Brain power enhancing guides? “Approaches to brain health include a well-balanced diet low in fat, low in cholesterol, and high in antioxidants,” says Robert Bender, MD, section chief of the Geriatric and Memory Center at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. In addition to good nutrition, regular exercise can promote vascular health to help protect brain tissue. Avoiding ruts and boredom is also critical. “The brain wants to learn new things,” says Dr. Bender, noting that some researchers believe that people are more vulnerable to dementia when they pay less attention to the things around them. “When the brain is passive, it has a tendency to atrophy,” he adds, so sedentary and relatively passive activities, such as sitting in front of a TV for hours a day, can be detrimental to brain health over time.

Take in nutrients which are good for your brain. Foods that have antioxidants like vitamin C, E, B, etc. are good for the brain. Consuming almonds and apple juice is also good for sharpening the brain. There is strong indication that education and learning yield positive changes in the brain. If you continue to learn and experiment, your brain continues to grow, whether it is knitting, baking, or computer programming, marketing, etc. Learn something you’ve always wanted to learn, but have never found the time for because of your daily concerns. Absorb a little information slowly each day.

Both cardio and weight-bearing have positive effects on the brain, for learning and memory. It can even help your brain create new cells. Foods that contain nutrients like antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to boost memory and alertness and have other benefits for brain health. Dark chocolate and red wine make this list!

For the most part, this is helpful. Smartphones organize our days, keep us updated on the news, and allow us to communicate with people out of our physical reach. But when it comes to growing and developing our memories, is technology helping or hurting us? Unfortunately, when it comes to your memory, it’s often the latter. Smartphones have been shown to harm the brain’s ability to retain important details, according to one review from Oxford, King’s College London, Harvard, and Western Sydney University. In short, the research says that when people rely on devices to remember things, they often fail to actually learn them. This explains why, despite having visited your favorite restaurant several times, you might still rely on Google maps to get you there. You are not training your memory to recall information. Rather, you are training it to rely on external tools that can do so for you. Find additional info on Neuroscientia.

Speed of Information Processing refers to how quickly a learner can process incoming information. Some scientists consider speed of information processing a central aspect of IQ. Many children with attention problems often are unable to keep up with the lesson plan presented by the teacher. Cognitive Flexibility is the ability to change what you are thinking about, how you are thinking about it and even what you think about it – in other words, the ability to change your mind. Cognitive flexibility is required in multiple ways throughout the school day.