00:00:00
when it comes to brain hacks no one
00:00:02
understands how to harness their power
00:00:03
better than a neuroscientist they know
00:00:05
how to achieve Peak brain performance
00:00:07
and implemented in your life according
00:00:09
to them implementing these 21 brain
00:00:12
hacks can improve your mood and help you
00:00:13
achieve your goals these hacks are
00:00:15
recommended by the best neuroscientists
00:00:17
in the world so you'd better pay
00:00:19
attention to what's
00:00:20
[Music]
00:00:23
next when learning significant changes
00:00:26
occur in your brain including creating
00:00:28
new connections between your neurons
00:00:30
this phenomenon is called
00:00:31
neuroplasticity the ability of your
00:00:33
brain to change is to create strengthen
00:00:36
weaken or dismantle connections between
00:00:38
your neurons the more you practice the
00:00:40
stronger these connections become as
00:00:42
your connections strengthen the nerve
00:00:44
impulses are transmitted increasingly
00:00:47
faster making them more efficient
00:00:49
according to Dr Adam hunman voluntary
00:00:51
movement results from a goal-based
00:00:53
decision and a process that converts the
00:00:55
goal into relevant motor commands
00:00:57
planning and executing appropriate motor
00:01:00
commands depends on learning the
00:01:01
relationships between motor commands and
00:01:03
physical consequences our motor system
00:01:06
has all of this beautiful interaction
00:01:07
with the sensory stations in the brain
00:01:09
or cognitive stations so engaging those
00:01:12
circuits can fortify memories in parts
00:01:14
of the
00:01:18
brain brain chemicals such as dopamine
00:01:21
allow nerve cells to talk to each other
00:01:23
and relay information from and to the
00:01:25
environment dopamine in particular is
00:01:28
released when pleasant surprises are
00:01:30
experienced this helps the organism
00:01:31
learn about certain actions consequences
00:01:34
if a new flavor of ice cream tastes
00:01:36
better than expected for example
00:01:38
dopamine tells the brain that this
00:01:39
flavor is worth choosing again but this
00:01:42
is not the case every time next time you
00:01:44
may experience something unexpected so
00:01:47
it's best to keep your expectations low
00:01:49
Professor Nal shig uchida from Harvard
00:01:52
University says when you try to achieve
00:01:54
something difficult you have to set a
00:01:55
high goal but you can still keep your
00:01:58
expectation low such that you might not
00:02:00
achieve your goal however if you reach
00:02:02
the goal you'll be delighted things
00:02:04
often fail so I think it's always best
00:02:06
to keep your expectations
00:02:09
[Music]
00:02:12
low it's fair to say that physical
00:02:15
preparation controls the brain but there
00:02:16
are specific things you can do to ensure
00:02:18
that your body is prepared for those
00:02:20
critical situations we tend to focus on
00:02:22
Preparation when preparing for
00:02:24
significant events in our careers if we
00:02:26
have a big presentation we practice
00:02:28
until we're comfortable if we an
00:02:30
interview for a new job we research the
00:02:32
company and it's key players to ensure
00:02:33
we have answers to obvious questions
00:02:36
however when we take this approach we're
00:02:38
only doing half the work of being
00:02:39
effective and successful Dr Randall
00:02:41
Platt believes everybody has a specific
00:02:44
time during the day when their brain is
00:02:46
at its Optimal Performance and so I use
00:02:48
a scheduling hack to save that time to
00:02:50
do important tasks I would recommend
00:02:52
giving your highest performing time to
00:02:54
your most demanding tasks if you're best
00:02:56
at 7:00 in the morning and you're
00:02:57
checking emails at that time I don't
00:02:59
think you're optimally using your
00:03:01
capacity it may be true that you don't
00:03:03
like your job but you can tell your
00:03:05
brain that you appreciate earning money
00:03:07
while you look for New Opportunities
00:03:09
it'll then search for examples that
00:03:10
support that idea of appreciation and
00:03:13
will also search for areas of
00:03:14
opportunity you don't have to create an
00:03:16
inaccurate statement about your job and
00:03:18
lies to your brain but you can decide
00:03:21
which aspect of the situation it spends
00:03:23
time and energy on this strategy allows
00:03:25
you to function optimally instead of
00:03:27
being drained of focus and Power
00:03:30
[Music]
00:03:34
walking may seem pretty simple for those
00:03:36
able but it's a complex process
00:03:38
involving neuromuscular sensory and
00:03:40
cognitive functions many Studies have
00:03:42
shown that walking exercises may help
00:03:45
prevent cognitive decline and lower the
00:03:47
risk of dementia this is because walking
00:03:49
increases blood flow to the brain
00:03:51
releasing endorphins Professor Javier
00:03:53
Medina describes his experience recently
00:03:56
I was reading that scientists have shown
00:03:58
that walking three times AEK week for
00:04:00
half an hour or so increases a part of
00:04:02
your brain called the hippocampus which
00:04:04
has a lot to do with memory and helps
00:04:06
humans do better in memory tests so if I
00:04:09
had to give one tip I would say do more
00:04:13
[Music]
00:04:17
walking research shows that the quality
00:04:19
of a child's early environment is a
00:04:21
prerequisite for overall brain
00:04:23
development a stimulating and effective
00:04:25
learning environment will positively
00:04:27
affect all other learning areas later on
00:04:29
we all need space time material and an
00:04:32
accommodating climate that nurtures our
00:04:34
sense of security according to Dr Gabe
00:04:37
Murphy I'm distracted by clutter be it
00:04:39
auditory or visual so often times when I
00:04:42
need to think about something I need my
00:04:44
desk to be clean or I needed to be quiet
00:04:47
however there are other situations where
00:04:48
I need to be more creative and let my
00:04:50
mind wander and being in a coffee shop
00:04:53
or a messy room helps so the hack is
00:04:56
putting myself in a situation that's
00:04:58
conducive to what I need to do at that
00:05:04
time our memories are not perfect they
00:05:07
fail partly due to our inadequate
00:05:09
encoding and storage and in part our
00:05:11
inability to retrieve the stored
00:05:13
information accurately but memory is
00:05:15
also influenced by the setting in which
00:05:16
it occurs the events that occur to us
00:05:19
after we've experienced an event and the
00:05:21
cognitive processes we use to help us
00:05:23
remember Dr Alan Rubin from The wisman
00:05:26
Institute of science says it seems that
00:05:28
when memories are linked together it's
00:05:30
easier to remember them for example a
00:05:33
friend once told me about his high
00:05:34
school teacher who thought a trick to
00:05:36
retain an accurate approximation of the
00:05:38
mathematical constant e it starts with
00:05:41
2.7 and then it's twice the year of the
00:05:43
birth of Tolstoy
00:05:45
1828 therefore it's
00:05:49
2.718281828 none of the students knew
00:05:52
either the value of e or the year of
00:05:54
birth of the famous writer but thanks to
00:05:56
the trick they could remember both
00:06:02
emotional awareness is the ability to
00:06:04
recognize and make sense of your own
00:06:06
emotions and those of others high levels
00:06:08
of emotional awareness mean you can
00:06:10
learn from your feelings quickly for
00:06:12
example if you feel sad you can reflect
00:06:14
on why this is so and make decisions
00:06:16
that help you it also means you can
00:06:18
predict emotions in advance you know
00:06:21
what actions will lead to what emotions
00:06:23
which means you can make better choices
00:06:25
accordingly according to Dr Cornelius
00:06:28
gross be as aware as you can of your own
00:06:30
emotional states and enjoy them and be
00:06:33
patient with the states of other people
00:06:35
perhaps if you realize that other
00:06:36
people's actions are directed by their
00:06:38
instinctive urges we can be more
00:06:40
accepting of each
00:06:45
other people constructed mental maps in
00:06:48
ancient Greece and Rome using a Memory
00:06:51
Palace as their mind walked from room to
00:06:53
room Scholars and clergy could recall
00:06:56
facts and data they had attached to
00:06:57
certain household features like a rug a
00:07:00
desk or a window today this Western
00:07:03
technique is still used by medical
00:07:05
students to cram an encyclopedia of
00:07:07
knowledge into their brains according to
00:07:09
the associate professor of Pennsylvania
00:07:11
Nicole rust The Memory Palace technique
00:07:14
is most effective spurring added
00:07:16
activity in your brain and enabling you
00:07:18
to remember small details more
00:07:20
accurately The Memory Palace technique
00:07:22
takes advantage of this innate type of
00:07:24
memory that we're so good at and uses it
00:07:27
to form associations people are good at
00:07:29
remembering images and better than that
00:07:31
at other things for example we're good
00:07:33
at remembering pictures but not lists of
00:07:35
numbers according to Kim stanfeld in the
00:07:38
past few decades research has shown that
00:07:40
those metaphors may have a physical
00:07:42
basis in the brain for at least two of
00:07:44
our faculties memory and navigation a
00:07:47
small seahorse shaped structure the
00:07:50
hippocampus is essential to both those
00:07:52
functions and evidence suggested that
00:07:54
the same coding scheme a grid-based form
00:07:57
of representation May underly the
00:07:59
recent insights have prompted some
00:08:01
researchers to propose that this same
00:08:03
coding scheme can help us navigate other
00:08:05
kinds of information including sits
00:08:08
sounds and Abstract Concepts the most
00:08:11
ambitious suggestions even Venture that
00:08:13
these grid codes could be the key to
00:08:16
understanding how the brain processes
00:08:18
all details of general knowledge
00:08:20
perception and
00:08:25
memory not all colors of light have the
00:08:27
same effect blue wavelength which are
00:08:30
beneficial during daylight hours because
00:08:32
they boost attention reaction times and
00:08:34
mood seem to be the most disruptive at
00:08:36
night and the proliferation of
00:08:38
electronics with screens and energy
00:08:40
efficient lighting is increasing our
00:08:42
exposure to Blue wavelengths especially
00:08:45
after Sundown everyone has slightly
00:08:47
different circadian rhythms but the
00:08:49
average length is 24 and 1/4 hours the
00:08:52
Circadian rhythm of people who stay up
00:08:54
late is slightly longer while The
00:08:55
rhythms of early birds fall short of 24
00:08:58
hours Dr Andrea hen stop an assistant
00:09:01
professor from the University of
00:09:02
California says that using blue light at
00:09:05
night is incredibly damaging though it
00:09:07
looks cool initially melanopsin positive
00:09:10
cells in the retina project the
00:09:12
supermatic nucleus but they're not the
00:09:14
photo receptive cells we see they're
00:09:16
photo receptive cells communicating
00:09:18
information to the regions of the brain
00:09:20
that set your circadian rhythm there's
00:09:22
also a synapse somewhere in the thalamus
00:09:25
on some cells representing pain which is
00:09:27
one of the reasons why people experience
00:09:29
ing a migraine find blue light so
00:09:36
painful the evidence of the benefits of
00:09:39
physical activity on cognitive
00:09:40
functioning has increased in recent
00:09:42
years although the relationship between
00:09:44
these variables has been analyzed for
00:09:46
decades the development of evaluation
00:09:48
techniques has resolved several issues
00:09:50
and advanced this area of knowledge Dr
00:09:52
Marco trapo MRC laboratory of molecular
00:09:56
biology has pointed out the association
00:09:58
between the cognitive functioning of
00:10:00
athletes and their performance in
00:10:01
competition these recent studies suggest
00:10:04
that some specific cognitive abilities
00:10:06
of athletes could help them become more
00:10:08
effective and improve their chances of
00:10:10
success if you improve your ability to
00:10:12
perform spatial actions I think it might
00:10:15
positively affect
00:10:16
[Music]
00:10:20
cognition we tend to view ourselves as
00:10:22
the hero of our own life story and as
00:10:25
such we tend to see ourselves as rarely
00:10:27
if ever being wrong empathy essentially
00:10:30
means stepping into someone else's story
00:10:32
for a while even if it means seeing
00:10:34
yourself as the villain the reward of
00:10:36
course is a healthier and more balanced
00:10:38
perspective and a greater ability to
00:10:40
resolve conflicts with others Professor
00:10:42
Rich crosslet says the trick that I do
00:10:45
is imagine I'm a parent of another child
00:10:47
on the other team and how I would then
00:10:49
feel about the situation this makes me
00:10:51
realize we're all parents of children
00:10:53
doing this together so I should get over
00:10:55
myself and not take it personally as the
00:10:57
value in this is what we're doing
00:10:59
overall as a group this also works when
00:11:02
you get annoyed at other drivers in
00:11:07
traffic being stuck means you cannot
00:11:10
finish or progress in a task with your
00:11:12
current knowledge mental state or
00:11:15
physical state it happens every once in
00:11:17
a while and requires special
00:11:19
consideration to tackle it effectively
00:11:21
usually we grow the most when we're
00:11:23
faced with challenges so every time you
00:11:25
get stuck recognize that you found an
00:11:28
opportunity to grow it might be hard to
00:11:30
get through but it will be rewarding
00:11:33
allow yourself to think of the big
00:11:34
picture of where this problem fits even
00:11:37
better take a walk if you can Professor
00:11:39
Danny dennet says I suspect that when we
00:11:42
know more about it we'll see that this
00:11:44
has precisely the effect of temporarily
00:11:47
adjusting all sorts of thresholds and
00:11:49
dispositions that are blocking paths
00:11:51
that are preventing you from making
00:11:53
[Music]
00:11:57
progress according to to an associate
00:12:00
professor from UC Berkeley Dr Linda wilb
00:12:03
developing a growth mindset means
00:12:04
shifting your focus to thoughts
00:12:06
behaviors and actions that promote
00:12:09
mental and physical growth rather than
00:12:11
devoting time just to mental activity or
00:12:13
just to physical activity try grouping
00:12:15
them and calling on as many areas of the
00:12:18
brain as possible to participate can
00:12:19
improve your focus decision-making
00:12:21
ability and coordination according to Dr
00:12:24
Linda I think the growth mindset is a
00:12:27
very helpful brain hack the growth
00:12:29
mindset emphasizes the possibility of
00:12:31
change and growth as opposed to focusing
00:12:34
on capacity or
00:12:36
[Music]
00:12:39
ability sharing responsibilities with
00:12:42
others can benefit your mental health
00:12:44
and business delegating helps you
00:12:46
improve your efficiency but it can also
00:12:48
be crucial for the person in charge of
00:12:50
the delegated task it helps them learn
00:12:53
and develop as professionals however
00:12:55
many people perceive delegation as a
00:12:57
loss of control while they need to stay
00:12:59
accountable for things to get done if
00:13:01
something goes wrong you're still
00:13:03
responsible so don't worry control is
00:13:05
still in your hands only a more
00:13:07
reasonable amount according to Josh
00:13:09
dudman I have an abysmal sense of time
00:13:12
and so a straightforward brain hack I
00:13:14
use is keeping a planner so I can
00:13:17
offload all knowledge of the timing of
00:13:19
things that I have to do in the
00:13:21
[Music]
00:13:24
day when it comes to your everyday Keys
00:13:27
you want to leave them in the same place
00:13:29
every day that way you always know where
00:13:32
they are for ease and convenience some
00:13:34
people have had success leaving their
00:13:36
keys next to whatever they need to take
00:13:38
with them in the morning this could be
00:13:39
an effective strategy if you need that
00:13:41
type of memory device but most people
00:13:43
put their keys in the same place as soon
00:13:45
as they walk in the door from there the
00:13:48
keys will stay in that place until
00:13:50
they're needed this prevents them from
00:13:51
getting lost in a messy house Professor
00:13:54
Sheena josn says divided attention is
00:13:57
awful for memory and I think it's best
00:13:59
to focus on one thing at a time
00:14:01
multitasking doesn't work so I always
00:14:04
leave my keys in the same place and
00:14:06
never have to worry about where they
00:14:12
are do the most important jobs the first
00:14:15
thing in the morning go for exercise
00:14:18
shower and eat breakfast to stay focused
00:14:21
focus on knocking out that key item
00:14:23
before starting with the next job James
00:14:25
Fitzgerald says I always schedule my
00:14:28
time so that I'm not wasting a lot of
00:14:29
time every day trying to decide what I
00:14:32
should do
00:14:37
next small objects or pictures can serve
00:14:40
as a reminder or link to the worlds they
00:14:43
left behind looking at them or touching
00:14:45
them can remind you to do something Dr
00:14:48
Sabine crab janelia says one famous
00:14:50
brain hack is putting a knot in your
00:14:52
handkerchief to remember something I did
00:14:54
something similar by putting something
00:14:56
in an unusual place to remind me that
00:14:58
there there was something that I needed
00:15:00
to take care of it doesn't need to be
00:15:02
relevant the simple fact that something
00:15:04
isn't in its normal location is enough
00:15:06
to remind
00:15:07
[Music]
00:15:10
me your sense of smell enriches your
00:15:13
experience of the world around you your
00:15:15
ability to smell also plays a key role
00:15:18
in your health if your ability to smell
00:15:20
declines it can affect your diet
00:15:23
nutrition physical well-being and
00:15:25
everyday safety Dr sandep Robert Dada
00:15:28
says my favorite brain hack that's
00:15:30
related to my science is that ultimately
00:15:32
smell is incredibly pleasurable and so I
00:15:35
encourage people not to be scared of
00:15:37
smell as a sensual sense there's such
00:15:40
great art in wine making cooking and
00:15:43
perfumery and it's something I indulge
00:15:45
in and I think it makes me a much
00:15:47
happier person and I recommend it to
00:15:55
everyone diet exercise and sleep are
00:15:59
three pillars of a healthy life while
00:16:01
improving just one of these lifestyle
00:16:02
factors can help people lead longer
00:16:04
lives several recent Studies have
00:16:06
suggested that improving all three may
00:16:09
be a better way to improve both physical
00:16:11
and mental health while trying to manage
00:16:13
a busy hectic life it's understandable
00:16:16
to want to prioritize activities that
00:16:18
provide the most benefit unfortunately
00:16:20
diet exercise and sleep are so deeply
00:16:24
entwined that it's not possible to say
00:16:26
that one is more important than the
00:16:28
others Professor Kathleen cullins says
00:16:31
adequate sleep and regular exercise it's
00:16:34
truly amazing how much better my brain
00:16:36
works when I make time for
00:16:40
[Music]
00:16:42
both meditation and brain research has
00:16:45
been rolling in steadily for several
00:16:48
years now scientists have known for a
00:16:49
few years that people who meditate have
00:16:52
different brain structures from the rest
00:16:53
of us meditation can change our brains
00:16:56
for the better in just 8 weeks even if
00:16:59
we've never done it before according to
00:17:01
Professor Joseph ELO when we're
00:17:03
conscious we're viewing the contents of
00:17:05
our working memory and I think what
00:17:07
meditation is about is using working
00:17:09
memory to either regulate the flow of
00:17:11
information that reaches Consciousness
00:17:13
or keep certain information out of
00:17:16
Consciousness when you want a pure state
00:17:18
of being in your mind with nothing there
00:17:21
sometimes it's about letting information
00:17:22
flow through and observing it without
00:17:24
being disrupted so I think working
00:17:27
memory is very important to
00:17:32
understand if you want your work life
00:17:34
balanced to get back on track it's
00:17:36
important to find a way to detach from
00:17:38
work after office hours create a ritual
00:17:41
so you can detach from work the minute
00:17:43
you get home you can go for a run make a
00:17:45
healthy meal or soak in the tub for 20
00:17:48
minutes do anything that will help you
00:17:50
relax and de-stress from the day as soon
00:17:52
as you step through the front door start
00:17:55
the afterwork ritual that will help put
00:17:57
more mental distance between you and
00:17:59
your workday it could be anything that
00:18:01
relaxes you and that's replicable each
00:18:03
day it'll go a long way to separate your
00:18:06
worlds according to Dr yov Liva
00:18:09
professional life is very intense and I
00:18:12
find spending time with my children is
00:18:14
the best way to detach from work for me
00:18:16
detaching is important for mental health
00:18:19
and intellectual development so that you
00:18:21
can take distance from things and come
00:18:23
back to them again with a fresh
00:18:25
perspective that's a wrap for today
00:18:27
don't forget to like this video share
00:18:29
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00:18:31
latest content
