BRAINWAVES

12 simple ways to supercharge your brain

Have you ever felt exasperated when you bumped into someone at the
store but absolutely couldn't remember their name? Sure, it happens to
all of us.

Despite being the strongest computer on the planet, our brains do
lapse. It's hard to blame them really. As humans, we spend much of or
existence stuffing our brains with stuff.

No matter how powerful our brains are, they need recuperation time to
be kept in shape. Think of it as a tune up for your brain. Skipping
brain maintenance is as silly as the person wandering the parking
garage because they forgot where they parked. Is that you? Are you
that person? If so, fear not; we are all that person at some point.

Now I am not a brain surgeon and I am not going to suggest you do
anything surgical or dangerous. I am however an astute student of
human behavior so I always look for simple ways to super charge my
brain.

Here are some things you can begin doing as soon as today to begin the
great brain tune up:

Eat Almonds
Almond is believed to improve memory. If a combination of almond oil
and milk is taken together before going to bed or after getting up at
morning, it strengthens our memory power. Almond milk is prepared by
crushing the almonds without the outer cover and adding water and
sugar to it.

Drink Apple Juice
Research from the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) indicates
that apple juice increases the production of the essential
neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain, resulting in an increased
memory power.

Sleep well
Research indicates that the long-term memory is consolidated during
sleep by replaying the images of the experiences of the day. These
repeated playbacks program the subconscious mind to store these images
and other related information.

Enjoy simple Pleasures
Stress drains our brainpower. A stress-ridden mind consumes much of
our memory resources to leave us with a feeble mind. Make a habit to
engage yourself in few simple pleasures everyday to dissolve stress
from your mind. Some of these simple pleasures are good for your mind,
body and soul.

* Enjoy music you love
* Play with your children
* Appreciate others
* Run few miles a day, bike or swim
* Start a blog
* Take a yoga class or Total Wellness routine

Exercise your mind
Just as physical exercise is essential for a strong body, mental
exercise is equally essential for a sharp and agile mind. Have you
noticed that children have far superior brainpower than an adult does?
Children have playful minds. A playful mind exhibits superior memory
power. Engage in some of the activities that require your mind to
remain active and playful.

* Play scrabble or crossword puzzle
* Volunteer
* Interact with others
* Start a new hobby such as blogging, reading, painting, bird watching
* Learn new skill or a foreign language

Practice Yoga or Meditation
Yoga or Meditation relives stress. Stress is a known memory buster.
With less stress, lower blood pressure, slower respiration, slower
metabolism, and released muscle tension follows. All of these factors
contribute significantly towards increases in our brainpower.

Reduce Sugar intake
Sugar is a non-food. It's a form of carbohydrate that offers
illusionary energy, only to cause a downhill slump once the initial
burst has been worn off. Excess intake of sugar results in neurotic
symptoms. Excess sugar is known to cause claustrophobia, memory loss
and other neurotic disorders. Eat food without adding sugar. Stay away
from sweet drinks or excess consumption of caffeine with sugar.

Eat whole wheat
The whole wheat germs contain lecithin. Lecithin helps ease the
problem of the hardening of the arteries, which often impairs brain
functioning.

Eat a light meal at night
A heavy meal at night causes tossing and turning and a prolonged
emotional stress while at sleep. It's wise to eat heavy meal during
the day when our body is in motion to consume the heavy in-take.
Eating a light meal with some fruits allows us to sleep well. A good
night sleep strengthens our brainpower.

Develop imagination
Greeks mastered the principle of imagination and association to
memorize everything. This technique requires one to develop a vivid
and colorful imagination that can be linked to a known object. If you
involve all your senses - touching, feeling, smelling, hearing and
seeing in the imagination process, you can remember greater details of
the event.

Control your temper
Bleached food, excess of starch or excess of white bread can lead to
nerve grating effect. This results in a violent and some time
depressive behavior. Eat fresh vegetables. Drink lots of water and
meditate or practice yoga to relieve these toxic emotions of temper
and stressful mood swings.

Take Vitamin B-complex
Vitamin B-complex strengthens memory power. Eat food and vegetables
high in Vitamin B-complex. Stay away from the starch food or white
bread, which depletes the Vitamin B-complex necessary for a healthy
mind.

I don't believe these are that tough. If you find yourself increasing
stumped, give a couple of these a try.

Written by Shilpan Patel of Success Soul and cross-posted from Dumb
Little Man, a web site that provides tips for life that will save you
money, increase your productivity, or simply keep you sane.