A healthy brain is not only an important factor for social success, it has also an impact in the way we enjoy life, maintain a good relationship with our family and friends and overcome every day challenges.  Just like everything, this amazing tool that we use for basic and complex daily tasks needs care to perform at its maximum potential. And potential, it has…

Here are 10 tips that will help you improve the power of your brain.

1-Read and learn –I like to say that a book is an infinite universe in itself. Diving in somebody else’s ideas is a great way to nourish your mind and thoughts. All books have their values. But for a novel, I suggest an author that not only knows how to tell an interesting story, but can really use words to trigger emotion, imagination and questions. Also read to learn. Learning is like renovating an old apartment. You provide your brain with new tools, new concepts, new ideas, just like a growing baby.

2-Challenge your brain –Our brain is made of a very complex network of neurons. Challenges like brain teasers, puzzles or any problems that require deep logic thoughts to be solved, put at work unused and lazy neurons, forcing them to create other connections with other neurons, creating at the end shortcuts in your brain. You will be more and more comfortable finding solutions to complex problems. You can find brain teasers in a lot of places on the internet like on my website youpeez for example.

3-Unleash your creativity –You are more creative than you think you are. You just have to force it. The best way to do that is to free yourself from your usual straight forward perceptions. For example a match can be lit. It can also be put in your nostrils.  Two matches can be a X. How many matches do I need to put together to go to the moon? A skinny man, dressed in white, with a red cap? Must be a match! Pay more attention to your craziest ideas.

4-Write-Writing helps you give an external life to abstract ideas. It forces you to arrange and discipline frivolous thoughts. This will make you more comfortable in the way you categorize ideas and thoughts. It increases your logic and judgment. When I say writing, I don’t mean writing books. It’s just for example taking notes in a diary, writing simple paragraphs where you group and link different thoughts.

5-Sleep-Proper sleeping habits will be beneficial for your mental health. Sleep early and wake up early. Don’t sleep for more than 8 hours. In the middle of the day each time you can take a 10 - 15 minutes nap.

6-Exercise –Controlled physical activities are not only good for your body but also for your brain. Your hearth at that time provides to your brain a more consistent supply of oxygen. This will relax you, dismiss negative stresses that block your concentration.

7-Practice relaxation -In the morning or before sleeping or at any time where you can find loneliness and peace, sit or lay down on the floor, close your eyes, breath calmly. Focus on anything thing that inspires you or any object that just inspires nothing. Focus. Don’t let your mind wander around. At some point you can also review all the things you have seen or heard during the day. Remind yourself of strangers you have seen on the bus or in the street. This is a good way to improve your memory.

8-Eat brain food -Essential nutrients for the brain are carbohydrate (fruits, grains, and vegetables), omega-3 (salmon, sardines, trout, herring, anchovies), protein (milk, meat, cheese), Acetylcholine (egg, milk, peanuts, liver, fish, wheat germ, and vegetables like broccoli and cabbage), Dopamine (meat, fish, milk, cheese, beans, soy), Serotonin (cereals, breads, potatoes).

9-Avoid monotony –Doing the same thing again and again doesn’t stimulate your brain. Broaden your perspectives. Get out. Meet friends. Travel. Avoid wasting too much time and energy in front of a television.

10 - Be optimistic –I think that the greatest force in human nature is the will. Believing that you can do something or that you can reach your goal will tremendously boost your brain. Even when obstacles will be in your way, you will be constantly searching for new solutions. Don’t underestimate this last point in my list. Most successful people have this in common.