Brain training: Four daily habits that boost brain health

Having a shower can change how you think. But there’s one technique you must try among four others to improve your overall wellbeing.

Brain training has always been important for boosting intelligence, mood and physical brain health, but the Covid-19 pandemic is making it more vital than ever.

Professor of neuroscience Selena Bartlett says stress has a significant impact on brain health.

“Because of Covid, there is uncertainty and lack of planning and everything getting thrown up in the air at a moment’s notice and it is really stressful for the brain so that’s another reason we need to do it,” she says.

Bartlett, who has a background in pharmacy and is host of the Thriving Minds podcast, says brain training is not just about becoming more intelligent

“The brain drives our capacity to be happy, healthy and strong and it’s what we are doing every day that is driving that,” she says.

“It’s not just about intelligence and learning at school but also improving the overall health of the brain – the inside and physical part of the brain.

Selena Bartlett says brain training is not just about intelligence. Picture: Brad Fleet

New technologies developed in the past five to 10 years are allowing scientists to better see the insides of brains and Bartlett predicts this will lead to a future in which brain checks at the doctor become as common as cholesterol checks.

“When you go to the gym and you can see your arm in the mirror when moving weights and the muscle in your arm is getting stronger,” she says.

“We haven’t been able to do that for the brain – until now.”

EASY WAYS TO TRAIN YOUR BRAIN

1 improve your morning routine

Bartlett suggests getting in the habit of looking out the window as soon as you open your eyes in the morning.

Next, think about three things you are grateful for.

“It’s probably one of the most important things people can do,” she says.

“This is better than grabbing a phone and scanning Covid cases or other stressful things.

“From a brain perspective, whatever you put your attention to is what goes into a brain and if it’s a negative thing, the brain latches on at 10 times the speed of the positive.”

2 Have cold showers

If a full shower without hot water is too daunting, Bartlett suggests starting with just five seconds at the end with cold water on the back of your neck.

You can build up your time each day.

“It basically retrains the bottom part of your brain, the brain stem,” she says.

“It will stop the brain from over thinking and promote positive neurochemicals.

“You see that you can do this and you want to do it for longer. It is training your brain.”

3 Harness the power of mirror neurons

The mirror neuron system is a group of neurons in the brain that “mirrors” the actions and behaviour of others.

Bartlett says people can use this knowledge, along with their voice and body posture, to have difficult conversations or guide others in a better direction.

“The people they are trying to influence will try to mirror their body posture in response,” she says.

“Neuroscience has fundamentally changed our understanding of not only how the brain works but also behaviour.”

Donna McGeorge uses puzzles and crosswords to keep her brain sharp. Picture: David Swift

4 Do puzzles

Bartlett says cognitive training exercises – which can come in the form of puzzles and memory games – can also be used to train your brain.

“They can train memory but also improve the physicality of the front part of the brain, which then helps you do other tasks more easily,” she says.

Melbourne’s Donna McGeorge has been doing crosswords and Sodoku puzzles for years – mainly for the enjoyment, but also to exercise her brain.

“I like the challenge but I do it for scientific reasons as well, because it’s good for neuroplasticity,” she says.

“I believe it keeps me sharper and the more I do stuff like that, the less prone I might be to brain disorders later in life.”

McGeorge, who is a workplace coach and author of productivity advice book The 1 Day Refund, says she also uses puzzles to give her brain a break.

“I find the single point of focus when doing a crossword or Sodoku quietens things down and creates some thinking space and lets the brain have a reboot,” she says.