8 ways to upgrade your brain and control your mind

Did you know that the brain can be pumped up like a muscle? You don’t even have to open your skull to lift barbells and dumbbells with your brain. It’s enough to work your brain regularly and also provide it with everything it needs for normal development.

When a muscle is pumped up, it gets bigger. But such changes are not typical for the brain. If it grew too much, it wouldn’t fit inside the skull. Therefore, the size and mass of the brain only increase until the age of 20, and then growth stops forever.

When the brain develops, new connections appear between neurons. And when they appear, we acquire new skills, abilities, and also improve old skills and increase cognitive functions. Let’s check what you can do to upgrade your brain.

When you feel comfortable and your life is good and calm, the brain releases substances such as dopamine and serotonin, called “joy hormones,” so you feel happy and satisfied.

However, what brings joy here and now is not always useful in the long term. Constant mental comfort is detrimental to the brain: without regular stimulation, the connections between the brain neurons that process information gradually atrophy. Neural networks become simpler, and we are no longer as effective at building complex intellectual objects.

The same thing happens to the brain as to muscles when they do not work – it weakens and loses its functionality. Conversely, brain activity increases the number of interneuronal connections, and also enhances the regenerative capacity of the nervous system, known as neuroplasticity.

Searching for new experiences, mastering new competencies allow the brain to actively interact with the outside world, improve neuroplasticity, and, therefore, develop. We only get better in uncharted territory, not where we feel comfortable.

What does this mean in practice? Try to do something new and unusual for you as often as possible. Ideally, every day. Make it a habit. Let it be even such small things as eating with your left hand, taking a new route to work, or walking a few kilometers (if you haven’t done it yet).

Despite its apparent simplicity, this is a very powerful tool for maintaining intellectual tone. While reading these lines, your brain does a colossal amount of work: it perceives abstract symbols, deciphers them, and then constructs complex intellectual objects from them. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a book about mathematics, an article on the Internet, or a novel by Dostoevsky.

The brain of a person who reads can be compared to a symphony orchestra. Like different sections of instruments, different parts of the brain work together to provide the ability to decode written text in order to translate it into a form understandable for neurons. Interestingly, the same areas of the brain are activated during reading as during the actual experience of the events described in the book.

Get into the habit of reading every day. Even if it’s only 5-10 minutes in the morning or evening. As you already understood, even this minimum can bring considerable benefits. If you find it difficult to find time, use free intervals for this, when you are driving to work or waiting in lines.

Another brain-healthy habit is to write down what happens to you every day, both in the external and internal worlds. Here are just a few of the benefits of this practice:

• Helps to retain important moments in memory;
• Allows you to calmly and consistently analyze your behavior;
• Has a psychotherapeutic effect;
• Develops creativity;
• Helps to plan and prioritize.

Research shows that using your muscles also helps your mind. Animals who exercise regularly increase the number of tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood to the region of the brain that is responsible for thought. Exercise also spurs the development of new nerve cells and increases the connections between brain cells. This results in brains that are more efficient, plastic, and adaptive, which translates into better performance in aging animals. Exercise also lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, helps blood sugar balance and reduces mental stress, all of which can help your brain as well as your heart.

People who are anxious, depressed, sleep-deprived, or exhausted tend to score poorly on cognitive function tests. Poor scores don’t necessarily predict an increased risk of cognitive decline in old age, but good mental health and restful sleep are certainly important goals.

Your body needs a good night’s sleep. And despite the fact that the brain is still working at this time, a special night activity regime is vital for it. There is another useful method of using sleep to upgrade your brain – a short daytime nap (20-30 min). It not only restores strength, but also helps process information.

Idleness is useful not only for working well later, but also:

• For health – regular breaks during the working day (5-10 minutes) reduce the heart rate, improve digestion, protect the nervous system from emotional exhaustion and improve mood.
• For the brain – periods of inactivity increase the level of oxygen, glucose, which has a beneficial effect on the work of the mind.
• For the quality of life – if periods of doing nothing are regular, the mind is cleared and life improves, since a person can catch excellent insights about the further path.

The easiest (and scientifically proven!) way to do this is to practice meditation. It takes a fair amount of concentration to silence your brain. There are many studies that show that meditation increases the gray matter in your brain, improves memory, attention, consolidates various parts of the nervous system, reduces stress, etc.

When we hit plateaus in learning, a belief in one’s own capabilities can be the difference between pushing through and giving up, and the more we succeed in overcoming these challenging periods, the stronger our sense of self efficacy becomes, creating a cycle of positive mental reinforcement.

You can help nurture your own self-belief in a number of ways. Acknowledging your own successes helps you to incorporate your accomplishments into your own self-image. Avoid comparing yourself too harshly with others. We often compare the best of those around us to the things we don’t like about ourselves, but if we bear this in mind we can use these thoughts constructively. Better still compare yourself to where you were 3 months ago. It’s something we tell every new group of students, and for us, one of the most important pieces of advice we give.

Developing your skills and bettering yourself gives you more reasons to believe in yourself, and overcoming hurdles like starting a new career is the perfect example!

Try this new method – neurofeedback training!

One of the promising methods is neurofeedback training. This is a procedure that allows you to learn to control your own brain activity. It is based on the principle of biological feedback. During neurofeedback training, small electrical signals from the brain are measured using electrodes attached to the scalp and converted into sound and image using software. That is, a computer program creates a real-time visualization of the brain’s bioelectric activity.

The doctor gives instructions – and if the brain rhythms indicate a transition to the desired therapeutic state, the program on the screen changes the image, sound accompaniment and vibration intensity of the tactile sensor. Feedback facilitates the process of learning physiological control, and the computer program makes information accessible that is normally imperceptible. If necessary, the doctor connects additional techniques for managing the emotional state to enhance the effect of neurofeedback training.

It turns out that you can influence the brain rhythms in an interactive mode, tracking and recording your feelings. As training continues and the desired feeling of relaxation is reinforced, the skill of moving into the necessary therapeutic state independently at any time is acquired.

Now that you upgraded your mind, try to control it and fight negative attitudes

The latest research in neuropsychology proves the changeable nature of the brain – neuroplasticity. Our minds are flexible and can change depending on what you “feed” them. We often don’t realize that our actions attract negative thoughts and depression. However, we have the power to change the situation.

1. Act as if you are in control.

When you smile or frown, you send specific signals to your brain that activate hemispheres. A simple smile can activate the left hemisphere, which is responsible for positive emotions, while a frown can activate the right hemisphere, which is responsible for negative emotions.

2. Imagine yourself in a different situation

It’s easy to convince yourself of how much we suffer in life, especially when we face certain circumstances, it’s easy to dwell on every negative moment, not noticing how many good things happen every day. When you feel sorry for yourself, think of someone who is facing great difficulties in life.

3. Enjoy the natural light, as if you were on the beach

Many people, when they become depressed, close themselves off from the outside world. They stay in a dark room where there is no natural light. When you start spending more time in the light, the chemical processes in your brain will trigger positive feelings. The brain resorts to the necessary hormones to maintain a positive mood.

4. Change the script in your head

People who play negative scenarios over and over in their heads are unlikely to be able to do anything. They constantly feel sorry for themselves, regretting what they don’t have. Understanding the power of your thoughts, make sure your stories have positive twists.

5. Be more active than you are now

Even a small action can have a significant impact on your mood.

The brain is an amazing organ, but few people take advantage of its capabilities.

By upgrading it and controlling the conditions in which your mind operates, you take control of your life. You choose to take action instead of wallowing in despair. You become more effective in every aspect of your life, as the situation allows.