5 Easy Ways to Boost Brain Function

Maybe it’s just me, but this time of year, it feels more difficult to think straight. There are so many activities to keep track of, many things to do, and I’m running on less sleep—and more mint mochas—than usual. This led me to search for methods to boost a frazzled brain. For this week’s Healthy Habit, here are five easy ways to boost brain function. No fancy electrodes or elaborate systems needed, I promise.

Swig Water

We knew water was good for our skin, but who knew it was so great for the brain? According to Hydration 4 Health, drinking plenty of water boosts alertness, attention and reaction time. In one study, subjects who boosted their water intake by 1 liter per day performed better on tasks involving short-term memory.

Write, Don’t Type

When writing that shopping or errand list, use your own handwriting instead of tapping them into your phone. When in a meeting, take notes on paper, not into a laptop. Why? According to research from the University of Nebraska, writing and reframing ideas into your own words, using your hands, enhances neural activity. (If you can read your own handwriting, even better. Good luck reading mine.)

Grab A Handful of Nuts

In a new study that just came out in November from Loma Linda University, nuts were shown to be an especially good brain food. Eating them on a regular basis strengthens brainwave frequencies that are associated with cognition, healing, learning, and memory according to the study. Which nuts are best? Pistachios, reported the researchers. They said that type of nut produced the greatest gamma wave response, key for enhancing cognitive processing, information retention, learning, and perception.

Meditate—Even a Tiny Bit—Each Day

According to research conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital and at the Boston University Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, meditation helps you focus your attention. Other research has suggested that meditating helps us boost memory and learning, helping the brain rapidly incorporate facts, and be ready to recall them.

Play Little Games With Yourself

Challenge your brain, for example, by putting your watch on the opposite wrist than you usually do. Use your fork with the nondominant hand. Count things by threes instead of ones. Harvard Medical School says mental activity like this can help ward off dementia.

How do you boost your brain’s power when you’re feeling a bit sluggish? Tell us in the comments section.