Earlyface

The brain is one of the most vital organs in the body. It plays important role in
every action and every thought. There is hardly any part of the body that its
functionality is not linked to the brain.
If the brain is that important, then we need to keep it healthy and learn ways to
improve or boost its functionality as well as learn to avoid certain habits or
activities that can deplete it or reduce its functionality.
Here are 10 ways you can boost brain power and increase personal productivity
and effectiveness;
1. Don’t Skip Breakfast: When our bodies have fasted in the night it usually needs
to replenish the lost calories and nutrients which you require for the new day.
Eating breakfast especially one which consists of whole-grain. It fuels your body
for a good part of the day and equally improves your mood and memory.
2. Get Adequate Sleep: Many are used to staying awake in the night for one
reason or the other. Your body may adjust to this with time but the downside will
likely manifest in the long run. Lack of sleep usually slows down the functionality
of the brain and increases inefficiency especially when it comes to logical
reasoning and ability to retain information. Prefrontal cortex (PFC) region of the
brain is responsible for many higher-level cognitive functions and is particularly
affected by lack of sleep.
3. Avoid Negative emotions: Negative emotions have damaging impacts on our
physical and mental health. Stress from negative emotions like anger, bitterness,
self-criticism etc. deplete the brain chemicals that make us feel relaxed and
happy. Negative emotions make it difficult for us to think rationally and see
situations in their true perspective.
4. Exercise Your Body: Exercising your body improves the efficiency of your
cardiovascular system and makes it possible for more oxygen and nutrients to
reach the brain, increasing brain functions like problem solving, and decision
making. Any workout that gets your heart and breathing rates up and keeps them
up is good for your brain. A research has it that working class individuals who
usually exercise on their workdays tend to be 23 percent more productive than on
the days they had no workout.
5. Stay Hydrated: The brain is said to be made up of about 80% water. Any time
we are dehydrated, it affects the brain’s efficiency. When we are dehydrated, the
blood volume is reduced. This makes the blood thicker and consequently reduces
the speed at which oxygen and other nutrients reach your tissues and organs
which includes the brain. Research has it that 8 glasses of water a day is good
enough but if you can take more, it is even better.
6. Eat Right: A good diet is a big boost for the brain any time, any day. However
there are particularly some foods that help the brain function optimally. They
include; Nuts, pumpkin seeds, Wholegrain, fruits and vegetable. fruits and
vegetable juice contain an antioxidant, Polyphenols, which protect brain cells and
keeps the brain functioning optimally. Avoid smoking and Try as much as
possible to avoid excess consumption of alcohol the effect on your brain in the
long run is not worth it.
7. Optimize the Brain: Many feel that doing many things at a time increases
productivity. This is often referred to as multitasking. The fact however, is that
the brain works efficiently when it focuses on single thread of related thoughts.
While multitasking may work for tasks that requires little or no concentration it
does not seems to work for tasks that require a considerable level of
concentration. Contrary to the idea that multitasking increases productivity,
recent studies have shown that it could lead to the opposite. Multitasking creates
pressure which causes stress. It causes loss of concentration and focus and can
negatively impact memory and IQ.
8. Practice Brain Aerobics: Brain aerobics are activities that can stimulate your
brain cells. They include Learning new things like a language or skill, listening to
music, meditation, reading, solving puzzles, playing chess or scrabble. These
stimulate the brain and keep it active. Remember if you don’t use it, you lose it.
9. Socialize: We all are social animals. We were never meant to live in isolation. It
has been proven that a meaningful relationship can immensely improve your brain
health. A study from Harvard school of Public Health revealed that individuals
with most active social lives showed the slowest rate of memory decline.
However, toxic relationship can have negative effect on the brain. It breeds
stress, depression and other negative emotions.
10. Control how Long You Watch TV: Watching TV has been noted to reduce brain
activity. It has been proved that when we watch TV the left side of the brain
which is responsible for logical reasoning goes off reducing the ability to critically
analyze information as they come. That is why when we watch television; we
hardly do any real thinking. It is suspected that excessive television viewing can
lead to dementia in later years.