The Fastest Hack To Boost Your Brain
How to unleash your mind potential in a blink of an eye
I know, being creative in modern times is tough.
Today our brains tend to work more than usual, never resting. Sometimes, even if you think you are relaxing, it is the complete opposite.
Think about every time you lay on the couch watching TV. Your sweetheart sends you a text, so you have to reply. Probably you end up scrolling your Instagram feed for ages and then return to watch TV. You think you are relaxing because you “are doing nothing”.
Actually, your brain is straining. It is overstimulated while you are doing anything useful or productive.
That’s one of the main reasons we feel more tired and stressed nowadays, wondering why we struggle to recall simple pieces of information.
Don’t worry: psychology has come to your aid.
You can use tons of techniques that might help you to loose your creativity, boost your memory, and manage your stress.
One of these, though, is more direct than the others: close your eyes.
Eyes Off, Brain On
Wait wait, stay here, don’t run. I’m not fooling you. I’m serious.
Ok, you’re skeptical. I’ll try to convince you.
Imagine a kid that is trying to answer a question. He is trying his hardest and racking his brain. Most likely, his eyes are shut. Have you ever noticed it?
It’s a spontaneous action that allows him to think better. Curious, right?
Indeed, there are a few scientific reasons behind it. One study gathered some people to watch a simulated crime scene from a TV drama. Afterward, they were asked to recall some tiny details. One group did it with the eyes opened, the other with their eyes closed.
Results? The group with the closed eyes remembered 44% more details than the group with the eyes opened.
Impressive. Just closing the eyes gave a considerable advantage in terms of memory.
But the game is not over. Here are findings coming from the contributions of plenty of studies about creativity.
Psychologists used two types of tests to measure the levels of creative reasoning.
- the AUT (Alternative Uses Test), a standard test used to assess divergent thinking.
- the RAT (Remote Associates Test), a standard test used to assess convergent thinking.
I know you are thinking “what the hell are you talking about?!”. I’m here to explain.
Divergent thinking is the ability to reflect on a problem and coming up with multiple ideas and original solutions. For example:
Could you tell me how many things you may do with a pen besides writing?
The more creative is the idea you came up with, the higher is your score in divergent thinking.
On the other hand, convergent thinking pushes you to find the best single solution to a problem. Another example:
I give you three words: psychology, eye, Medium. Find me a word that is related to each of these three.
If you can complete the task, congratulations, your convergent thinking is excellent!
By the way, this one was way too easy: the answer is, of course, this wonderful article.
The procedure was similar: half of the group did the task with the eyes opened, and the remaining half with the eyes closed.
The results were astonishing. The ones with the eyes closed scored nearly 50% more. I mean, the double.
It’s clear by now. Blinking your eyes lead to greater memory and creativity.
I mean, it’s a stupid trick, right?
I know though you aren’t still 100% convinced, even though the findings speak for themselves. But I can assure you there are reasons behind these powerful effects.
I am once again here for you.
Brain = Computer
Your brain works like a machine. The mechanisms are quite the same.
Think of your brain as a computer. It disposes only of a limited amount of energy. This energy, used by the components, may range depending on the tasks the computer is processing.
Memory is our hard disk and stimulations are our tasks. The inner mechanism we use to balance energy between memory and tasks is our processor. As we said, if our supply is limited, the more energy you use for tasks, the less it will be available for memory.
This principle applies inside the tasks as well. If you focus your energy on one task, the less you have for another task.
Well, here’s the fact: hundreds of millions of neurons in our brain are purely committed to eyesight.
Maybe you have already understood the concept: 30% of your brainpower is solely dedicated to one task.
Exactly as when you close some tabs and applications to make your computer smoother, closing your eyes allows your mind to free from a heavy assignment and focus on something more important.
If that’s all new to you, you may be impressed by the fact that it isn’t new to your brain.
Eyeblink is beyond our control and we instinctively do it more frequently when we are approaching a problem that requires our attention.
Give It a Try
There are too many ways to unleash your brain potentiality.
Good sleep, reading, exercises, meditation, and so on.
But none of them is as quick and intuitive as closing your eyes.
I don’t want to encourage you to abandon these habits. Yet, they are fundamental to your life and your health. Although, we are talking about long-term plans. You need to cultivate them every day to see the benefits in the long run.
But now you got a brand-new solution for the short-term. Thus, whenever you need a fast cost-free fix to your problems, try just to close your eyes.
