Quick Tips for Improving Brain Function

Oneil
Oneil
Nov 7 · 4 min read

Humans have brain plasticity, or neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to change for better or worse at any age. This flexibility of the brain plays a significant role in the development or decline of our brains, and how our distinct personalities are shaped. This blog post is to give some quick tips on improving brain function.


  1. Sleeping Well

Research shows that during sleep, the brain clears out toxins called beta-amyloids that can lead to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

  • Be sure to do a digital detox before bed. Try go to bed at the same time every night, shut off all electronics at least an hour before shutting your eyes.
  • Remove those worries that may be lingering by jotting them down on a piece of paper, informing your brain that it doesn’t have to worry about these things while you sleep.
  • 5 to 10 minutes of mindful meditation is helpful to calm your brain and make it easier to sleep. Meditation has been shown to reduce anxiety, depression, fatigue, and confusion. Meditation can benefit people with insomnia by helping them fall asleep and stay asleep. It also helps with inflammation in the brain.

2. Eating well

  • A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, low in saturated fat, full of the nutrients found in leafy green vegetables, along with whole grains can help keep your brain healthy throughout your life. For many people, this means following the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fish, fruits and vegetables, nuts, olive oil, and avocados, while limiting red meat.
  • The MIND diet — a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the heart-healthy DASH diet, with an extra emphasis on berries and leafy greens — was created specifically to boost brain health. It’s been shown to lower the odds of Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Dark chocolate. New research has found that the flavanols in cocoa beans can help improve memory and cognitive function.
  • Caffeine. Coffee in the right dose can help focus and prevent neurodegenerative disease, but after two cups, the effects can become harmful and the stimulants may get in the way of falling asleep. The recommendation is one or two cups in the morning, then switching to drinks without caffeine by 2 p.m.
  • Pistachios seemed to generate the highest gamma wave response, while peanuts produced the most significant delta response. Gamma wave response is tied to information retention, learning, cognitive processing, and perception, and delta wave response is linked to natural healing and healthy immunity.

3. Exercise

  • Exercise boosts blood flow to the brain. And studies have shown it can increase the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory, which naturally shrinks as you age.
  • High blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, smoking, and diabetes all increase the risk for developing neurodegenerative diseases by impeding blood flow to the brain.
  • Physical activities that require hand-eye coordination or complex motor skills are particularly beneficial for brain building.

4. Being Social

  • When you’re socializing, the blood circulates to several different parts of your brain as you’re listening and formulating responses.
  • When you’re connecting with friends, you’re less likely to get depressed. Depression can hamper how well your brain works. If you’re depressed or anxious, the brain becomes so occupied with what-ifs and worries that it’s not able to give 100% to learning new things.

5. Good ol’ Sugar

The brain is a highly active organ that relies on glucose for fuel. Glucose comes either directly from carbohydrate-containing foods and drinks, or is produced by the body from non-carbohydrate sources. Keeping blood sugar levels at an optimal level appears to be helpful for maintaining good cognitive function, particularly for more mentally demanding tasks. Consuming regular meals may be a useful way of achieving this.

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