It is everybody’s dream to have a great mental capacity. That is why when you as a student hear a compliment like this girl or this boy is very intelligent, you will look around to see this intelligent person. You cannot help but admire the person. If someone walks up to you then and lets you know he can make you exceptionally intelligent, your attention must be drawn.
There is something that can increase your mental capacity, not just intelligence. It is not by magic. They are just something you may have known but ignored. You may have done it but don’t know its importance.
With the recent developments in imaging modalities, neuroscientists have been able to look deeper into the nature of the human brain. They have understood that the number of synapses in the brain directly affects its cognitive function. For every new thing you learn in life, a new synapse is formed between the millions of cells that make up the brain. Conversely, whenever you leave an aspect of your knowledge, the synapse that was formed deteriorates. This is just a direct consequence of disuse atrophy. Disuse atrophy is a term which means that when any part of the body is not well used, that part is wasted. For example, when a boxer fractures his hand, by the end of six months of healing, his hand won’t look any more like that of a boxer. That is also what happens to any part of the brain that is not put to good use. Looking at the above statements, you can tell that the more the synapses between the nerves of your brain, the better your brain capacity. But then, the synapses and the
number of brain cells all depend on whether you give the brain a chance to produce more cells. Do you give your brain what it needs to live a smooth life? One of them is a good oxygen supply, most people already know this. But many do not know that within 3 minutes of lack of oxygen, irreversible damage has been done to the brain. Lack of oxygen for 10 minutes means death. With the facts in mind, you can figure out the degree of importance of oxygen to the brain.
The second major factor to a healthy brain is the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Brain derived neurotrophic factor is a protein found in the brain which helps in sustaining old neurons and facilitates the development of new ones (neurogenesis). It also helps in sustaining old synapses. All these are done by just a protein. That’s to tell you how important it is. A mouse born without the ability to produce brain derived neurotrophic factor dies after birth. It is very important for long term memory.
This articles hinges on the importance of these two factors and how to utilize them to your own advantage. According to Dr, Majid Fotuhi of the Harvard medical school, one can really grow his brain and increase its size. First and foremost thing one has to do is exercise. Some people believe that exercise is just a waste of time. But I put it to you that exercise is a very important aspect of life. You have to engage in exercise. Exercise increases the lung capacity, strengthens your cardiovascular system, enable you take in more oxygen than before and much more. These reduce the risk of diabetes, stroke, heart attack and others. These disease conditions have the most dangerous effect on the brain. The damages they cause take more time to heal. Also researchers have found that exercise increases brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) synthesis.
A healthy adult is expected to do aerobic exercise for not less than three times a week. In each of the days, you have to spend at least 30 minutes in a stretch. Exercise does not necessarily mean jogging or football only; even swimming, dancing etc can be counted.
Furthermore, a healthy feeding is also very important. Eating fruits and vegetables will to a great extent helps in the production of BDNF. A good supply of vitamin B12 and vitamin D is also important. Though one can get vitamin D from the early morning sun, it is also good to remember the damages that with too much exposure to sun rays. This makes your nutrition a more certain way. Eating junk food like all those baked foods, fried foods, artificial flavors, preservatives, dyes and sugary foods depreciates the efficiency of the brain. They don’t favor the production of BDNF and they increase the chance of diabetes, heart failure and kidney disease. It is recommended that you make fruits and vegetables an important part of your nutrition.
Another noteworthy thing is that the brain is made up of about 75% water. Whenever you are dehydrated, the brain pays for it. Drinking at least 2.5 litres of water in a day helps.
Another most important factor especially for the students is sleep. It is no news that many of the studious students spend less than few hours sleeping. Have you seen or heard of a student who sleeps for just 3 hours most of the time and the remaining 4 hours are used for night reading and studying? Please if you see that person, tell him that he may break down if he continues that way. At least 7 hours of sleep is needed of all healthy adults. If you sleep less than that, your concentration, coordination, memory and mood suffer greatly. Catching enough sleep increases your brain’s efficiency such that 2 hours will be sufficient for you to learn what an individual who deprived himself of sleep will spend at least 3 hours doing. Dr Ben Carson will tell you that this brain can never be overloaded; the difficulty does not come with inputting the information but in retrieving it. When you do not rest the brain enough, it will make a jumble of the information you input. This makes retrieval very difficult.
In conclusion, the brain should be given adequate care. It will help in boosting the brain and reduce the likelihood of suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia at old age. Remember, there is no pain receptor in the brain. The brain cannot tell you that you are hurting it like other parts of the body. But when you wear it down, you will surely pay for it.
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