Mind

As we age, we begin to experience natural cognitive decline. However, there are different things that you can do to improve your cognition and to lessen the chances of experiencing a sharp cognitive decline. Below, we will be going over some of the different things and supplements for the brain that you can do to improve your cognition.

Improve Your Cognition:

1. Read Books

One of the best things that you can do when you are looking to improve your cognition is to read various books. You want to read books actively while thinking about the plot, using memory recall, and more. You shouldn’t be reading things mindlessly like magazines or anything of that nature. Instead, you want to read books that will actively make you think and use memory recall.

2. Exercise

Another good thing that you should be able to do to improve your cognition as you age would be to continue to exercise. You want to increase the blood flow that you can get to your hippocampus. This is going to allow you to effectively maintain an optimal memory and it is going to keep your cognitive function as optimal as possible. Without physical exercise, you are likely to experience cognitive decline much earlier in life.

3. Learn A New Language

One of the best ways to really ‘exercise’ your mind is by learning a new language. Doing something like learning a foreign language can help you naturally exercise your brain and use your memory regularly. You will be constantly using memory recall to recall new vocabulary and using logic to try to identify patterns in the language. This can be a great way to minimize any sort of cognitive decline.

4. Do Puzzles

Another great thing that you should be able to do to improve your cognitive function and to limit any sort of cognitive decline as you age would be regularly doing puzzles. You want to incorporate a lot of different puzzles into your daily life because puzzles will constantly make you think and it is going to allow you to stimulate learning and help with improving your memory.

5. Playing Board Games

Another good thing that you can do to help boost your cognitive function would be to get game night into your daily life. You want to try to incorporate different things like board games in your life because they typically require a lot of strategies and they will include some type of learning activity. Thus, they can help to stimulate cognitive function and they can help with things like logic and memory.

6. Go Back To School

If you are looking to engage your brain, you could always consider taking a class or even going back to school. By doing this later on in life, you will be able to force yourself to constantly use your brain to solve new problems and to get you back to using your memory recall ability.

7. Reduce The Stress In Your Life

Something that can cause a sharp cognitive decline would be stress. You want to do your best to avoid putting yourself in stressful situations and you want to try to take steps towards reducing the stress that you might have. Some good ways to do this is by taking some form of a meditation class or by implementing more exercise into your daily life.

Overall, there are plenty of different things that you should be able to do when you are looking to improve your cognitive function. If you want to decrease the sort of cognitive decline that you would naturally experience as you age, you should be looking to get in as many of these activities as you can. You want to try to incorporate more memory recall and learning activities which can force you to use your brain. Things like puzzles, strategy games, and others can help stimulate cognitive function and help you from experiencing age-related cognitive decline. While you can’t completely halt the natural cognitive decline, there are specific things that you can do to limit the kind of decline that you experience. By following the tips above, you should be able to do just that.

One of the best things that you can do for your life is to increase or improve your mental performance. This means improving your ability to concentrate, focus, think critically as well as increase your overall intelligence. When you focus on improving this, you will start to perform much better at work, school and even at home. As a result, your entire life will become better, which is something you should strive towards. So, with that said, we will now look at some specific ways that you can improve your mental abilities.

1. Meditate

Meditating is not just reserved for monks or religious practitioners, but everyone. This is not a religious act, even though it can be. Meditation is all about learning to quiet your mind and teaching it to focus on one thing at a time. Many studies have shown that when you practice meditation over some time, your overall IQ and intelligence increases. You will be able to be more productive and focus better on any task you set your mind to.

One simple meditation that you can start with is to sit in a quiet room and try to empty your mind of all thoughts. Of course, this is very challenging, and you should not be angry with yourself every time a new thought pops into your mind. Instead, try to become like an observer, and as soon as you observe any thoughts, simply dismiss them. You should strive to do this meditation starting with 5 minutes per day and slowly increase to 30 – 45 minutes.

2. Play Video Games

There has been a lot of research on the effect of video games on the mind. Problem solving type of video games such as Mario Kart have been found to very effective in improving focus and mental performance. As a result, it is highly recommended that you play Mario Kart or any other problem solving game that you enjoy for at least 20 minutes per day. It can greatly improve your ability to make smart decisions and solve problems in other areas of your life.

3. Get Active & Exercise

Next, another great way to improve your mind and mental acuity is to start exercising regularly. If you look at the habits of the most successful people in the world, you will learn that they make time to exercise regularly. Most of them exercise at least 30 – 60 minutes every day and many of them often start their day with exercise. When you exercise, you will increase the blood flow throughout your body, which includes your brain. As a result of the increased blood flow to your brain, you will start to function at peak performance.

Now, you don’t need to start with an extreme amount of exercise if you’re not currently active. Instead, simply start by walking at least 20 minutes per day and then work up to a jog. You can also join a gym, start doing a sport or even go hiking regularly. The point is to find some physical activity you enjoy and make sure and do it at least 3 – 4 days per week.

4. Avoid Stress & Sleep More

Another way that you can increase the performance of your brain is to ensure you get enough sleep. Many people think that sleeping is wasting time, however, your body and brain need to rest and repair itself. It is highly recommended that you aim to get between 7 – 9 hours of sleep every night for optimum brain function. A well rested brain is much more productive and capable of complex tasks than a tired and sluggish brain.

Additionally, you should strive to reduce your stress as much as possible. Studies have shown that stress reduces mental performance, so you should find ways to deal with stress in your daily life. For example, you can go on regular vacations, spend time with your family, pursue a hobby etc.

Conclusion

In summary, we have just looked at four ways that you can increase your mental performance. Once you put these tips into action, you will increase the processing power of your brain and reach closer to achieving your true potential.