10 Key Ways to Develop Your Mind
It’s often said that the mind is a terrible thing to waste and that very well may be true. But how exactly does one go about the process of keeping the mind sharp? It may seem complex, but there are a host of tasks and actions that are relatively easy to implement that can help develop the mind so that it is constantly growing and developing.
1. Train Your Brain
Just as the physical body needs to be worked out in order for muscles to grow stronger, the mind is a muscle that must also be worked in order to keep it strong. This means it is important to engage in activities that challenge your brain on a regular basis.
Activities like crossword puzzles and word searches work to strengthen the brain by activating the parts of the brain related to processing and memory, among others. Regularly adding these activities to your routine, even if it’s just 5 minutes a day can boost processing speed, enhance attention, and increase positive intellectual engagement (Ahuja, 2017).
Additionally, as we age, these sorts of activities help to improve our memory and decrease our risk of getting dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
2. Read Regularly
Reading can have huge positive implications on the brain. Reading just 15 minutes a day can have significant implications for our brain health. Evidence suggests that reading works to increase the sections of our brains linked to processing and learning information, as well as spatial navigation. Additionally, reading is linked to improved comprehension, increased vocabulary, and improvement in overall memory (Beers, 2017).
3. Learn a New Language
The challenge of learning a new language provides a massive opportunity for your mind to grow. As it turns out, learning a foreign language enhances brain plasticity as well as increases the capacity of the brain to code information.
Researchers at the Higher School of Economics and the University of Helsinki determined that the more languages a person learned and the earlier the age at which they learned them, the faster the neural network within the brain was able to process newly accumulated data (Kimpaa, 2016).
Additional research out of the University of Edinburgh revealed that learning two or more foreign languages, even if those languages are learned in adulthood, could correlate to the slowing of cognitive decline associated with getting older (Bak et. al., 2014). Thus, learning a new language could offer a lot in terms of improving cognitive functioning and preventing cognitive decline.
4. Learn to Play an Instrument
In the same way that learning a new language poses a unique challenge that actually strengthens the brain, learning to play an instrument offers a similar challenge and similar benefits. Research suggests that learning to play a musical instrument contributes to improved brain development, stimulation of existing tracts in the brain, and the establishment of new neural networks (Nichols, n.d.).
Additionally, The Journal of Neuroscience published a study that looked at the protective effects that playing music has on the mind. The study found that when music is played on an instrument, the waves in our brains rapidly moves in a manner that improves listening and hearing skills.
Such movement worked to demonstrate the ability of the brain to rewire itself when faced with disease or injury which could limit a person’s ability to perform tasks (Ross et. al., 2017). Thus, learning to play an instrument can help the brain strengthen itself to fight against injury or disease that would limit cognitive functioning.
5. Ask Questions & Find Answers
What better way to learn more than to develop curiosity and explore that curiosity? People who ask questions are typically explorers and analyzers. They aren’t content with the basic, surface-level answers they are given.
Rather, they aim to dig deeper and it’s this kind of tenacity that drives people to ask important questions that help them gather more meaningful information. The process of being curious and digging to find answers via research processes stimulates the parts of our brain that deal with data processing, analysis, problem-solving, ad creativity among other areas.
The mere act of wanting to know something and then seeking to find the answer challenges our brains enough to help them grow. So, in this case curiosity doesn’t kill the cat. Rather, curiosity strengthens the brain.
6. Eat Brain-Boosting Foods
Food fuels the body, but it also fuels the mind. Research has shown that a diet rich in many of the foods found in a Mediterranean diet such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, beans, seeds, and olive oil can have positive impacts on brain health.
A study published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in April 2017 found that people who followed a Mediterranean diet seemed to benefit from long-term brain protection by slowing the rate of cognitive decline and improving brain function. Additionally, over a period of 3 years, those on the Mediterranean diet retained more brain volume (Berk et. al., 2017).
A separate study found that nuts specifically strengthened brainwave frequencies linked to cognition, memory, learning, healing and other pertinent brain functions (Berk et. al., 2017). The implications of these studies are that by choosing to eat the proper foods we can aid our brain process for the better and protect our brains from harmful conditions.
7. Work Your Body Out
Physical Fitness is not just for the body, it can also prove to be very beneficial for our minds. Each time we are physically active our heart rate increases, which means blood begins to flow to our brains, and this stimulates the process of new brain cells being created (Ahuja, 2017).
This flow of oxygen to the brain and the creation of new brain cells keep us mentally alert, sharpens our awareness, and even improves our memory. Just 10 minutes of physical activity per day can lead to a positive brain boost.
8. Try Aromatherapy
Essential oils seem like a huge trend as of late, but there are certain oils that can be very beneficial for the mind. Rosemary is known for its link to improved mental clarity and alertness. While peppermint is widely used to reduce mental fatigue and enhance focus (Ahuja, 2017). Oils can be diffused and breathed in or they can be applied to the skin and absorbed in order to reap the benefits.
9. Get the Right Amount of Sleep
Failure to get adequate amounts of sleep can be detrimental to the brain. Thus, regularly sleeping an adequate amount based on age and developmental stage can be truly beneficial for the mind.
According to Internal Medicine doctor, Dr. Adarsh Kumar, from the National Heart Institute sleep is a vital time where the brain solidifies connections between neurons. This process improves our memory and helps us learn more efficiently by assisting us in consolidating and organizing information (Ahuja, 2017). Therefore, getting enough sleep should be something we prioritize in our daily lives.
10. Hang Out With Smart People
The people we spend our time around can influence our minds, either positively or negatively. Researchers studying a group of 715 adolescents and their best friends found that the intelligence of their friends impacted their own intelligence.
Meldrum and colleagues uncovered that having a best friend in middle school who was more intelligent correlated to greater intelligence at the start of high school for themselves (Meldrum et. al. 2018). Thus, it is safe to say that the company we keep goes on to impact the level of intellect we go on to possess.
The smarter the people we surround ourselves with, ultimately through observation and listening, the smarter we ourselves become.
Developing our minds does not have to be daunting. We simply must choose to prioritize the wellness of our brains the same way we choose to prioritize the wellness of our bodies. The process of taking small steps to enhance and protect our minds now will mean reaping huge benefits later down the line when it really counts.
References
Ahuja, A. (2017, August 30). 14 Natural Ways to Improve Brain Power: Train Your Brain. Retrieved from https://food.ndtv.com/health/how-to-increase-brain-power-14-ways-to-train-your-brain-1411593
Bak, T. H., Nissan, J. J., Allerhand, M. M., & Deary, I. J. (2014). Does bilingualism influence cognitive aging? Annals of Neurology, 75(6), 959-963. doi:10.1002/ana.24158
Berk, L., Bains, G., Bradburn, J., Bruhjell, K., Vijayan, N., More, S., … Patel, K. (2017, April 1). Nuts and Brain Health: Nuts Increase EEG Power Spectral Density (μV&[sup2]) for Delta Frequency (1–3Hz) and Gamma Frequency (31–40 Hz) Associated with Deep Meditation, Empathy, Healing, as well as Neural Synchronization, Enhanced Cognitive Processing, Recall, and Memory All Beneficial For Brain Health. Retrieved from https://www.fasebj.org/doi/abs/10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.636.24
Kimppa, L., Kujala, T., & Shtyrov, Y. (2016). Individual language experience modulates rapid formation of cortical memory circuits for novel words. Scientific Reports, 6(1). doi:10.1038/srep30227
Meldrum, Ryan & Kavish, Nicholas & Boutwell, Brian. (2018). On the Longitudinal Association between Peer and Adolescent Intelligence: Can Our Friends Make Us Smarter?. 10.17605/OSF.IO/TVJ9Z.
Nichols, H. (n.d.). 5 ways to improve your mind in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320576.php#12
Ross, B., Barat, M., & Fujioka, T. (2017). Sound-Making Actions Lead to Immediate Plastic Changes of Neuromagnetic Evoked Responses and Induced β-Band Oscillations during Perception. The Journal of Neuroscience, 37(24), 5948-5959. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3613-16.2017
1. Train Your Brain
Just as the physical body needs to be worked out in order for muscles to grow stronger, the mind is a muscle that must also be worked in order to keep it strong. This means it is important to engage in activities that challenge your brain on a regular basis.
Activities like crossword puzzles and word searches work to strengthen the brain by activating the parts of the brain related to processing and memory, among others. Regularly adding these activities to your routine, even if it’s just 5 minutes a day can boost processing speed, enhance attention, and increase positive intellectual engagement (Ahuja, 2017).
Additionally, as we age, these sorts of activities help to improve our memory and decrease our risk of getting dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
2. Read Regularly
Reading can have huge positive implications on the brain. Reading just 15 minutes a day can have significant implications for our brain health. Evidence suggests that reading works to increase the sections of our brains linked to processing and learning information, as well as spatial navigation. Additionally, reading is linked to improved comprehension, increased vocabulary, and improvement in overall memory (Beers, 2017).
3. Learn a New Language
The challenge of learning a new language provides a massive opportunity for your mind to grow. As it turns out, learning a foreign language enhances brain plasticity as well as increases the capacity of the brain to code information.
Researchers at the Higher School of Economics and the University of Helsinki determined that the more languages a person learned and the earlier the age at which they learned them, the faster the neural network within the brain was able to process newly accumulated data (Kimpaa, 2016).
Additional research out of the University of Edinburgh revealed that learning two or more foreign languages, even if those languages are learned in adulthood, could correlate to the slowing of cognitive decline associated with getting older (Bak et. al., 2014). Thus, learning a new language could offer a lot in terms of improving cognitive functioning and preventing cognitive decline.
4. Learn to Play an Instrument
In the same way that learning a new language poses a unique challenge that actually strengthens the brain, learning to play an instrument offers a similar challenge and similar benefits. Research suggests that learning to play a musical instrument contributes to improved brain development, stimulation of existing tracts in the brain, and the establishment of new neural networks (Nichols, n.d.).
Additionally, The Journal of Neuroscience published a study that looked at the protective effects that playing music has on the mind. The study found that when music is played on an instrument, the waves in our brains rapidly moves in a manner that improves listening and hearing skills.
Such movement worked to demonstrate the ability of the brain to rewire itself when faced with disease or injury which could limit a person’s ability to perform tasks (Ross et. al., 2017). Thus, learning to play an instrument can help the brain strengthen itself to fight against injury or disease that would limit cognitive functioning.
5. Ask Questions & Find Answers
What better way to learn more than to develop curiosity and explore that curiosity? People who ask questions are typically explorers and analyzers. They aren’t content with the basic, surface-level answers they are given.
Rather, they aim to dig deeper and it’s this kind of tenacity that drives people to ask important questions that help them gather more meaningful information. The process of being curious and digging to find answers via research processes stimulates the parts of our brain that deal with data processing, analysis, problem-solving, ad creativity among other areas.
The mere act of wanting to know something and then seeking to find the answer challenges our brains enough to help them grow. So, in this case curiosity doesn’t kill the cat. Rather, curiosity strengthens the brain.
6. Eat Brain-Boosting Foods
Food fuels the body, but it also fuels the mind. Research has shown that a diet rich in many of the foods found in a Mediterranean diet such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, beans, seeds, and olive oil can have positive impacts on brain health.
A study published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in April 2017 found that people who followed a Mediterranean diet seemed to benefit from long-term brain protection by slowing the rate of cognitive decline and improving brain function. Additionally, over a period of 3 years, those on the Mediterranean diet retained more brain volume (Berk et. al., 2017).
A separate study found that nuts specifically strengthened brainwave frequencies linked to cognition, memory, learning, healing and other pertinent brain functions (Berk et. al., 2017). The implications of these studies are that by choosing to eat the proper foods we can aid our brain process for the better and protect our brains from harmful conditions.
7. Work Your Body Out
Physical Fitness is not just for the body, it can also prove to be very beneficial for our minds. Each time we are physically active our heart rate increases, which means blood begins to flow to our brains, and this stimulates the process of new brain cells being created (Ahuja, 2017).
This flow of oxygen to the brain and the creation of new brain cells keep us mentally alert, sharpens our awareness, and even improves our memory. Just 10 minutes of physical activity per day can lead to a positive brain boost.
8. Try Aromatherapy
Essential oils seem like a huge trend as of late, but there are certain oils that can be very beneficial for the mind. Rosemary is known for its link to improved mental clarity and alertness. While peppermint is widely used to reduce mental fatigue and enhance focus (Ahuja, 2017). Oils can be diffused and breathed in or they can be applied to the skin and absorbed in order to reap the benefits.
9. Get the Right Amount of Sleep
Failure to get adequate amounts of sleep can be detrimental to the brain. Thus, regularly sleeping an adequate amount based on age and developmental stage can be truly beneficial for the mind.
According to Internal Medicine doctor, Dr. Adarsh Kumar, from the National Heart Institute sleep is a vital time where the brain solidifies connections between neurons. This process improves our memory and helps us learn more efficiently by assisting us in consolidating and organizing information (Ahuja, 2017). Therefore, getting enough sleep should be something we prioritize in our daily lives.
10. Hang Out With Smart People
The people we spend our time around can influence our minds, either positively or negatively. Researchers studying a group of 715 adolescents and their best friends found that the intelligence of their friends impacted their own intelligence.
Meldrum and colleagues uncovered that having a best friend in middle school who was more intelligent correlated to greater intelligence at the start of high school for themselves (Meldrum et. al. 2018). Thus, it is safe to say that the company we keep goes on to impact the level of intellect we go on to possess.
The smarter the people we surround ourselves with, ultimately through observation and listening, the smarter we ourselves become.
Developing our minds does not have to be daunting. We simply must choose to prioritize the wellness of our brains the same way we choose to prioritize the wellness of our bodies. The process of taking small steps to enhance and protect our minds now will mean reaping huge benefits later down the line when it really counts.
References
Ahuja, A. (2017, August 30). 14 Natural Ways to Improve Brain Power: Train Your Brain. Retrieved from https://food.ndtv.com/health/how-to-increase-brain-power-14-ways-to-train-your-brain-1411593
Bak, T. H., Nissan, J. J., Allerhand, M. M., & Deary, I. J. (2014). Does bilingualism influence cognitive aging? Annals of Neurology, 75(6), 959-963. doi:10.1002/ana.24158
Berk, L., Bains, G., Bradburn, J., Bruhjell, K., Vijayan, N., More, S., … Patel, K. (2017, April 1). Nuts and Brain Health: Nuts Increase EEG Power Spectral Density (μV&[sup2]) for Delta Frequency (1–3Hz) and Gamma Frequency (31–40 Hz) Associated with Deep Meditation, Empathy, Healing, as well as Neural Synchronization, Enhanced Cognitive Processing, Recall, and Memory All Beneficial For Brain Health. Retrieved from https://www.fasebj.org/doi/abs/10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.636.24
Kimppa, L., Kujala, T., & Shtyrov, Y. (2016). Individual language experience modulates rapid formation of cortical memory circuits for novel words. Scientific Reports, 6(1). doi:10.1038/srep30227
Meldrum, Ryan & Kavish, Nicholas & Boutwell, Brian. (2018). On the Longitudinal Association between Peer and Adolescent Intelligence: Can Our Friends Make Us Smarter?. 10.17605/OSF.IO/TVJ9Z.
Nichols, H. (n.d.). 5 ways to improve your mind in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320576.php#12
Ross, B., Barat, M., & Fujioka, T. (2017). Sound-Making Actions Lead to Immediate Plastic Changes of Neuromagnetic Evoked Responses and Induced β-Band Oscillations during Perception. The Journal of Neuroscience, 37(24), 5948-5959. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3613-16.2017