Out of all the brainwave patterns, beta brainwaves are most commonly found in awake individuals. They are the fastest brainwave pattern, ranging from 12 Hz to Hz to 38 Hz - [anything beyond 38 Hz is usually classified as the gamma brainwave rhythm]. The left-hemisphere of our brains, involved with the production of beta brainwaves, has been linked to conscious thought and being “fully awake.” Virtually all individuals besides children, and people with A.D.D., are in beta brainwave states upon awakening.

Why do you need beta brainwaves?

Beta brainwaves are what is used by your brain to help you function in society. If you were without any beta brainwaves, you would be unable to function while you are awake. You would basically be an awake, “brain-dead zombie.” As you are reading this article, your brain is generating beta brainwaves. Activities such as: reading, writing, calculations, and work which involves thinking, all require your brain to amp up the production of beta brainwaves.

Other things such as: reasoning, alertness, logical thinking, and critical thinking are all linked to the production of beta brainwaves. Your brain also uses beta brainwaves to memorize things, plan, think deeply, interpret data, and to organize things [including your thoughts].

The older you are, the more beta brainwaves you’ll have.

Beta brainwaves are very common in adults in comparison to children. Therefore, beta brainwaves are considered to be a “grown up” type of brainwave. Scientists have long understood that most children spend most of their waking hours in theta and alpha brainwave states. Researchers have also understood that as children get older and learn to be more “mature” or “grown up,” the amount of their beta brainwaves increase. With very few exceptions, most brains of adults commonly generate lots of the beta rhythm.

Usually, beta brainwaves increase in children when they begin going to school. This makes perfect sense, due to the conscious, left-brain promotion at schools. You are taught to be highly logical and creativity usually isn’t rewarded - except in art or music classes. All of the activities that children do such as: solve math problems, write papers, read books, all increase the production of beta brainwaves and allow the alpha and theta rhythms to slowly dwindle. Nearly every skill that kids learn at school: memorization, planning, logical thinking, and the interpretation of information do a great job at enhancing and promoting the production of beta brainwaves.

Memorization: Beta Brainwaves vs. Alpha Brainwaves

The act of memorizing facts and data is a very different memorization process compared to when an individual is in an alpha brainwaves state. Therefore, I thought it would be helpful to give you a general overview of memorization in both the alpha brainwaves and the beta brainwaves. The most common way for most individuals to memorize something is via “rote learning.” In fact, the whole education system in the United States [and most other countries] is based on “rote-learning.”

Can you remember back to when you were a small child? If you can, think back to when you began to learn multiplication math tables. Likely, you repeated the tables over-and-over again until they were finally embedded into your brain. You probably wrote or vocally repeated the entire multiplication table until it was finally ingrained into your memory.

What’s happening here is that you’re forcing information down your conscious, left-brain and after constant repetition, that information gets transferred to your subconscious. With that said, you are only able to store information into your subconscious mind if you are able to produce alpha brainwave rhythms, not beta brainwaves.

So, by using “rote-learning” for memorizing the multiplication table is like breaking down your front door (beta brainwaves) to get inside your house instead of just using a key (alpha brainwaves). For this reason, you need to sometimes “beat yourself up,” or spend countless hours with “repetition” before you finally memorize the complete multiplication table. This is why most adults can usually benefit greatly from some extra alpha brainwave production.

The memorization process while you are already in the alpha brainwave state is a completely different experience. Memorizing in alpha, as you may have already guessed, is much easier than shoving information down through your beta brainwaves. Memorizing in beta is like choking down food that you don’t like when eating dinner. Memorizing in an alpha state much more natural. It is like eating a food you really like - it goes down smooth and is easy to retain. This is why affirmations are so much more effective when you are in an alpha or a theta brainwaves state - they are easily implanted into the subconscious brain. In the alpha brainwave state, there’s absolutely no need for “rote-learning;” or constant repetition to memorize.

Next time you are trying to memorize something, try it in the alpha brainwave state

The next time that you have something you need to memorize or learn, slow down your brainwave rhythm from beta to the alpha rhythm. If you’re like most people, you’ll realize that the memorization process takes much less time, is a lot easier, and feels completely natural - because you eliminate the need of constant “cramming” or repetition.

If you are looking for more information on how to increase your alpha brainwaves, I recommend reading my article: “Understanding The Alpha Brainwave,” in which I provide some examples. Another phenomenal and quick way to increase the production of your alpha brainwaves is to utilize the technology of brainwave entrainment. I recommend Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional, due to the high rate of success that many people [including myself] have experienced with the software.

Slower brainwaves linked to being “down to Earth”

Another interesting fact is that individuals who feel connected to nature and are “down to Earth,” usually have slower brainwave patterns in the alpha, and sometimes even the theta brainwave ranges. These “down to Earth” people actually have brainwaves that are much closer to children than most other adults. And this does not reflect their maturity level, it just resembles that they actually show the exact same type of appreciation for nature as children.

The main problem with most highly-mature individuals or adults is that they actually generate too much beta brainwaves in relation to alpha and theta brainwave rhythms. This is why they don’t feel the same energy and youthfulness that many hope to recreate in their lives. It’s funny because recreating this state can be relatively easy with brainwave entrainment or via practicing meditation.

Ever feel stressed out? Blame High-Beta brainwaves

Higher beta brainwaves usually above 18 Hz can result in feelings of: tenseness, anxiety, stress, and nervousness. When your brainwave levels increase above 30 Hz, they’ll interfere with your ability to think clearly and effectively process, and understand your own thoughts. I have personally experienced stress to such a high-degree in the past, that I literally felt as if I had little control over my life due to the constant rapid generation of completely random - sometimes unwanted - thoughts.

High-beta brainwaves and random, stressful thoughts

When your brainwave levels climb the charts, up to the high beta brain wave frequencies, neurons (brain cells) begin firing at random and in an unorganized pattern. This leads to a highly-unfocused, completely disorganized, and confusing state of mind to be in. I can testify for this claim, because I personally have experienced this state. This is another reason that A.D.D. / A.D.H.D. can be experienced in high-beta brainwave states. When your brainwave state remains in high-beta for any extended period of time, you will likely experience a “nervous breakdown.”

Lateralization and high-beta brainwaves

In the majority of people, either the left or right hemisphere is more dominant than the other. This “dominance” by one half of the brain is defined as “brain lateralization.” As your amount of beta brainwaves increase, brainwaves from both sides of your brain can easily get thrown out of sync and “brain lateralization” can be significantly affected.

Slower brainwaves and neural communication

When you allow your brainwave patterns to slow down to the alpha and theta ranges, their is usually much more brain synchronization and communication amongst your neurons. The neurons in your brain begin to efficiently communicate and fire in a healthy, pattern. They aren’t firing at random like they do when you’re in a stressful state of mind.

Say goodbye to all stress and worries

When you do in fact manage to shift down to a theta or alpha brainwaves state, you’ll feel peaceful, calm, refreshed, and natural. Most things that stressed you out in the beta brainwave state may not even bother you anymore. There’s really not many worrisome-type thoughts that ever surface when you’re in an alpha brainwave state.

Are your thoughts becoming a nuisance or self-defeating?

Are you ever excited about beginning a difficult, challenging project? Well, have you ever heard a self-defeating or negative little voice from within that emerges with rapid thoughts telling you that you can’t do it? It’s almost like a voice trained to attack our dreams or any big goals that we have. It may even begin asking questions like: “Do you really think you can do it?” “Isn’t that task a little bit too tough for you?” “How are you possibly going to do that?” All of those questions are asked with hopes that you’ll give in to that little [annoying] voice inside your head and quit your project.

High-beta brainwaves throw away dreams

When you allow your mind to “give in” to this little pestering voice, you actually can talk yourself out of rewarding tasks before you even start! This is terrible. Before long, if you allow this voice to control your life, you satisfy for much less than you know you are capable of doing and accomplishing in this lifetime. Giving in to this voice is like throwing all of your aspirations and dreams out the window and settling for mediocrity. This is incredibly depressing and self-defeating.

High-beta brainwaves make you “sweat the small stuff”

Sometimes, you need to lay down the law and get that voice to shut up! First of all, realize that the bothersome voice is due to an increase of high-beta brainwaves. It’s not really a state you want to be in for any extended period of time. When you allow high-beta brainwaves to overtake your mind, it goes into a rapid-thinking “overdrive” brainwave state. This high-beta brainwave state will make you think deeply about little. Basically, these brainwaves make you “sweat the small stuff.”

Reliving the past or fearing the future

In most cases, high-beta brainwaves cause individuals to either: remember negative events or experiences in the past OR imagine a scary, fearful-type future. This obviously, easily creates states of high-anxiety, self-doubt, and negativity. If you’re like most people, you don’t want to experience depression or anxiety… So, all you really need to do is slow down your high brainwave patterns.

Insomnia and beta brainwaves

Have you ever laid down on your bed with expectations to fall asleep, but you never were able to fall completely asleep? You end up spending most of the nighttime hours tossing, turning, and feel like you need to “try harder” in order to fall asleep. Your body may even be physically tired, but for some frustrating reason, you can’t seem to quiet down your brain. Thoughts flood your mind and no matter what you do, your brain cannot seem to access the lower states of theta and delta brain waves that allow you to sleep.

Missing alpha brainwaves is like driving stick-shift without a gear

This is due to the fact that most people’s brains shift from beta down to the slower alpha brainwaves right before falling asleep. And shorty after accessing alpha, they fall into a deep theta or delta brainwave state of sleep. When your brain is in a prolonged state of high-beta, alpha brainwave production is significantly hindered or diminished.

Because of this, your brain has a difficult time shifting to alpha before sleep and when you finally are able to fall asleep - you inefficiently shift from beta to theta or delta - while skipping alpha. Think of it like driving a stick-shift [manual] vehicle with 3rd gear missing. You need to shift your brainwaves from 4th gear down to 1st, but 3rd is missing. You can bet that you will experience some difficulty and problems like insomnia.

A personal experience with insomnia

I used to have a lot of difficulty dealing with insomnia. I would be thinking about my future, past experiences, stressful experiences, the health of others, my personal health, etc. My brain was flooded with rapid, uncontrollable thoughts that really hurt the quality of my sleep. As a result of this “rapid thinking,” I often times wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until the early morning hours.

Insomniacs should avoid certain substances

At the time, I was completely unaware of beta brainwaves, and had no idea that shifting my brain to a slower pattern like alpha would significantly help with my insomnia dilemma. It really wasn’t until I began using Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional that I was able to consistently get a healthy night’s sleep. The only interference with slowing brainwaves are substances like caffeine, stimulants, or anything increasing beta brainwaves. Substances like stimulants change your brainwave patterns and make is very difficult to sleep after ingesting them.

“Natural leaders” and decision making

You probably know people who usually make terrible decisions when they are stressed out or in a state of panic. People who are born “natural leaders” are almost always able to think clearly, stay calm, cool, and collected even when faced with scary, frustrating, or panic-type events and situations. This is why they are “natural leaders,” they are able to react in a calm manner to any situation - no matter how stressful.

Why beta brainwaves are healthy

With all of the unhealthy effects surrounding “high-beta brainwaves,” it is not at all surprising to me that many individuals come to believe that all “beta brainwaves” are terrible and that other brainwave patterns are always better. However, this could not be further from the truth! There are tons of benefits to having a healthy production of beta brainwaves.

Though high-beta brainwaves are far from optimal, regular (low to medium) beta brainwaves are healthy. Beta brainwaves are the best brainwaves for concentration, critical-thinking, scheduling, planning, and for the interpretation of data. And our entire education system involves learning how to do most tasks in beta brainwave states. Most business operations and companies are carried out by using the logical beta-brainwaves.

With that said, it can be very difficult for some individuals to eliminate stress and quiet their “inner self-defeating voice” - especially when you’ve had negative thought patterns for an extended period of time. The most effective way to slow those high-beta brainwave patterns that’s worked great for me is Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional in combination with activities like meditation, self-hypnosis, and other positive lifestyle changes such as: eating good “brain foods.”

Other than the mentioned activities, there are some great techniques that you can use to help you relax that I’ve written in my article 20 Ways To Murder Stress: Killer Relaxation Tips. So, next time you notice that you’re getting stressed out, you should be able to relax knowing that there are so many solutions towards reducing your high-beta brainwaves to slower, more relaxing ones. You’ll feel great, healthy, and have the necessary technique to remain calm, cool, and collected in even the most intense situations. This control over your beta brainwaves gives you full control over your reality and actually boosts your brain power to make coping with stress much easier.

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I’ve recently been doing an experiment with brainwave entrainment. I started the experiment several days ago and am entraining the left hemisphere of my brain with an 18 Hz beta brainwave frequency. Thus far, my progress has been great and I’m definitely noticing changes. In this article I will discuss the specifications regarding my current brainwave entrainment / life experiment. To create my 18 Hz frequency I used the program Neuro Programmer 2 Professional, which is featured in my recommended products section.

What side-effects are commonly associated with entraining the 18 Hz beta brainwave frequency?

• Outward awareness and sensory processing - The focus of my awareness is supposed to shift from focus on more internal matters to more external matters. For example - my focus may have been more on my emotions and internal feelings rather than on someone else’s. Another example: my focus could’ve been locked on what was going on inside my body rather than the people around me.

• Throws brain’s sodium / potassium levels out of balance - The 18 Hz beta brainwave frequency has been associated with throwing the brain’s sodium and potassium levels out of balance. I don’t exactly know to what degree, but I know that after awhile, it cannot be too healthy. I am also only stimulating my left-hemisphere which may lessen the degree of a sodium / potassium imbalance.

• Mental fatigue - Staying in the 18 Hz beta brainwave frequency for too long can obviously cause mental fatigue. Basically, you end up thinking too much and actually ‘overworking’ your brain. Think of it as you running a mile: sprinting the first 2 laps around the track will probably leave you dead tired for the final 2 laps. Your brain is the same way… Think of 18 Hz as a pretty fast jog for your brain (a speed to fast to run the entire mile at). If you stay in this state too long, you can actually become mentally fatigued. I have yet to experience any yet, but I have only begun the entrainment process.

• Relaxed body / focused mind state of awareness - For certain individuals, the 18 Hz brainwave frequency can allow them to retain a relaxed body + concentration-type state at the exact same time. This is a cool state of consciousness to achieve because the body feels good and the brain is still able to perform all the demanding functions within the beta brainwave state.

• Fully awake / some stress / anxiety - 18 Hz beta brainwaves are associated with being fully awake, fully conscious thinking. Think of it as the exact opposite of brain fog: crystal clear concentration. With that said, this crystal clear thinking and focus can cause stress and anxiety after awhile. Sometimes, when individuals are in this 18 Hz state for too long, they can experience stress or anxiety. As a matter of fact, some people who have anxiety disorders and stress problems are often in too high of beta brainwave states like 18 Hz and would be recommended to entrain the alpha brainwave.

• Memory improvements - It is not a surprise that memory improvements are associated with the 18 Hz beta brainwave because conscious thinking is associated with the recollection of past memories. The beta brainwave state is great for recalling old memories and improving your overall cognition. Your brainwaves are cycling quicker and bring your consciousness more information (from more thoughts) than slower brainwave states.

• Reading speed, speaking, and spelling improvements - Beta brainwaves are associated with the left-hemisphere of the brain (that is where they are largely produced). Because the left hemisphere is associated with thinking, memory, speaking, and spelling, it is no wonder that 18 Hz will do the trick to improve your overall critical thinking and working skills.

• Math improvements / less hypearactivity - Math is another subject that is associated with the left, logical side of the brain. Math improvements are very common when someone is stimulated with the beta brainwave. In fact, 18 Hz has been specifically linked to improvements in mathematics. Also, less overall hyperactivity (in most cases) will be experienced. 18 Hz has been long associated with quieting and / or eliminating the symptoms experienced by most individuals with ADD / ADHD.

What I am hoping to get out of this experiment:

Increases in overall energy levels

I am hoping that the 18 Hz frequency will give me an energy boost (especially in the mornings). I usually feel sluggish in the mornings and don’t want to get up. I remember when I used to be in a high-beta brainwave state I could just jump out of bed and feel excited and ready for the day. I want to experience a little boost in the mornings without drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages. The beta brainwave range should to a great job getting me up and keeping me up in the morning without forcing me to ingest any (potentially harmful) substances.

Improvements in concentration + focus

Though I think that I could concentrate fine before I began the experiment, I have noticed improvements. All I would like is to improve my concentration and focus levels. Improving my concentration allows me to blog more efficiently and stay focused on certain activities. I am able to exercise more efficiently and get tasks done quicker in a smaller period of time; a natural productivity booster.

Increased overall excitement and motivation

If there is one thing that you’ll really feel from beta brainwave entrainment it’s excitement. Every time I get into the mid to high beta brainwave range, I feel excited. Not about anything in particular, just life, the day, or events coming up. Sometimes the excitement is accompanied by anxiety or stress, but it feels really good. It’s similar to the jolt of energy you get when you feel nervous about something (i.e. before skydiving, bungee jumping, a roller coaster, etc.) - except it feels good. This increase in excitement is associated with a more positive mood, and feeling more motivated.

Less negative emotions and negative thinking

Since beta brainwaves are largely associated with the left-hemisphere of the brain, they tend to make an individual less ‘emotional,’ more rational, and more likely to think-before-doing. Usually people in these states are energetic, thoughtful, respectful, and quick-witted. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the ADD / ADHD individuals and people struggling with depression.

These people are usually very emotional and are usually in a theta brainwave state of consciousness. The remedy for lessening the havoc that can be caused by too many theta brainwaves is to stimulate the brain with beta brainwaves. Beta brainwave entrainment will naturally lessen the overall amount of theta brainwaves and make you feel less impulsive, more in-control, and more conscious. You will also probably think more positively. Think of them as natural anti-depressants.

Increased logical thinking

If you currently struggle with illogical thinking or random thoughts that don’t make much sense, beta brainwaves may be in order. They are derived and primarily produced by the left-hemisphere of the brain. The left-hemisphere regulates logical thinking, whereas the right-hemisphere is associated with intuition, emotions, and less logical thoughts. Slower brainwaves are produced by the right-hemisphere. If you’d like to experience logical thinking or feel that you do not think in a logical enough thought-pattern, try some beta brainwave entrainment.

How am I stimulating the left-hemisphere only?

I can stimulate the left-hemisphere of my brain at an 18 Hz brainwave frequency by using an isochronic tone. I first create a customized 18 Hz brainwave entrainment session in my program Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional. Next, I usually upload the session to my iPod and play it with “earbud”-type headphones. Next, I remove the “left earbud” and keep the right earbud in my right ear. I then only hear the isochronic tone at 18 Hz through my right ear.

The right ear is associated with stimulating the left-hemisphere of the brain and vice-versa (left-hemisphere stimulation = increased right hemisphere activity). I typically have my eyes open throughout the entire 18 Hz beta brainwave session. Closing my eyes would likely reduce the effectiveness of this session due to the fact that closed-eyes are associated with producing slower alpha and theta rhythms. Slower rhythms would interfere (at least slightly) with the beta brainwave entrainment.

Why did I choose to entrain only the left-hemisphere of the brain?

I currently don’t want to have a synchronized brainwave state. I want to experiment and see how I feel with a very active left-hemisphere. I also think that synchronized brainwaves can lead to problems or even change the desired result. For example, in certain cases, when high-beta brainwaves become synchronized, they actually boost theta / alpha brainwaves later (after the entrainment process).

So the desired result of more beta actually brings forth a production of extra theta brainwaves. I don’t want to run the risk of something going wrong so I used some logic. Since beta-brainwaves are associated with the left-hemisphere and logical thinking it couldn’t hurt to only stimulate the left-hemisphere. Sure my left-hemisphere will become more active, more powerful, and the frequency of the brainwaves will gradually shift towards an 18 Hz pattern, but that doesn’t mean my right hemisphere will become underactive either; it will still be doing it’s job.

How has it been so far? What changes have I noticed?

So far, my experience with entraining 18 Hz in my left-hemisphere has been great. I started 3 days ago and entrain for around 25 minutes each ’session.’ I have been noticing gradual changes in my state of consciousness (i.e. my desires, music taste (fast tempo vs. slow), desires, appealing activities, etc. I have definitely been noticing changes in my personality and I feel like brainwave entrainment gives me control to manipulate reality and experiment with different states of consciousness in order to “do whatever I desire” in my lifetime.

The changes that I’ve noticed thus far:

Increased focus level

I have already noticed that I am more focused in both conversation and while working than I was before starting the experiment. It hasn’t been a huge shift in concentration, because I could focus fine before. It’s just that my focus has increased since beginning the experiment. It makes perfect sense that it would too. Beta brainwaves are associated with some of the most focused states of consciousness.

Increased energy levels

I have noticed increased energy in the morning and throughout the mid-afternoon than previously. I feel like my brain is literally creating more energy for me to work with. I am not amped up like I drank a red-bull, but feel like I can stay awake easily throughout the entire day until I fall asleep at night.

Slight anxiety + nervous

Though I haven’t noticed a lot of anxiety, I have noticed some. Since I have dealt with it in the past, the anxiety is not crippling nor preventing me from doing any activity that I’d normally do. If I feel nervous, I understand that it’s from the 18 Hz frequency entrainment and actually feel great about it. I know that I am just experimenting with my brainwaves and learning what the various brainwave states feel like. I also understand that I can always fall back on a lower frequency and I’ll calm down quickly.

More overall thinking + more aware

I have also noticed that I am thinking more than before. I consciously notice myself thinking at a much faster rate than before. I also noticed that I am more aware of everything going on in my environment. Things that I may have previously never thought about I now think about. I know that beta brainwaves can cause an individual to think deeply about very little, which isn’t always good.

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Note: If you enjoy this article, consider reading 5 Ways Of Enhancing Brain Power [Part 1].

No matter how high your current I.Q. or level of education, there are still tons of great things that you can do to boost your brain power!  Boosting your brain power doesn’t always deal with reading books or hanging out with scientists on a daily basis!  There are many great methods that you can use to improve your brain’s overall level of cognition.  The following 5 methods included in this article will definitely help you flex your neural connections a bit and allow you to build a better brain!  In follow-up to the first part of this series (posted above), are 5 more great ways of enhancing your brain power!

1. Take Control Of Your Thoughts (Neurofeedback)

Taking control of your thought-patterns is much easier than most people imagine!

Though the concept of Neurofeedback sounds slightly New-Agey, there is a method of thought-control that you can use to actually boost your brain power! Most people that use it don’t have any idea as to how it works, but definitely are able to testify that it is highly-effective. It is not exactly a method of relaxation or meditation, though you can use it to help yourself relax! What is it? It’s called neurofeedback, and it is slowly gaining credibility in the field of psychology and scientific community.

Neurofeedback stemmed from the practice of Biofeedback and the terms are often used synonymously. Neurofeedback works by showing people (giving them feedback) of real-time measures of things like: brainwaves, heart rate, skin temperature, etc. and encourages them to take conscious control over it. The amazing part of this practice is that though people don’t think it will work initially, walk away with astonishing results proving that they were able to do it!

Neurofeedback has recently gained popularity in neuroscience and psychology to help patients boost their brain power and recover from diseases and disorders like anxiety or ADHD. The very first attempts of neurofeedback were done to increase the amount of alpha brainwaves (associated with a calm, relaxing mental state) displayed in an individual’s E.E.G. So far, researchers and neurofeedback practitioners have had much success with treating things like ADD and ADHD. They have also found plenty of scientific evidence that proves its effectiveness! It also has been effective in treating certain cases of depression, anxiety, stroke, brain injuries, and epilepsy.

Some experimenters have even used brain scanners that allow individuals to see and control brainwave activity in specific parts of their brain! This is an amazing advancement, in my opinion! What about for people that don’t have a brainwave problem? Can neurofeedback be effective for boosting the brain power of an ordinary, average guy? Definitely. Neurofeedback has been proven to improve memory and levels of calmness before exams in many average people.

It has also been effective at improving technique in dancers and musicians. With this said, virtually anyone can benefit from the practice. There is also evidence that the practice of neurofeedback can boost our confidence, levels of creativity, enhance our sexual performance, lift depression, balance brain activity, improve relaxation, and change personality traits. All of this improvement just through the act of controlling out thoughts!

2. Pay Closer Attention (Cut Distractions)

No matter your level of genius, creativity, or common sense, none of it matters unless your mind paying attention!

Paying attention is a fairly complex brain function that allows us to focus on details or see the “big picture.” Though there is no single best way to improve concentration, there are many things you can do to improve it! The first way to enhance your concentration is to increase your level of arousal. When you are in a highly-focused, beta brainwave state, your level of arousal is much higher than usual. The brain’s concentration-state of mind is controlled largely by the production of the neurotransmitters: dopamine and noradrenalin. Dopamine induces a “goal-oriented,” pleasurable, yet highly productive state of mind. Noradrenalin induces an vigilant, slightly paranoid state of mind. It is not shocking that doing activities to raise dopamine levels boost our ability to pay attention.

One way to boost our ability to pay attention is by taking drugs like amphetamines (Ritalin, Adderall, etc.) - drugs that treat ADHD. Caffeine also works well to boost our levels of concentration. I personally prefer a drug-free approach due to safety concerns associated with taking drugs. I know (from experience) that these drugs are not the way to go: they are a short term solution to a problem that needs a long term approach.

Another great way to boost your ability to pay attention is to get a good night’s sleep, eat brain foods, and get plenty of exercise! Meditation is also a great practice to incorporate into your lifestyle. Studies have proven meditation’s effectiveness at increasing our ability to pay attention. After you have chosen one of the methods mentioned above to improve your focus, you need to begin cutting distractions. Studies conducted at the workplace discovered that it takes at least 10 minutes to regain a quality state of focus after becoming distracted.

Psychologists highly recommend that you avoid doing work near noisy, annoying, distracting appliances like the dishwasher, fridge, or T.V. It is best to drown out background noise while working by finding a quiet place to work, using earmuffs or earplugs (if necessary), or even listening to music to kill the other noise. There are plenty of tactics you can use to help you keep paying attention. Pick one method you like best and stick with it!

3. Can You Learn From The Nuns?

If you don’t want to develop senility throughout your old age, you should consider asking a Nun what to do!?

A convent in Mankato, Minnesota may seem like an abnormal place to run a brain experiment… But, a study of 75 to 107 year old nuns has revealed great insight into keeping the brain healthy and powerful moreso than most other experiments to this date! This “Nun study” was done with over 600 total Catholic Nuns and an expert of Alzheimer’s disease and aging.

The nun’s high-levels of longevity is largely attributed to their lifestyle. They do not drink or smoke, they live quietly and socialize, they are calm, deeply spiritual, and have a healthy diet. All of these small differences in lifestyle appeared to make huge differences in brain power and aging later in life. A relatively low percentage of the nuns suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, but many have avoided dementia and senility that most individuals develop. Many of the nun’s brains revealed no signs of excessive aging.

The overall study revealed a few common factors that helped the nuns’ brain power: having the correct amount of vitamin folate, verbal ability early in life, and having positive emotions early in life. Also, activities such as: sewing, doing crossword puzzles, and exercising helped prevent senility. Spirituality and the positive emotions resulting from it, also had significant benefits. Individual differences also matter: irregular metabolism, strokes, and head injuries, all increase your susceptibility towards developing Alzheimer’s disease.

You definitely don’t need to become a nun to stay mentally fit, though! We can all work towards brain power improvements! With that said, this study can provide us with a plethora of great advice to take from the lives of some nuns and apply it to our own lives!

4. Physical Exercise Vs. Mental Exercise

Staying active through physical exercise can not only make you stronger physically, it will boost your brain power!

Are you the type of person who hates studying? Well, according to researchers, exercising for just 30 minutes a day up to 3 times per week can significantly improve your ability to concentrate, use reasoning, and your overall learning abilities by nearly 20 percent! The brain boosting effects of exercise are even more powerful and easier to observe in old people. Elderly individuals that are able to walk regularly perform much better on memory tests than their non-exercising friends. Even more impressive is the fact that over several years, their overall cognitive performance shows much less decline than those who don’t exercise. Every extra exercise session has significant benefits!

Though elderly individuals display the most noticeable changes in mental performance, they are not the only group of people that benefit from exercise. Children have been studied too: school-kids that exercise 3 to 4 times per week get higher exam scores than those who don’t! Though the effect is most observable in male schoolchildren, females do definitely benefit as well! Research suggests that aerobic exercise boosts cognition by getting extra oxygen to the brain.

There is also another great reason that your brain is so fond of physical exercise: it promotes neurogenesis a.K.a. “the growth of new neurons (brain cells)!” Until recently, scientists figured that we were born with a maximum amount of brain cells and that we could not replenish lost or killed brain cells. New studies, however, have confirmed that exercise definitely produces new brain cell growth (in people of all ages), even in adults!

The brain boosting effects of exercise are most seen in the hippocampus - the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory. This is also the brain region that is easily damaged by cortisol - a brain-cell killing stress hormone. This is why if you are ever feeling stressed, the best thing you can do for your brain is to go for a hard run! Even relaxing, stretching-type exercise like hatha yoga can work wonders for your cognition. Scientific researchers have discovered that bending backwards - as opposed to forward bending and standing - is the best way to get a quick mood lift!

Apparently, not only does a fit body positively affect our brain, our brain can actually produce changes in our body! In 2001, researchers at the “Cleveland Clinic Foundation of Ohio” asked volunteer participants to spend 15 minutes each day thinking about exercising their biceps. After 12 short weeks, their bicep muscles were 13 % stronger than they were before! This is very interesting and a phenomenon that (in my opinion) should be studied more! The effects from this study were amazing, just from spending 15 minutes “thinking” about exercising a certain muscle group!

5. Get A Good Night’s Sleep (Seriously…)

You should never underestimate the power associated with getting a good night’s sleep!

Cheating your brain of sleep is actually very harmful to your brain! Depriving yourself of sleep is one of the many things that kill brain cells! (Yikes!) Your ability to problem solve, plan, learn, and concentrate all are significantly reduced. Intelligence scores are lowered. You become unable to properly function: if you have been awake for twenty-one hours straight, your cognitive abilities are equal to someone who is legally drunk! You should not be on the road… lack of sleep is just as bad for your brain as driving drunk. And, you don’t need to pull an all-nighter to suffer from the dangerous effects: just 2 to 3 (back-to-back) late nights with early mornings have the exact same negative side-effects!
What is also interesting is the fact that if you allow someone who isn’t sleep deprived to get an extra hour of sleep, they perform much better on normal tasks requiring high levels of attention, such as taking a test! These are not the only benefits resulting from a good-night’s sleep either! While you are sleeping, your brain is able to process new learned skills, the formation of memories, and solve problems.

An example is working on an extremely difficult math problem… Instead of working 8 hours straight trying to solve the problem, you would be better off working for a couple hours and taking a cat-nap. Why? Because, while you are asleep your brain refreshes and reactivates the neural circuits that it used when you were working on the problem. It then rehearses your memories as you worked on the problem and converts short-term memories into the long-term storage. The same applies to other skills such as learning a sport, playing an instrument, and driving a car.

There is also plenty of evidence that getting quality sleep helps us produce moments of problem-solving insight. Many people claim that their problems are solved sometimes in their dreams. One famous story and example, is that of the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev. He claimed to suddenly “understand” a problem he was trying to solve with the periodic table in a dream, after he had spent an entire day struggling with the problem! It appears as though sleep allows the brain to juggle new experiences and memories, and provide us with flashes of creativity and ah-ha moments! If you are ever in doubt about a problem or stressed out, snooze on it! You may be surprised at what your brain is able to accomplish!

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