People spend multiple hours in the gym to train their muscles, hours on the treadmill working on their stamina, miles on the trail working on their strength. All of this is essential for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so how about you train your brain new skills?
Training and new skills
Training your brain and engaging in a new and challenging activity is an excellent way to improve and retain mental abilities. Your brain can learn and expand as you age, but it must be trained regularly. Dr. John N. Morris, head of social and health policy research at the Harvard-affiliated Institute for Aging Research says, “Embracing a new activity that also forces you to think and learn and requires ongoing practice can be one of the best ways to keep the brain healthy.”
Guidelines to help you train your brain new skills
- Try something challenging. Whatever you do, make sure it is something outside of your comfort zone.
- Go for complex activities. Training your brain requires you to choose problem-solving, creative thinking, and other complex things that make you think hard.
- Practice, practice, and practice. Practice makes perfect, and training your brain does not happen overnight. Give it time and devote your energy to make sure this process does not go to waste.
Another thing to keep in mind is that trying to do multiple brain training exercises at once will make it much more difficult to practice consistently. Instead, choose one mind-training activity and perform it every day for about a month. Add something new once it has become a habit.
What should you do in order to train your brain to learn new skills?
Work on your memory
It is important to recall your memory as often as possible to see how your brain responds. Try remembering a moment or event and all things that are related to that specific memory. Openly discuss that memory with others. This method will engage the different operations of your brain -receiving, remembering, and thinking- which will, in turn, improve the functionality of your brain.
Do something new every time
By doing something new over and over, your brain creates new networks that allow you to do it better and quicker. When you mindfully practice the same actions, your brain will be able to remember them and make them part of a routine.
The best part of this training method is that your brain does not require any strength to acquire new skills. All you need to do is to remind your brain and help it cultivate new ways that will be of assistance in the future!
Moreover, believe it or not, what you tell your brain is how it reacts. If you keep telling yourself that you are lazy, your brain is bound to believe that it is lazy. Instead, tell yourself that “I am not lazy, I am active” or other such mantras that will make your brain think otherwise. You are in control of what and how you think, so make the most of it.
Reading
There is no doubt in saying that reading is an underrated superpower. Therefore, reading is a way of training your brain. Reading opens your mind to newer ideas and creative scenarios all the while beautifully impacting your mood and mind. This activity not only enhances your vocabulary but also makes you articulate and fluent.
Reading is considered the go-to way of improving your general knowledge while automatically making you an interesting person. In this way, your communication and analytical skills will become polished while you leave a solid impression on the person you are talking with.
Lastly, reading opens gateways that you would have never imagined. It makes you think outside of the box, releases positive energies in your bodies, and opens your mind to better thoughts.
Brain exercise
The Internet world can help you improve your brain function while lazily sitting on your couch. Clinically proven programs like the free Fast-Track Class, Spark Your Learning Genius and BrainHQ can help you improve your memory or think faster by just following their brain training exercises.
Healthy lifestyle
According to one study, regular exercise can boost memory and brain function over time. Another study discovered that exercising for 20-30 minutes three times each week improves long-term memory.
If that is not convincing enough, a Harvard research titled “Nutritional Psychiatry: Your Brain on Food” found that a nutritious diet can help boost brain function.
Dr. Eva Selhub says in her article on the study, “start paying attention to how eating different foods makes you feel not just in the moment, but the next day.” For two to three weeks, try eating a “clean” diet, which involves avoiding all processed foods and sugar. Take note of how you feel. Then, one by one, gradually introduce things into your diet to observe how you feel.” Overall, a good diet and moderate exercise can help you boost your brain training efforts.
Final thoughts
Now that you know how to train your brain new skills, it’s time to put this information into practice.
Improving your capacity to learn and recall will take time, and you will not notice improvements overnight, but with the dedication to a brain training routine, you will see benefits. Put your newfound knowledge to use, and you’ll be wiser than ever!
The article is shared by Nazi Abdul Hameed
