancesRauscher,apsychologistnowattheUniversityofWisconsinatOshkosh,andhercolleaguesmadewaveswiththediscoverythatlisteningtoMozartimprovedpeople’smathematicalandspatialreasoning.EvenratsranmazesfasterandmoreaccuratelyafterhearingMozartthanafterwhitenoiseormusicbytheminimalistcomposerPhilipGlass.Lastyear,Rauscherreportedthat,forratsatleast,aMozartpianosonataseemstostimulateactivityinthreegenesinvolvedinnerve-cellsignallinginthebrain.

Thissoundslikethemostharmoniouswaytotuneupyourmentalfaculties.ButbeforeyougrabtheCDs,hearthisnoteofcaution.NoteveryonewhohaslookedfortheMozarteffecthasfoundit.What’smore,evenitsproponentstendtothinkthatmusicboostsbrainpowersimplybecauseitmakeslistenersfeelbetter-relaxedandstimulatedatthesametime-andthatacomparablestimulusmightdojustaswell.Infact,onestudyfoundthatlisteningtoastorygaveasimilarperformanceboost.

10.Improveyourskillatthingsyoualreadydo.

Somerepetitivementalstimulationisokaslongasyoulooktoexpandyourskillsandknowledgebase.Commonactivitiessuchasgardening,sewing,playingbridge,reading,painting,anddoingcrosswordpuzzleshavevalue,butpushyourselftododifferentgardeningtechniques,morecomplexsewingpatterns,playbridgeagainstmoretalentedplayerstoincreaseyourskill,readnewauthorsonvariedsubjects,learnanewpaintingtechnique,andworkhardercrosswordpuzzles.Pushingyourbraintonewheightshelptokeepithealthy.

11.Beathinker,notadrinker.

Theideathatalcoholkillsbraincellsisanoldone,buttherealityisabitmorecomplicated.Infact,astudyof3,500Japanesemenfoundthatthosewhodrankmoderately（inthiscase,aboutonedrinkperday）hadbettercognitivefunctioningwhentheygotolderthanthosewhodidn’tdrinkatall.Unfortunately,assoonasyougetbeyondthat“moderate”amount,yourmemory,reactiontimeisalllikelytodecline.Inthesamestudy,menwhohadfourormoredrinksadayfaredworstofall.

Justasbadisthenowcommonpracticeof“bingedrinking,”otherwiseknownasgettinghammeredontheweekend.Researchonratsfoundthatthosewhoconsumedlargeamountsofalcoholhadfewernewcellsintheirbrains’hippocampusregionimmediatelyafterthebinge,andvirtuallynoneamonthlater.Thissuggeststhatthealcoholnotonlydamagedtherats’brains,butkeptthemfromrepairingthemselveslateron-inhumanterms,thatmeansyoushouldn’texpecttopasstheMensaentranceexamanytimesoon.

12.Play.

Taketimetoplay.Maketimetoplay.Playcards.Playvideogames.Playboardgames.PlayRingAroundtheRosie.Playtugofwar.Itdoesn’tmatterwhatyouplay.Justplay!

Itisgoodforyourspiritandgoodforyourbrain.Itgivesyourbrainachancetothinkstrategically,andkeepsitworking.

13