5 things you can do to make your brain function better
Sometimes you have difficulty concentrating for a long time? Your memory will let you down and then you feel abandon. Although our brain is basically no muscle, you can ‘train’ it by leaving certain things or doing just a bit more often.
These 5 things you do can make your brain function better
Use the internet less often
Since the advent of the internet and specifically search engines like Google, we are much less inclined to remember things because we know we can look them up. That sounds logical, but it also appeared from several studies.
The principle of deliberately not remembering information even has a name: transactive memory. “The internet has become our primary form of external memory,” researchers from a number of prominent American universities stated in 2011.
Fortunately, the solution is easy and obvious: use your brain more often to come up with something you have forgotten instead of looking for it. For example, make a contest with friends: to be first on the name of a certain movie without consulting the internet.
Sleep!
Some functions of sleep have long been known. The body is recovering and the immune system, the resistance to germs also improving.
That sleep is also important for the brain is equally well known, but it was only in 2017 that scientists were able to see how memories are captured during sleep in the long-term memory.
American researchers used a special scanner to see how a memory moved from one part of the brain to another during deep sleep. In the cortex, for example, there is room to learn new things the next day.
Incidentally, that process occurs especially at the beginning of the night. The first hours of sleep are therefore very important for the learning process, the researchers stated. Who wants to remember what he learned during the day,
Have s*x more often
A study from 2017 published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior examined the effect of s*x on cognitive skills (the ability to absorb knowledge and information, ed.) Of 78 women between the ages of 18 and 29. The researchers discovered that women who regularly have s*x can memorize abstract words on a memory test and are also more focused.
In addition, se*x also interferes with depression and there are many other mental and physical benefits of se*x. So you know what to do when the need arises.
Certain nutrition stimulates the production of brain cells
That food affects our brains is not new anymore, but did you know that with the right nutrition you can even create new brain cells? Drew Ramsey, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center, named in his book ‘Eat Complete’ in 2016, 7 nutrients that stimulate the production of new brain cells.
Caffeine (in moderation)
Caffeine works against sleep molecule – adenosine, which makes us less tired and more alert. However, according to a 2012 study, 200 mg of caffeine can also help you concentrate better, focus and remember things better.
A group of adults was divided for the study and one part received a pill with 200 mg caffeine in the morning, the other part taking a placebo.
After the participants performed different tests, the researchers discovered that the part of the group that had taken caffeine had performed the tasks much more quickly and precisely.
In addition, researchers from the universities of South Florida and Miami also discovered that people over 65 who have more caffeine in their blood two to four years later developed Alzheimer’s than others.
“We are not saying that coffee completely protects people against Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Chuanhai Cao, a neuroscientist at the University of South Florida. “But we strongly believe that moderate coffee consumption can significantly reduce or delay Alzheimer’s.”
