5 Easy Brain Hacks To Change Your Life Forever

Have you ever heard of “neuroplasticity”? It means your brain’s abilities aren’t set in stone – they can develop and adapt with practice. Interested in finding out how to rewire your brain?

Here are five easy brain hacks to change your life forever.

1) Play video games

Surprised to hear that video games can expand your brain’s abilities? They usually get a bad rep, but scientific evidence shows that gaming has plenty of benefits. A metastudy published in Brain Sciences found that 3D adventure games boost scene recognition, puzzle games boost problem solving, and rhythm games boost visuospatial memory. In general, all video games improve motor coordination, reaction time, and decision-making skills. Of course, these benefits only come from healthy amounts of gaming – please don’t get too carried away!

2) Breathe deeply

Feeling stressed? Put one hand on your chest, one hand on your belly, and take a deep breath in through your nose. Purse your lips, slowly breathe out through your mouth and feel the sensation on your hands. Repeat as many times as necessary. Feeling better now? Deep breathing exercises gently reset the vagus nerve, reduce stress and improve health. Over time, deep breathing can rewire the brain to moderate the intensity of the fight-or-flight response.

3) Express gratitude

What are you thankful for? Fill in the blanks after me: I am grateful for my family because… [fill in the blank]. Something good that happened to me this week was… [fill in the blank]. I am grateful for who I am because… [fill in the blank]. A literature review by the University of Bolton shows that focusing on the positive circumstances and positive people in your life can have immense benefits on the well-being of your brain. The studies found that people who repeatedly practice gratitude have more gray matter in the areas related to social intelligence, altruism, optimism and motivation. The more often they practiced gratitude, the stronger their brain became.

4) Make some music

Have you ever felt more active after a vigorous jam session? It’s not just you. Researchers from the Federal University of Minas Gerais compared the brains of musicians and non-musicians and the results were astonishing. The musicians had significantly enhanced audio perception, visual perception, focus, attention, memory and motor coordination. The benefits of musical training even extend to the long-term as it can slow down cognitive decline in old age.

5) Doodle

Have you ever felt more focused and relaxed while doodling? Expressing your visual creativity has many mental benefits. A joint study by Dartmouth University and Beijing Normal University found that the frontal white matter of art students reorganized as they practiced, which enhanced their creative abilities even more. But you don’t need to be an art student to reap these benefits. Even simple doodling can improve imagination, focus, memory and confidence.

So there you have it, five easy brain hacks to change your life forever.

Do you think you can try any of the tips mentioned in the article? Let us know in the comments below. And don’t forget to like and share this article if you think it will help someone else. The studies and references used are listed in the description below. 

References:

  • Aquino, V. F. B. (2013). The effects of doodling on the academic and artistic learning of K-12 students (Doctoral dissertation, The University of the Arts).
  • Brilliant T, D., Nouchi, R., & Kawashima, R. (2019). Does video gaming have impacts on the brain: Evidence from a systematic review. Brain Sciences, 9(10), 251.
  • Choy, L. (2017). Neuroplasticity and mental wellness: Our path forward. Mental wellness white paper. Global Wellness Institute, 18-29.
  • Fang, R., Ye, S., Huangfu, J., & Calimag, D. P. (2017). Music therapy is a potential intervention for cognition of Alzheimer’s Disease: a mini-review. Translational neurodegeneration, 6(1), 1-8.
  • Macfarlane, J. (2020). Positive psychology: gratitude and its role within mental health nursing. British Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 9(1), 19-30.
  • Penzenstadler, B., Torkar, R., & Montes, C. M. (2021). Take a deep breath. Benefits of neuroplasticity practices for software developers and computer workers in a family of experiments. arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.07285.
  • Rodrigues, A. C., Loureiro, M. A., & Caramelli, P. (2010). Musical training, neuroplasticity and cognition. Dementia & neuropsychologia, 4(4), 277–286. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1980-57642010DN40400005
  • Sanju, H. K. (2015). Neuroplastic changes in musician’s brain: A review. Advanced Arab Academy of Audio-Vestibulogy Journal, 2(2), 43.
  • Schlegel, A., Alexander, P., Fogelson, S. V., Li, X., Lu, Z., Kohler, P. J., … & Meng, M. (2015). The artist emerges: Visual art learning alters neural structure and function. NeuroImage, 105, 440-451.
  • Sundararaman, D. (2020). Doodle away: Exploring the effects of doodling on recall ability of high school students. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 12(2), 31-44.

Related Articles

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment may take some time to appear.