100 Ways to Increase Brain Power and Think

Like a Genius!
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Increase brain power
with these 100 fun
exercises and habits!
Keeping a journal
stimulates the brain.
Brainstorming increases
brain activity.
Puzzles are only one of
many ways to increase
brain power.
Want to think like Einstein? Use these brain boosters to increase
brain power for faster learning, better memory, sharper thinking, outof-the-box problem solving, more efficiency and productivity and
enhanced creativityand get you thinking like the great thinkers.
Dont make working your brain a chore! These are fun, they keep
life interesting and best of all, dont take any extra time (you might
have to give up some TV, but youll love the results).
100 Ways to Increase Brain Power
Meditate: the #1 brain exercise! Stress clouds your thinking, so
relieve stress with meditation. Its easy! Put on your headphones,
press PLAY on your Omharmonics meditation music download, and
let the technology put you in a meditative state.
Work on being ambidextrous.
Brush your hair, write, use the
mouse and eat/drink with the
wrong hand.
When something is broken, find
creative repair solutions using
common objects. Make do
with what you have; make
repairs with odd items and
ingenuity.
Learn to convincingly argue
every side of an argument.
Write with the wrong hand.
Write backwards with both.
Read upside down (the text,
not you).
Hydrate. Water enhances the brains electrochemical activity
dehydration slows it!
Change your perspective. Turn the pictures in your home upside
down for a while.
Doodle and draw visual solutions to problems instead of using
numbers or text.
Mentally estimate the passage of time.
Listen to classical music.
Power nap.

Stop procrastinating!
Exercise daily.
Eat exceptionally well. Give your brain energy and nutrients, not
fillers and chemicals from junk/processed food.
Solve math problems without a calculator.
Remember phone numbers.
Mix up your routine.
Play chess especially a prolonged email version.
Solve optical illusions.
Play brain games like crosswords or Sudoku.
Watch TED talks ( www.ted.com)
Be curious about everything, like a child.
Think positively. What can go right?
Create top 100 lists of things to be grateful for, learn, places to
visit, etc.
Keep a journal.
Write down ideas
as soon as you
have them and
return to them
often.
Simplify,
declutter and
organize your
living and work
space.
Take a class in
something youve never explored.
Take several 10-minute brisk walk-breaks throughout the day.
Learn to spell backwards.
Change the furniture placement and art/accessories in your home.
Learn to play a musical instrument (and read music).
Be. Observe the world without judgment, classification, or even
thought.
Share something youve just learned or dont know well. The
process of explaining something helps clarify it.
Problem-solve from a different perspective. How would different
people approach this problem: the rich, poor, crazy, geniuses,
achievers and slackers?
Take up a new hobby.
Find connections between seemingly unrelated items, topics or
people.
Creatively visualize your ideal life.
Take a slow day: do everything at half the speed and twice the
awareness .
Learn memory techniques.
Surround yourself with intelligent, positive people.
Learn and use a new word every day.
Travel abroad.
Stop multitasking. Do one thing at a time, exceptionally well.

Be in Nature.
Collect quotes by great thinkers.
Learn to lucid dream.
Remember and record your dreams.
Say your problems out loud, as if you were explaining them to a
stranger.
Play.
Use a reverse clock.
Learn yoga, tai chi or the martial arts.
Become hyper-aware of your environment. Identify and locate the
sources of sounds; subtle changes in temperature; different smells,
etc.
Get enough sleep (Cant sleep because of stress? Meditate!)
Eat less.
Laugh!
Learn to manage emotions by focusing on the feeling instead of the
thought that generated it.
Describe
an
experience
in as
much
detail
as you
can
remember.
Take
2-3
days to
do this,
each time probing deeper for more information.
Practice theme observation: pick a theme and try to spot it as
many times as possible in one day.
Learn a foreign language.
Brainstorm.
Visit a museum.
Read at least one thought-provoking book a month.
Get to the root of your problems. What were you thinking, that
caused you to do or say something that had an unpleasant
consequence?
Memorize names.
Take an improvisation class.
Dance.
Seek out the random; select a random word, and explore it on the
Internet.
Imagine absurd, impossible and ridiculously crazy solutions to
everyday problems.
Help someone learn your language.
Learn origami.
Take different routes to work, to the store, etc.

Learn to eat with chopsticks.

Learn to juggle.
Question everything. Ask, why? especially if something doesnt
ring true to you.
Find your learning style and apply it to something youre struggling
with.
Try new (ethnic) foods with an open, eager attitude.
Become aware of your thoughts during meditation.
Give 110% always deliver more than expected.
Summarize something youve just read.
Come up with one possible solution to one problem every day. Dont
worry if its ridiculous, unworkable or impossible write it down.
Place inspirational items in your workspace quotes, pictures,
objects, etc.
Breathe deeply.
Sit up straight!
Use down time: listen to books on tape while you commute, play
memory games as you mow the lawn, etc.
Be mindful. Notice thoughts that are subtly bothering you (the little
nagging voice) and clear up that mental clutter. Do what you need
to do and get it out of your head!
Make a to-do list so you dont have to have one in your head.
Develop and follow your intuition.
Avoid foods that cause allergies: sugar, wheat, corn, soy, nuts, dairy.
Eliminate these for a while and watch the mental fog clear up!
Learn to speed-read.
Practice walking meditation. The
rhythmic nature of walking lends
itself to contemplation. Begin by
focusing on the physical act and
sensation of walking, and then allow
your thoughts to focus on one topic
only.
Model what successful people do and
say.
Create a new habit. It takes 30-45
days of consistent repetition for a
thought or an action to become a
habit.
Set goals.
Eat breakfast!
Use peak energy times for complex mental work. Follow your own
rhythms whether youre a morning person or night owl.
Have sex. Yes, really!
Use caffeine, in moderation.
Make mistakes. Dont be afraid to mess up mistakes are powerful
teachers!

10 Brain Hacks To Make You Smarter

PRODUCTIVITY BY EMILY WEST | 501 SHARES
Training your brain to function on a higher level doesnt
involve a Doctoral program or becoming a Buddhist
monk. The three key steps are to first, feed your brain,
second rewire your brain and third, to challenge your
brain. If you want to wow the world in 2015, here are
some actionable brain hacks to make you smarter.
1. Feed your brain
This is the first and foremost hack, because if your engine
doesnt have the proper fuel, then it wont be running at
its best speed. Little did the proponents of the low fat
diet know, our brains are powered and upgraded by fatty
acids, particularly those Omega 3s. Invest in high quality
fats coconut oil, almond butter, grass fed beef, grass fed
butter, wild caught salmon. These healthy fats will give
your brain the best supply of energy it can get.
2. Reboot your Circadian Clock
No one gets enough sleep. But, you can reboot your
circadian clock (your internal sleeping rhythm) by getting
more sun and eating less sugar and caffeine. By aligning
yourself with the Suns natural patterns, you will rid your
brain of that infamous morning grog and evening
insomnia. There are also numerous apps of your phone,
like Sleep Cycle that monitor your sleep and help you
determine when you enter the various stages of sleep.
And then there is F.lux, which adjusts the setting of your
monitor to imitate an evening sunset to help you get ready
for bed.
3. Practice Awareness
An easy, and very actionable way to upgrade your memory
is to practice awareness. This simply means to focus on
only one person/task at a time. Is your boyfriend telling
you about how his work day went, but you are instead
ticking off a grocery list in your head? Take that five
minutes and instead focus and be present, your significant
other will appreciate it and eventually reciprocate, and
you will also quiet your mind in the process. The quote
that I have come to live by is that You must be the change
you wish to see in the world.
4. Do Yoga
When I was still working a desk job I always felt tired,
groggy and unmotivated no matter how much cardio I did,
or how many Paleo meals I ate. Then, I started hot yoga.
This simple practice (I prefer YogAlign , a low impact type
of yoga) helps to stretch out the body, rewire your brain
with your body, and to also help you gain a better
perspective on being present and aware. The exercises

helped me to become rooted, to be more aware of how my

body felt, and what areas I needed to focus on. I realized
that the way I was sitting in my desk chair was causing my
lethargy and immediately corrected it.
5. Learn to Speed Read
Knowledge truly is power, and there is so much
information out there, how are you supposed to consume
it all? Enter speed reading. The technique to consume
information and retain that data at nearly unfathomable
speeds is possible. For the average person, learning to
speed read could be the ultimate game changer.
6. Rewire your emotions
Some of the smartest people I know could be even
smarter and productive if it werent for the emotional
baggage that they drag around. Meditation is a way of
rewiring your brain so you no longer have negative
associations, and can unload the mental baggage that has
been a burden so you can move forward with your life. In
my life personally, yoga and meditation have allowed me
to accept my failures, and in turn accept myself.
7. Use a Pen and Write it down
There is something that can be said about physically
writing something down. Personally, I notice that I
remember things much better if I write it down versus if I
jot it in my phone. The brain-body connection is strong
when you take the act of writing out your thoughts with
your own hand.
8. Listen to the Classics
There is a reason why the greats jam out to Beethoven or
Bog Seger they fire up those neurons. Classical
music has the ability to reduce stress, reduce pain, stop
seizures and can even help you to battle insomnia.
9. Do something new
Oh, monotony, it is the killer of creativity. A 9-5 life and a
habit of sinking onto the couch and watching Netflix
makes for a life and brain well wasted. Cancel the Netflix
and invest that money in that cookbook youve always
wanted. Learning a new skill, like mastering
Mediterranean cooking, is not only good for your brain, it
is good for your life as you invest in a new skill.
10. Repeat
This is the theory is, if you do something enough times
and for long enough, it becomes habit . I recently have
begun the ritual of reading my favorite blogs every
morning before I do any work. I log into my Bloglovin
account and read Paleo Newbie, Reason and Intelligent
Travel. This habit provides me with new information
everyday! I cannot count the ways in which I have
benefited from this repeated action.

17 Small Things To Do Every Day To Be

Much Smarter
PRODUCTIVITY BY MENTOR PALOKAJ | 9K SHARES
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Productivity
Intelligence is flexible and there are a lot of things to give
it a daily boost. For smart thinking your mind needs 3
things:
1. To be trained in thinking processes
2. To have plenty of information
3. To focus on a problem or idea
For example, Thomas Edison was able to think of his light
bulb because:
1. He was a trained logical thinker
2. He knew a lot about electrical engineering
3. He focused on solving a problem
Here are a bunch of things to do every day to help your
mind to think smart.
1. Drink 2 glasses of water within 30 minutes
of waking up
Since youve been asleep for hours, your body has not
gotten water for 6-9 hours. Water is needed for the
filtration of waste products and fluid balance. Two big
glasses of water offset the fluid deficit you had from
sleeping. Studies on kids (study 1 , study 2 ) show that
drinking more water increases their ability to complete
mental tasks. Make sure your brain is not dehydrated at
the beginning of the day already.
2. Read a book summary during breakfast
Reading books is great, but breakfast is far more suitable
for something shorter. Instead of reading news articles
that have little impact on your life/intelligence, read best
selling book summaries. You can find summaries by:
Googling your book title + summary, for example 7
Habits of Highly Effective People summary
Use a summary subscription like Blinkist or getAbstract
3. Listen to stimulating podcasts/audiobooks
during your commute
Even if you spend only 10 minutes on your bike like I do,
load your phone up with intellectually stimulating audio.
Good sources could be:

TED talks (their app lets you pre-download audio so you

dont eat your mobile data)
Blinkist has some of their summaries in audio form
Audiobooks you purchased
Podcast of your favorite authors
4. Drink green tea while working
Where caffeine makes many people anxious, green tea
(especially Matcha tea) contains l-theanine. This
aminoacid causes an increase in alpha brain waves in the
brain:
In practice this means that where coffee can induce
anxiety, high quality green teas cause a relaxed focus
without inducing sleepiness. This is also why l-theanine is
available as a supplement to aid in relaxation
and increasing cardiovascular health.
5. Take naps during the day
Napping helps your mind refresh. Its been shown that
napping during learning increases learning speed. Your
mind has a rhythm that determines when it gets sleepy
and when it needs sleep:
As you can see on average people feel more sleepy than
usual between noon and 4 PM. This is a perfect time to
have a nap, and will increase your alertness and
productivity for the rest of the day. Personally Ive has
good results with post-workday naps too (around 6 PM).
6. Dont take sugar during the day
In fact, if you can cut it altogether. But if you cant for
whatever reason, just make sure not to have it during
times where you need to focus. Sugar highs and the
following lows are not good to keep your brain
functioning smartly. What does work very well are fatty
acids. Try to switch any sweet stuff during lunch for
something more substantial like fish or eggs.
7. Do social media / meme websites only a couple
of times a day
The brain adapts to the information you throw at it. If you
bombard it work non-stimulating and fast switching
information your focus will get destroyed. Keep your
brain functioning on a higher level by throwing
stimulating things at it. If you feel the need to
procrastinate, set a timer and dont get lost in mindlessly
scrolling.
8. Play games instead of watching series or
movies
Watching tv is a passive activity. Your brain is consuming
information, but not processing or interacting with it.
Substitute or supplement this entertainment with gaming.
A 2014 study showed that even a simple game like Super
Mario has visible impact on brain plasticity
(flexibility). Another piece of research covered by

Forbes shows the same. Actively engage your brain where

you can, instead of letting it slumber passively.
9. Read a book instead of watching tv
Similar to playing games instead of watching tv, reading a
book is an active exercise for the brain. Where watching
video entertainment is a passive consumption of
information, reading a book requires your brain to
actively construct mental images of what you are reading.
10. Do some programming
Programming is a great way to learn to think logically and
in patterns. Coding used to be hard to learn but with free
websites like Codeacademy and free/paid platforms like
Udemy it is easy and fun to learn. Consider it the next
level of puzzles. As an added advantage learning to code
in your free time increases your employability in the job
market.
11. Watch TED talks while cooking
Preparing dinner is a great time to catch up on some
cutting edge developments in Technology, Education and
Design ( ted.com ). It turns what would otherwise be
downtime into a fascinating and stimulating block of
time. Its like watching the news, only you are watching
the worlds most inspiring individuals talk about their
work.
12. Do some simple exercises during the day
The body and the mind are strongly connected. Physical
fitness helps the brain function well. You dont however
have to go to the gym every day to benefit from this
(though you can of course). Doing some push-ups
throughout the day and walking or skipping up some
stairs has a great impact already. Try to do something
physical every hour or so, even if its just getting up,
stretching a little and tensing all your muscles as hard as
you can for 5-10 seconds.
13. Spend time with someone smarter than you
Habits are socially contagious. It is a well known fact in
science that obesity for example spreads through social
networks (link to research ). The habits and thinking
patterns of those you spend time with rub off on
you. Expose yourself to people who are smarter than you
in order to benefit from them.
14. Talk to people who disagree with you
Get into (friendly) discussions with people who disagree
with you on any topic. Arguing with them allows you to
either:
Sharpen your arguments
Be convinced that you are wrong
In both cases you win. In the first you convince the other
person by out reasoning them, and I the second false logic
you previously had is not eliminated.

15. Go for a walk in nature

Walking through nature has a number of benefits:
There is more oxygen since plants produce it
The human mind calms down when surrounded by plants
Walking helps your blood circulation
Having a walk in a park at lunch time can greatly help you
work smartly for the rest of the day.
16. Carry a notepad
Great minds like Leonardo Da Vinci always carries a
notepad. They used it to jot down ideas, sketches and
questions they had for later review. Having a little book
on you and writing down interesting things can greatly
help you train your curiosity and logical thinking.
17. Take 10 minutes at the end of the day to plan
tomorrow
By planning tomorrow the day before you begin the day
with a plan. This allows you to work much more
productively. Many people are busy all day, but not
actually productive. A great part of being smart is
knowing that hard work is inferior to smart work. Pick
your battles in advance.