Your brain is the most powerful tool you have to change your life. It controls everything from how well you sleep to how your body handles stress and even what food you eat. But it doesn’t happen automatically, In fact, many of us sabotage our success by not using this incredible organ for all that it’s worth!
Luckily there are some simple things we can do every day to rewire our brains for limitless potential and once they’re second nature, these habits will become a part of who you are.
In this post, you will discover 9 tips that will help you rewire your brain for Unlimited Potential.
What is brain plasticity?
The brain can reorganize itself when we learn new tasks or when we develop during childhood. They are all the mechanisms that allow the setting up of new neural networks that change according to the environment or education.
How does it change with age?
The neuronal networks of young children are very malleable: synapses can develop very quickly, connect, there are no barriers. This is a period that is very conducive to plasticity. If you look at the brain of a fetus, it is almost liquid. Then, as development proceeds, the neurons are surrounded by a support matrix, then by myelin, structures that are obstacles to the brain’s plasticity.
How can we reduce the effect of the brakes?
In mice, these brakes can be manipulated at the molecular and cellular level by injecting specific drugs. But we can also use enriched environments with toys, wheels, mazes to increase brain plasticity. In humans, similarly, if you are constantly stimulated, if you continue to learn, then regaining a certain plasticity is quite possible.
9 Ways to Rewire Your Brain
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Exercise to build neurons.
Until a few years ago, most scientists were convinced that the brain takes on its final shape within a few years of birth and that any subsequent changes could only be negative:
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loss of neurons due to alcohol and other toxic substances;
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brain damage due to head bumps;
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degeneration due to age or disease, and more.
It was believed that the adult brain was unable to make new cells. But we were wrong! The adult brain continues – in part – to make new cells. This process, called neurogenesis, is stimulated by physical exercise. Sport has a beneficial influence on the skills needed to think and strategize.
The effects are most pronounced in those who exercise regularly for at least 30 minutes and for at least six months. Moving around is good for the heart and arteries, which ensure oxygenation and nourishment of the brain, two factors that are essential to its proper functioning.
Sport also influences brain chemistry and, more specifically, the substances that play a role in internal communication, the neurotransmitters. After work, for example, you can put on your sneakers and go for a jog or a bike ride, and the fatigue is gone, replaced by a feeling of well-being. Exercise is a great way to get a boost. And why? Simply because when we exercise, our bodies release endorphins, de-stressing neurotransmitters that help us to concentrate after the effort.
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Feed your brain with pretty things
It is essential for your brain to get away from the streams of anxiety that pollute it from morning to night and end up causing brain damage in the long run. Eliminate as much as possible anything that generates anxiety in you.
Direct your attention to pleasant and positive activities. Some of these activities (music, writing, reading, painting, etc.) are wonderful resilience builders. Being in touch with nature is also great for your brain, with an immediate de-stressing effect, an increased sense of well-being, and supercharged cognitive abilities of concentration, creativity, and decision making!
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Learn a New Language
In recent years, learning a new language has moved from being a professional necessity to a personal and social need. When we learn a new language, we simultaneously call upon our abilities to listen, concentrate, understand, and remember.
Recent research shows that people who learn languages maintain their mental agility, thus delaying the aging process in certain cognitive areas. On the other hand, people who speak at least two languages have a more flexible brain. They are more able to adapt to different situations. Moreover, they can switch from one activity to another more quickly.
The benefits of language learning also include the ability to improve memory. To acquire proficiency in other languages, the brain must mobilize other areas that are not usually used by monolingual people.
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Play video games instead of watching TV
Video games are often not good, but you shouldn’t avoid them. A 2017 study (University of Montreal) proved that playing them for 30 minutes a day increases the volume of grey matter. This playful activity, which sharpens the sense of observation, is more conducive to brain health than television. we are passive when we watch television.
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Games like Super Mario are preferable, as the settings and challenges are constantly changing.
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Shooting games, which are violent and repetitive, are harmful.
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Get enough sleep
Sleeping is the best way to relax and recharge after a day of work. It resets your brain connections which are important for memory and learning. Sleep deprivation limits brain performance and impairs memory.
Make sure you get seven to nine hours of sleep a day. As an entrepreneur or student, I know it’s hard to do this sometimes. But if you’re disciplined, priority-driven, and focused on your goals, getting the recommended amount of sleep is necessary for a clear mind.
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Change your environment
Your current environment might be shrinking your inspiration. An easy way to rewire your brain is to try changing your environment. Sometimes a lively atmosphere can do the trick, so try putting your laptop away and finding a restaurant, coffee shop, or even a park where you can work for a while.
Also, set up your workspace in a way that encourages being creative. This will be very personal, depending on your preferences, but make sure you have a dedicated space where you create and create only, whether it’s in the office or at home.
Make this space comfortable by making sure your desk and chair are at the right height, and you are well supported.
Think about the colors you use to decorate this creative place. Blue is often considered good for stimulating creative thinking, but you know yourself better.
And consider clutter – some people believe that clutter encourages creativity by promoting unconventional thinking.
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Play a Music Instrument
Playing an instrument is a complete activity, which has beneficial effects on the intellectual and cerebral levels. Specialists consider this art as a kind of language, a communication system that triggers all kinds of mechanisms in our brain.
The right and left hemispheres are involved in the analysis of the sounds and rhythms we hear. So, it’s a widely distributed network that is activated. Playing an instrument calls on many cognitive functions. A pianist, for example, mobilizes auditory faculties, of course, but also visual faculties, to read the music notes and look at his hands.
Moreover, practicing music throughout one’s life could have benefits in the fight against brain aging. For example, Broca’s area, which is used to produce and understand language, is less shrunken in seasoned musicians. Experts also believe that playing music may help delay or weaken the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.
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Learn how to take distance, even in the office
Between the increasing workload and the fear of downsizing, the overdose is not far off. The slightest annoyance becomes unbearable. The brain locks itself into a toxic mode of operation. The worst thing is to resign oneself and hope that the problem will be solved by a miracle. It is better to act by taking distance and by questioning its own functioning.
To relieve the pressure, it is also necessary to find derivatives to replace the excessive secretion of cortisol (the stress hormone) with more dopamine, a neurohormone that acts as an antidepressant.
What can you do? Many small gestures, seemingly insignificant, are very useful. Listening to music on the way to and from work, taking a shower and changing your clothes when you get home from work in the evening, etc.
Other emotion regulation techniques can also be effective, such as recalling deep memories. Visualizing a happy event induces changes in the brain that have a positive effect on mood. It has been shown that this activates the same brain circuits that were involved when we had the positive experience.
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Meditate (Reduce stress)
In your daily activities, you will always encounter adverse situations that can stress you out. Learn to control and block negative thoughts to reduce stress. The best way to do this is through daily meditation. This can be done anywhere, so there is no excuse.
You can start by meditating for ten minutes a day, and within two weeks, you will notice a difference. If you have a smartphone, tons of apps will guide you through your first lessons for free.
Stress is an absolute killer for your brain and decreases the neuroplasticity of your brain. We are more stressed and distracted now than ever before. Meditation goes a long way to getting your focus back on more important things.
If meditation isn’t your thing, reading a book is a great alternative. Continuous reading relieves tension and stress by providing a form of escape that is not too demanding on the brain.
Research has also shown that using your imagination is a great way to improve brain function because it requires the mind to visualize what you are imagining, and reading is a great way to rewire your brain.
Conclusion
Our brain is a powerful organ that is much more malleable than we think. Every day, it evolves according to our experiences and knowledge. The challenge is to optimize our connections to make them more efficient. To do this, use these tips wisely.