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In winter, our efficiency drops and any brain activity is difficult. It is a fact. So, there is an excellent reason to pump cognitive functions, for example, take care of improving memory. We will do this through work with the body.
If you have already thought about how to improve memory, you know that there are many exercises for its development. For example, technologies for memorizing foreign words. But very often such exercises give good results in the beginning, and then the process slows down again. Why?
Let’s make an analogy with a computer. Imagine that the brain has software (cognitive functions) and the hardware on which it is installed (the nervous system led by the brain). If you are in the business of improving software, then as it grows and develops, you need to improve the hardware. In order to increase the amount of memory, it is necessary not only to develop memorization skills, but also to take care of the health of the brain.
What is brain health?
When I start discussing this topic, I often come across a standard reaction: “Everything is fine with my brain, it is healthy.” We do not feel this organ, it does not hurt, does not ache, does not itch, which means that it is perceived as absolutely healthy. What is it to do with him so that he becomes healthier? Like any organ, the brain needs a good blood supply. And there is literally only one thing we can do to improve its health and function: help it feed better on blood and renew itself. How to improve blood circulation at the muscle level is more or less clear: you pump a muscle, it feeds on blood better and grows. How to “pump” the brain?
Let’s look at the factors that interfere with its quality blood supply. Based on this, it will become clear what steps we can take to improve the functioning of the brain, and hence increase the amount of memory.
1. Breath
In order for the brain to receive the necessary amount of oxygen, it is necessary to breathe correctly. Do you think we all breathe the same way? From the outside it looks like it is. Only people with bronchitis and asthma breathe a little worse. I hasten to please you: we can improve the quality of breathing, even if it seems that we are breathing normally.
The amount of oxygen received depends on how freely the abdominal diaphragm moves and how free, plastic the chest is. Muscle clamps, for example, in the area of the shoulder girdle, can reduce the volume of the tops of the lungs. The clamped diaphragm does not allow, as they say, “to inhale deeply.” Add to this the city air of average quality and you get an oxygen deficiency for good brain function.
What to do?
Master this or that gymnastics aimed at relaxation, and breathe in a new way. Qigong for the spine Sing Shen Juang allows you to literally fashion a breathing, free chest in a new way, and open up new possibilities for free breathing.
2. Blood circulation
Not only must there be oxygen in the blood, it must also be delivered to the brain. That is, the blood circulation should be at the level. How to achieve this? The quality of circulation decreases against the background of total immobility – a sedentary lifestyle. To pump brain functions, in particular, memory, you need to pump your body with cardio exercises.
What to do?
Any cardio that suits your fitness level will do: walking, jogging, cycling, dancing, aerobics – anything that energizes you. In addition, we all know such pleasant ways to improve circulation as massage, bath, osteopathic treatments and much more.
3. The work of the frontal lobes of the brain
This area of the brain is directly related to the quality of memory. Can we somehow “miraculously” influence it? Meditation has been scientifically proven to activate the frontal lobes of the brain. Due to this, with regular practice, cognitive functions and memorization skills increase.
Meditation for every day
Meditation is not a mystical practice of finding meaning, but a technical, understandable work with attention. The goal is to search for inner silence, that is, to stop the internal dialogue (monologue, discussion, and so on).
How to stop it? I propose to master the simplest meditation. It is enough to practice it 3-12 minutes a day to see the results in a month – an improvement in the memory function.
- Sit in a comfortable position. It is advisable to do the exercise while sitting, not lying down, so as not to fall asleep.
- Count your breaths. No need to speed up or slow down breathing, let it flow as usual. If thoughts arise in the process of counting, they must be escorted, like clouds floating across the sky, allowed to go back to where they came from.
- Be sure to set an alarm for 3 minutes to start. This will help to avoid internal questions: “Am I meditating enough already?” As soon as it rings, stop the practice, even if you liked it. Let the desire to continue remain for the next day. The secret of success is not so much its duration as its regularity.
- Be sure to repeat the next day! Gradually, you can increase the time, but just enough so that hunger, the desire to continue is preserved.