The brain is an enormous organ that controls all the movements of the body. He decides at once what action should be taken. The brain is the organ that enables people to think, speak, distinguish words and solve problems, that is, manage all their emotional, cognitive and sensory functions and dominate life. 25% of the oxygen taken goes to the brain. The brain uses 20% of food. 15% of the blood in the body is used by the brain. No animal’s brain is as developed as the human brain. The most important feature that distinguishes humans from other animals is their brain. The brain, which works non-stop, has the capacity to understand a hundred thousand words per minute, but our eyes cannot send this much information, an average of 400 pages, to our brain.
There are two different types of tissue in the brain, gray matter and white matter. Gray matter consists of nerve cells. Studies show a link between gray matter density and intelligence, particularly in the areas of language, memory and attention. Gray matter is where mind calculations are made and memory is stored. For our brain power to increase, the density of gray matter must increase. In this, living in environments and conditions that keep our physical and mental activity high provides high benefits.
Let’s take a look at what we can do to increase the capacity of our brain, the density of gray matter.
1. Change the order and place of the tasks that you need to do constantly. For example, if you always brush your teeth with your right hand, use your left hand occasionally.
2. Frequent crossword solving, especially sudoku, can improve the working performance of the brain. Activities such as chess and puzzle making are mental exercises and are very beneficial. Playing mind-blowing fun games or doing a hobby, in short, doing something that relaxes and entertains you will help your brain think better. Exercising the brain leads to the continuous development of new neuron connections.
4. Keeping blood sugar stable and high enables the brain to work at full capacity. The brain doesn’t like quick shocks. However, avoid sugar. Carbs often make your brain cloudy. Because when you take sugar, insulin is secreted into the blood to meet it. If you’re going to do important mental work, avoid things like pasta, sugar, white bread, and potato chips right before that.
5. Try taking a shower with your eyes closed. Improve your sense of touch by groping for your soap and shampoo. Or when you get into your vehicle, try to locate the ignition, radio and handbrake with your hand before you move.
6. To improve your aesthetic perception and visuality, often look at photos or landscapes around you.
7. Try not to go to lunches at the same time as a routine. Take time to eat at different intervals of the time allocated to you. If you can, don’t always sit at the same table and chair.
8. Turn your head to the sky frequently and watch the clouds move during the day, and try counting the stars at night using a point as a starting point. If you are in a dense forest, count the trees with your eyes.
9. Try to meet new people, make friends with them, and discover new places. Always make room for the new. Learn new things. This is another way to exercise the brain. When you learn something new, your brain has to develop new connections to adapt to it.
10. Love to laugh and laugh; Thanks to the endorphins released when you laugh, your stress level decreases, which is very beneficial for the brain in the long run. Sing in songs while laughing. Singing allows you to get in touch with and activate the right brain.
11. During the day, between 60 thousand and 80 thousand thoughts pass through the brain of an adult. Whatever these thoughts are about, your life will be shaped accordingly. Therefore, make sure that your thoughts are not positive.
12. One of the factors that tire the brain the most and negatively affect it is stress. Stress disrupts and destroys the normally functioning biochemical mechanism of the nervous system. Balances are disturbed and undesirable behavior may occur. Make use of relaxation techniques to consciously reduce your stress level. If you cannot control stress on your own, you should definitely try to get support from a specialist who is interested in the subject in order to improve your quality of life in every sense.
13. “A healthy mind resides in a healthy body.” Mind and body work in conjunction with each other. Exercise regularly to balance them out. Doing movements that rejuvenate the body refresh your brain power and energy. This increases your concentration, attention level, and thinking power. Do not neglect to drink enough water both while doing sports and in the whole flow of life, because 78% of the human brain is covered with water. In a University of Cambridge study, scientists examined two separate groups of mice with and without a permanent running wheel. After a few days, the researchers subjected both groups to multiple memory tests on the computer screen, and found that the sedentary group did the worst on the memory test. Brain tissues the scientists took from the mice showed that the running mice had an increased amount of new gray matter in their brains during the experiment. During the experiment, it was observed that around 6,000 new cells were formed in the brains of mice that ran an average of 24 kilometers a day.
14. Watching television causes mental capacity to become stagnant. It is one of the most important energy-lowering activities. You can prefer to read a book or listen to music instead of lazing in front of the television intensively. Reading a book or listening to music keeps your brain more active and energetic than watching TV. As a result of the studies, it was observed that classical music increased the IQ score by about 7 points. A University of California study found that children who play a musical instrument and join the choir show greater improvement in problem solving and spatial thinking than other children.
15. Scientist and author Carl Sagan says “our brain equals our mind”. Mind is a general term describing all forms of consciousness and intelligence, the power to understand, know and remember. Practice using your mind more effectively and positively. If you can’t control your mind, it will control you! Clear your mind. Cluttered rooms and offices fuel messy thinking. Organize your mental work place accordingly.
16. Reading a book activates the right and left brain at the same time. While reading, we imagine what we read with the right brain, while we follow and comprehend what we read with the left brain. It is also an important mental exercise to read the books from the middle or the end from time to time and then combine the readings. Take the time to read books that can stimulate and stimulate your mind. If you want your thinking and writing skills to improve, choose books that will challenge you to read. Do not hesitate to look in the dictionary for words you do not know the meaning of and place that new word in your own memory.
17. The early hours of the morning are the most fertile and freshest hours of the day. Take care to be awake during these hours and not to spend time sleeping for more than 7 hours (it may vary from person to person, depending on the effect of genetic factors) if you do not have a physical illness. Sleep is a function of the brain. It is a state in which no vital organ is completely stopped, and even certain brain parts work more, while other parts of the body are sent to rest. For this reason, our body needs sleep, but sleeping more than necessary makes the person drowsy, weakens mental activities, lowers concentration, weakens the will to work. When people sleep too much, their brains work too hard. As a result, the brain gets tired, which leads to aging. If you get sleepy due to waking up early during the day, you can take a nap for 10-20 minutes at most, this will recharge you quickly.
18. The most important thing that tires and wears out the brain is a monotonous lifestyle. The brain works with electro-biochemical reactions and our hands do not get tired physically like our arms. If you want your brain to be strong, choose not to live a monotonous life, but to live a life full of joy and surprises within your possibilities. Get out of your routine.
19. The brain performs approximately 10 percent higher when you are standing and outdoors. Keep this item in mind when making important decisions.
20. In the bustle of life that we are all involved in, take time for yourself, do introversion exercises. Meditation is the most effective method in this regard, and it is one of my indispensables. Meditation is the correct and regular flow of thought on concentration; It is the state that occurs immediately after concentration. Meditation provides us with the ability to manage stress in our daily lives, to focus better on the activities we do, to use time in a quality way, and most importantly, to raise awareness. Dr. Deepak Chopra, as a result of his research, revealed that meditation increases the level of the hormone DHEA, and this hormone reverses the aging process. DHEA is a hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands. DHEA level naturally begins to decrease after the age of 30, while cortisone secretion increases, accelerating our aging. Studies have shown that when this hormone is given externally to the elderly, mental performance increases, memory and immune system are strengthened.
You can practice a meditation technique right now; First of all, sit up straight. Your posture affects the physiological mechanisms in your body and therefore your mental processes. Close your eyes and turn your attention to your breath. Relaxing your muscles will help you meditate. If your mind is restless or distracted, just focus your attention on your breath. A ten-minute meditation relaxes you, clears your mind and prepares you for a particularly mental task.
Expert Psychologist
Mustafa Cem Oguz
