Do you want to be more productive? Do you want to perform at a higher level in your job, school or sport? You can accomplish this by making your brain perform better than ever before. The brain is the most important muscle in the body. It controls the various functions in our bodies for example movement, circulation, nervous function and temperature regulation. It is also responsible for the processing and storage of the information we come across in our lives. As such, the brain is the control center in our bodies. Interestingly, we can hack it and make it perform at a better and faster rate. By doing this, you can think faster, respond quicker and outsmart your competition in any field of industry. Here is how to hack your brain for peak performance and success.
Do not multitask
Often quoted as a way to get more done in a shorter period of time, multitasking is where you perform many activities all at the same time in the hope of finishing them quicker. According to neuroscientists, this is simply an incorrect myth. Multitasking does not improve performance on any scale. Hagemann and Fabritius are two scientists who have studied multitasking on a neural perspective. The area of the brain which is responsible for maintaining one's attention on something is known as the prefrontal cortex. On the other hand, the area which is responsible for correcting errors is known as the anterior cingulate cortex. By investigating brain conditions in subjects, they found that gray matter moves from the cingulate cortex to the prefrontal cortex during multitasking. This means that one may be able to do many tasks at once but they reduce their ability to notice and correct errors. There's no point in doing many things at the same time if you are going to do them wrong. Hence, simply do one task at a time instead of multitasking. This is making more optimum use of your brain.
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Use mindfulness to reduce and eventually prevent wandering thoughts
One of the characteristics of the human mind is that it wanders. In most cases, when we are working on something, we are surrounded by distractions. They could be other people, a noisy environment, pets, smartphones, the television or even our loved ones. The brain becomes increasingly unable to focus on one thing when there is so much happening around it. Therefore, an effective hack to solve this is mindfulness. This is the practice of being fully aware of the present moment, task and personal wellbeing. It can be described as hyper-concentration. One of the strategies of mindfulness is the STOP technique. This is where you stop the task you are doing. Take some time to reflect. Observe your bodily condition and the progress you have made. After that, proceed with the task at hand. This technique is a guaranteed hack to improve the performance of your brain.
Train your brain while it is tired
Do you want to perform better in your studies or your job? Force your brain to work when it is tired. It is a grueling task that is recommended by Samuele Marcora. Each one of us has that one activity which they would want to be better at. Save it for the time when your brain is tired and you had rather just relax. This is the ideal time to engage in it. When you get your brain used to performing under intense pressure, you will excel automatically when you perform the same activity with no pressure at all. You will outperform your competition by miles and become successful.
Program your subconscious mind
Your brain is the seat of the mind. This facility is divided into the conscious and the subconscious mind. The conscious mind is responsible for all the activities we perform intentionally. The subconscious takes care of habits and unconscious activities such as the beating of our hearts and breathing. This part of the mind is often silent but is the more powerful one. It is able to manifest anything we put into it. Thankfully, you can actually program your subconscious mind. You can do this using discreet, positive words and images. Examples of these are 'YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL', 'SMARTER' and 'ENERGY'. Place notes with these words written on them in your bag, on your desk, next to the keypad of your laptop and also on the mirror which you get dressed in front of. By seeing these words often and all around you, your subconscious mind will accept them as truth and begin to manifest them in your body and your life. This will translate into better cognitive and physical performance.
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Eat more brain food
You are what you eat. Therefore, to get a super-brain, you need to eat super foods. No other nutrient increases brain performance like omega-3 fat. Known scientifically as Docosahexaenoic acid or DHA, this super food is an essential component in your neurons and the retina. Moreover, omega-3 makes up 25% of your brain. The more of this nutrient you have in it, the higher your cognitive ability. Omega-3 is available in various types of foods. Examples of these are fish, liver and animal brain. Make sure to include these foods in your diet so as to enjoy their benefits. In addition to that, you should always exclusively breastfeed your children for the first 6 months of their life. This is because breast milk contains omega-3. As such, feed your brain some omega-3 regularly and experience better performance for success.
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Get enough sleep
The most effective way to rest for the human body is sleeping. It is essential for activities such as cell regeneration. This physical phenomenon exists even in brain cells. When your neurons regenerate and multiply, you are able to see brand new creative solutions to problems which you were struggling with while awake. Moreover, sleep eliminates bias and helps you to see a brand new perspective in your life. According to Harvard researchers, people are able to infer connections between distant ideas by sleeping. Thus, an easy brain hack is to get between 4 and 6 hours of sleep every night. This will help you to think clearer and perform better.
The Important Take Away
Our brains are the central processing units in our bodies. We are able to experience life thanks to their activity. You can boost your brain ability using the hacks described above. Learn and practice them to experience greater cognitive performance, higher intelligence and marked success in life.
