Mental agility and memory health may seem like goals reserved only for extreme nerds, but research shows it’s something anyone can improve through daily practice. Here are some ancient practices you can incorporate into your routine to strengthen your brainpower.
Crossword puzzles, Sudoku and other games that test math, logic, word and visual perception skills help increase brainpower. Furthermore, reading regularly stimulates your mind while broadening your vocabulary.
Yoga
Yoga incorporates physical postures, rhythmic breathing techniques and meditative exercises into an integrated mind-body experience. Studies have demonstrated its beneficial impact on brain structure and function.
Neuroimaging research has linked yoga practice with significant effects on various parts of the brain including hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortical areas such as the hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortical areas, suggesting it could help mitigate age-related and pathological cognitive declines. This finding corresponds with aerobic exercise and mindfulness meditation research and suggests its impact could help counteract any age-related or pathological cognitive declines caused by age or pathologies related to brain regions affecting these regions of yoga’s effects on these regions which could mitigate any age related or pathologies of cognitive declines caused by age related or pathologies of these regions of our brains.
However, it should be remembered that these studies all compared participants with similar levels of non-yoga activity so differences in brain structure do not solely stem from differences in physical fitness or lifestyle. Future research will need to establish how yoga-practice influences these brain structures and if changes observed can be explained through behavioral or neural mechanisms.
Meditation
Everyone becomes distracted from time to time; whether that means procrastinating on schoolwork or daydreaming while listening to someone talk about their day. Meditation helps the brain produce alpha and theta brainwaves which calm your mind and reduce anxiety.
Meditation strengthens neural connections that develop specific areas of your brain, such as spatial reasoning. Meditation has been proven to thicken prefrontal cortices, enabling higher order functions like increased awareness and concentration to flourish more effectively.
Meditation also benefits the hippocampus, which plays an integral role in memory and emotion regulation. Research has demonstrated that long-term meditators tend to experience greater synchronization and topological change than non-meditators in this region, which may explain why they tend to experience less anxiety, depression and stress than non-meditators.
Exercise
No matter the age or cognitive function level of an individual, simple steps can be taken to strengthen their brains and sharpen focus. Memorizing poetry or Quran passages or employing ancient Greek memory palace techniques (for instance) may significantly increase recall powers with long-lasting results; herbs like Brahmi and Ginkgo Biloba may also prove effective natural treatments to enhance cognitive performance5.5
Strengthening mental agility is integral to overall well-being. There are various practices available to strengthen the mind, enhance focus, concentration and memory regardless of age or stage in life.
Reading
Memorizing Pi or the Quran may seem like extreme feats for only super-nerds or devout Muslims, but even just trying to memorize more words can have profound effects on long-term cognitive function. This is due to how cerebellum–an organ associated with motor coordination and precise timing–is also involved with memory formation and other cognitive processes. Reading more, taking courses, engaging in mental gymnastics such as word puzzles or math problems and including herbs that are known to improve brain health such as Brahmi or Ginkgo Biloba can all have proven effects as well!
