Memory
Do novel dynamic movements such as dance, sports, or surfing
This is a great way to increase neuroplasticity because your body is instantly looking for new ways to do stuff. You can start by doing something physical that challenges your balance then move on to something you want to learn like coding or guitar.
Meditate for 15 minutes
A study showed how 8 weeks of daily 13-minute meditation had a significant effect in improving attention, memory, mood, and emotion regulation.
Add a spacing effect after learning where you do nothing
Basically let your mind drift for 10-15 minutes following a learning session to let it internalize everything that you just learned. Don’t use your phone or listen to a podcast.
Enhance memory by using emotions
Emotions strongly change how much you remember. That’s why you easily recall a car accident or traumatic experience. The emotions signal to your brain that this is something important that needs to be remembered.
You can put yourself in high stakes or dive deeper to any emotion you are feeling on a given day
Exercise 1-3 hours before learning
This increases blood flow to your brain and body. Studies showed students were able to increase their grades when doing some type of physical movement prior to an exam
Neuroplasticity
Learning becomes harder after age 25
You can learn info after 25. It just needs to be done in active state. Children however, can learn things passively.
Get as many repetitions as possible
You learn based on how much a certain pattern of neurons are fired (frequency, timing, intensity). So if you’re solving math problems, or learning a motor skill, your goal should be to get as many done as you can.
Limit learning sessions to 90-minute bouts
It’s extremely difficult for your brain to learn info for more than 90 straight minutes. It’s better if you split it into several sessions across the day.
You can schedule up to 3-4 sessions a day. Anything more isn’t beneficial.
Create a sense of disruption
Dopamine increases with surprise and makes you hyper aware of what’s going on, hence increasing neuroplasticity.
You could do a sports training in a unique location or maybe use one hand/foot to make it more novel.
Get alert prior to a learning bout
The best, fastest thing you can do is a Wim Hoff breathing exercise for 1-3 rounds. This agitates you, makes you focus, and tells your brain that this information is necessary. Hence, increasing the likelihood you remember the things you do.
Spike adrenaline after learning
Memory is technically built backwards. When you suddenly get alert, your brain realizes this is important and tries its best to remember what happened before this intense spike.
You could end a learning bout (mental or physical skill) with a strong cold spike or HIIT training.
Senses & Vision
Close one eye
This forces your other eye to do twice the work. People who lose their vision in one eye accommodate by making the other stronger. In fact, some people can strengthen, or in some way, regain their vision by doing this. This useful when you have an eye that’s weaker and you want to strengthen it.
You can just cover it with a piece of cloth or eye patch.
Listen to distant sounds
When you’re at a party or loud environment but still try to focus on what the person near you is saying, your eyes are working hard to filter out all that unnecessary sounds. So you’re getting exhausted without knowing about it. Every so often, pay attention to the chatter going in the background.
Walking is great for eyes
Optic flow is your eyes perceiving things going past you in the environment. Your eyes like seeing buildings, cars, move out of your visual field.
This needs to be while you’re walking or cycling outdoors.
Pay attention to the scents around you to keep your senses healthy
The simplest way to improve your smell is to become more aware of smells. The more you use it the stronger your ability to pick up scents becomes
View something that is far away for 10 minutes
Simply focusing on something that is far from you can help you improve farsightedness
Healthy pupils will dilate when looking at far objects. This also helps train your vision and improve farsightedness
Look at moving objects (smooth pursuit)
Smooth pursuit is the exercise of looking at an object (ex. pen, staring at it for 10-15 seconds) and slowly moving it away from you. This lets you train your peripheral vision, which improves your eyesight and helps battle vision decline.
Check this video to try it out live.
How to improve smell
Sniff deeply through your nose 10-15 times then sniff something with a strong scent. Repeat 3 times. Choose something like an oriental perfume or mint.
It’s okay if you feel a strong, tingling sensation after doing this exercise.
Categories