“The brain is a monstrous, beautiful mess. Its billions of nerve cells — called neurons — lie in a tangled web that displays cognitive powers far exceeding any of the silicon machines we have built to mimic it.”
- William F. Allman
The human brain is able to constantly adapt and rewire itself. Even in old age, it can grow new neurons. Severe mental decline is usually caused by disease, whereas most age-related losses in memory or motor skills simply result from inactivity and a lack of mental exercise and stimulation. In other words, use it or lose it.
Warm up right now with a small change: Until you click out of or close RirianPoject, use your weaker hand to navigate the website. That hesitation and awkwardness is not you “sucking at” something; it’s your brain firing on unfamiliar paths, trying to learn what it does not yet know. The more often you encounter this, the more beneficial the neural exercise. You should strive for this sensation.
The following workout routine features 3 elements: A small change to reinforce mental flexibility, a focus on a perceptive sense to foster the imagination, and a critical thinking tool to apply throughout the day to nourish a healthy skepticism.
MONDAY
Small change: Spell some of those long words backwards.
Sense: Vision
On your break at work, step outside and find something to focus on. Take a tree, for an instance; how many shades of color do you see? How many of these colors can you put a name to? Consider the kinds of associations or metaphors you can make out of it, such as a “family tree” or the “tree of life” found in many religions.Critical thinking tool: The Principled Juror
Subject what you hear or read to intellectual due process. This is possibly the most complex method of critical thinking because it requires more integrity, humility, tolerance of uncertainty, and courage than most of us find easy to summon. Thus, be prepared to admit that you don’t know something, that your experience and intelligence have limits or that a potentially offensive or repulsive notion might have merit.Bonus exercise: Brain Buttons
This exercise helps improve blood flow to the brain to “switch on” the entire brain. The increased blood flow helps improve concentration skills required for reading, writing, etc.Put one hand so that there is as wide a space as possible between the thumb and index finger. Place your index and thumb into the slight indentations below the collar bone on each side of the sternum. Press lightly in a pulsing manner. At the same time put the other hand over the navel area of the stomach. Gently press on these points for about 2 minutes.
TUESDAY
Small change: Brush your teeth with your “wrong” hand.
Sense: Hearing
As different individuals speak to you throughout the day, cue in to the inflections they use to accent certain words or points. Listen to the words they’re stressing and ask yourself why these inflections are being used.Critical thinking tool: Hume’s Razor
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. David Hume wrote, “No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless that testimony be of such a kind that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavors to establish.” In other words, don’t accept amazing claims from anyone unless the evidence they offer up is unimpeachable.Bonus exercise: Cross Crawl
This exercise helps coordinate right and left brain by exercising the information flow between the two hemispheres. It is useful for spelling, writing, listening, reading and comprehension.Stand or sit. Put the right hand across the body to the left knee as you raise it, and then do the same thing for the left hand on the right knee just as if you were marching. Just do this either sitting or standing for about 2 minutes.
WEDNESDAY
Small change: Shower or bathe in the dark.
Sense: Taste
Pick a recipe composed of mostly unfamiliar ingredients and prepare it. Try choosing something that you’ve never tried but have always been curious about. Maybe you’ve never tried a curry dish, but the aroma has appealed to you.Critical thinking tool: The Pragmatic Maxim
To get the meaning of any proposed concept, consider the consequences and results if the concept were true; the grand total of these consequences gives you the full meaning of the concept. This is exceptionally good in putting statistics to the test. Here’s an example: The promoters of the Live Earth concerts claimed they had two billion viewers or nearly 30 percent of the world’s population. Do the math and ask yourself just how plausible this is.Bonus exercise: Hook Ups
This works well for nerves before a test or special event such as making a speech. Any situation which will cause nervousness calls for a few “hook ups” to calm the mind and improve concentration.
Stand or sit. Cross the right leg over the left at the ankles. Take your right wrist and cross it over the left wrist and link up the fingers so that the right wrist is on top. Bend the elbows out and gently turn the fingers in towards the body until they rest on the sternum (breast bone) in the center of the chest. Stay in this position. Keep the ankles crossed and the wrists crossed and then breathe evenly in this position for a few minutes. You will be noticeably calmer after that time.
THURSDAY
Small change: Ditch the calculator and do any and all computations in your head.
Sense: Touch
When getting out of bed or coming home from work, shut your eyes and feel your way around, relying only on the communication between your mind and your hands.Critical thinking tool: The Devil’s Advocate
Defend an opposing viewpoint as a means of testing its legitimacy. Playing the devil’s advocate can help you to overcome some long-held but potentially groundless bias or prejudice. It can also boost your intellectual empathy.Bonus exercise: Quick Counting
Count to 120 out loud in less than a minute. Make sure to articulate the syllables to practice rapid, accurate mind-mouth coordination.
FRIDAY
Small change: Take a different route to work.
Sense: Smell
Pick any hour of the day and for that hour, keep a running count in your head of how many different odors and aromas you come across. Pay attention to the primary element in each, and your response to it.Critical thinking tool: Occam’s Razor
To quote Albert Einstein, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” The simplest explanation for most things is usually the wisest one. Also sometimes referred to as the rule of simplicity, the idea is not to make things any harder or more complicated to understand than is necessary. In other words, try to trim the fat from what you hear in an effort to reach conclusions.Bonus exercise: Alphabet Jumble
Speak the alphabet starting with the letter B and skipping every other letter. Can you do it in less than 10 seconds? now try the alphabet backwards, starting with Z and skipping every other letter. Give yourself 30 seconds for that trickier task.
SATURDAY
Laugh more, and laugh harder.
Scientists tell us that laughter is good for our health; that it releases endorphins and other positively powerful chemicals into our system. We don’t really need scientists to tell us that it feels good to laugh. Laughing helps us reduce stress and break old patterns too. So laughter can be like a “quick-charge” for our brain’s batteries.Get out an old photo album.
Your brain is a memory machine, so give it a chance to work! Spend time with your memories. Let your mind reflect on them and your mind will repay you in positive emotions and new connections from the memories to help you with your current tasks and challenges.Read a book.
Choose from classic literature, science fiction or personal development books and give your brain a boost. Pick up a novel before your next flight or vacation. On top of the cerebral benefits, the escapism that comes from reading can be very relaxing. Reading helps you exercise your cognitive skills and increase your vocabulary. Do it regularly and you’ll be amazed at the information you absorb, which will make you a more interesting conversationalist.
SUNDAY
Refresh your mind with meditation.
When most people think of meditation, they think of deep relaxation. But this ancient practice can do more than just soothe your soul, it may also sharpen your memory. According to a University of Kentucky study, subjects who took a late-afternoon test after meditating for 30 minutes had significantly better scores than those who napped for the same period.Catch some of those Zzzz’s.
Sleep plays a critical role in your physiological function and is vital for your intellectual development. A sleepy person’s brain works harder — and accomplishes less. A study using real-time, state-of-the-art imaging shows that sleep deprivation has dramatic effects on the brain and how well it performs. Memory failure is also a common occurrence for many sleep-deprived individuals. Another study conducted at the University of Luebeck found that creativity and problem solving appear to be directly linked to adequate sleep.
Remember — failing memory and sluggish thinking are not inevitable cohorts of aging. You have the ability to maximize your cognitive skills and enhance your older years.
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October 29, 2007
Veery nice article to stimulate the mind. thought provoking.
I will like to recommend the world’s fastest mental math system from India called Vedic Maths
You can supposedly do difficult calculations in the mind and with ease. Do go through the tutorials on Vedic Maths. The site has lot of resources.
Warm Wishes
October 29, 2007
Good article. As Albert Lowell said:
“There is only one thing that will really train the human mind and that is the voluntary use of the mind by the man himself. You may aid him, you may guide him, you may suggest to him, and, above all else, you may inspire him. But the only thing worth having is that which he gets by his own exertions, and what he gets is in direct proportion to what he puts into it.”
October 30, 2007
[...] Ririan Project ger oss ett träningsprogram för hjärnan. [...]
November 1, 2007
I just love the classics!
November 1, 2007
What a cool concept! Love this post!
November 2, 2007
The daily baisis suggestion are quite helpful .
November 2, 2007
Very interesting blog post! I think that this is a cool schedule and will probably give it a try for awhile to build some more neural connections. Nice planning for each week day!
November 12, 2007
[...] Pimp Your Brain: The Get Smarter Workout at Ririan Project A personal development blog with practical ideas on how to make important changes in your life, both big and small, so you can get your life on track and start living up to your true potential. (tags: brain exercise todo weekendproject) [...]
February 21, 2008
Just like the muscles in our body, if you don’t use them they atrophy.
I used to enjoy playing sudoku, but eventually I got a system going where it became very easy. It’s perfect timing to come across an idea like this to break the redundant thinking patters.
I am going to print this out and give it a try.
Also thanks to Gaurav for the Vedic Math Link, I enjoyed the tutorials, and Drew for the multitude of other mental exercises.
April 16, 2008
WOW! This article impresses me a lot, I’ll do this everyday so that I’ll be smarter and can think faster.
June 3, 2008
im a student with a low thinking mentality, pleace i need a help by all means i want my brain to look active on like others people own.
September 4, 2008
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November 30, 2008
A lot go great tips.. Neurobics are what most of them are, I believe.. Grat post, thanks!