MEMORY TRICKS
7 Weird Brain Tricks That Make You Smarter
Gain a mental edge in the shower, on the dance floor, and more
BY DEIDRE WENGEN, JANUARY 28, 2014
It
happened again: You spaced during an important meeting at work. You forgot to
feed the neighbor’s cat. You tossed your cell in the freezer. We all get bogged
down by the occasional brain fog, but by practicing a few surprising memory
tricks, you can fight back and build your brain up to be stronger than ever—and
avoid another icy iPhone.
Shower with Your
Eyes Closed
Strip down, hop
in, and shut your peepers. Searching for the handle, shampoo, and soap while
making mental notes of textures gives your brain a workout. In fact, doing
anything with your eyes closed is an easy way to refine your focus and memory,
says Ron White, a two-time winner of the USA Memory Championship. So if you’re
feeling a little skittish about a blind shower, try it in your kitchen instead.
Close your eyes and poke around for a specific item in the cupboards or on the
shelves. “It will break your routine and engage your senses.”
Dance to
"Blurred Lines" at Your Buddy's Wedding
Busting a move not only activates the cerebellum—a
part of the brain that helps with things such as forethought and judgment—but
also produces brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that helps
neurons communicate more effectively. “Dancing is social, and social
interactions will help neural circuits,” says Gary Small, M.D., director at
UCLA’s Longevity Center and co-author of The Alzheimer's Prevention Program. “It’s also
physical, which gets your heart to pump oxygen and nutrients to your brain
cells. And it helps you learn coordination.”
Act Like a Lefty
Or if you’re already a southpaw, take matters into
your right hand. Performing simple tasks such as eating or brushing your teeth
with your non-dominant hand forces your brain to relearn a common activity in a
new way. “Over time, when you use one hand to do certain tasks, it becomes
hardwired and there is almost a reflex component to using that dominant hand,” says
Allen Sills, M.D., associate professor of neurological surgery at Vanderbilt
Medical Center. “When you use your non-dominant hand and you have to activate
and engage many different brain regions, it lays down new memories and new
wiring.”
Become a Ping
Pong Champ
Take a cue from Forrest Gump and work on your table
tennis game. Ping pong improves your hand-eye coordination and gives you a dose
of brain-boosting social interaction, says Daniel Amen, M.D., a brain-imaging
researcher and founder of Amen Clinics. “When it comes to mental exercise, the
really important thing is doing things that your brain doesn’t know how to do,”
says Dr. Amen. “If I just keep doing something that I already know how to do,
it’s not that helpful. But learning different things is what really exercises
your brain.”
Hit the Mall
Although shopping can do a number on your wallet,
it provides surprising benefits for your brain, Dr. Small says. “You do a lot
of mental and physical activities when you go shopping. You’re walking, you’re
engaging with people, you’re making calculations,” he says. “Each of these
exercises will stimulate different parts of your brain and provide a
cross-training effect.” But stay on budget—overspending can cause stress and
actually shrink your brain, says Dr. Small.
Go to Clown
College
According to a 2013 study in the journalNature, learning how to juggle can actually make areas
of your brain grow. After non-jugglers practiced the tricky activity for 3
months, they showed an increase in gray matter in the mid-temporal area and the
posterior intraparietal sulcus—portions of the brain responsible for visual and
motor activity. “Taking on a new task that involves some motor activity,
pattern recognition, and spatial orientation will activate multiple regions and
reawaken dormant areas of the brain,” Dr. Sills says.
Source: http://www.menshealth.com
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