increase your cognitive performance

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increase Your cognitive performance

A GUIDE TO improving your brain

The informa,on contained in this guide is for informa,onal purposes only and subject to the following disclaimer. Any informa,on provided is not medical advice.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) Introduc+on 2) Step 1: Sleep 3) Step 2: Nutri+on

4) Step 3: Exercise 5) Step 4: Brain Training 6) Step 5: Nootropics 7) Conclusion

Introduction

Brain power

Simply put, you can improve your brain – and your life.

Have you ever wondered how certain people are able to seemingly access 100% of their brain?

Deduc,ve powers, clarity and mo,va,on that exceeds your wildest dreams.

In scien,fic terminology its called Cogni+on. For the purpose of this guide we’ll call it Cogni+ve Performance.

In 2005 my situa,on was bleak. I was in my first semester of university and really struggling with my first essay -‐ ready to drop out. At the ,me, I had a friend who was already comple,ng his second degree. He seemed to be geQng great results without too much work or stress. I asked if he could read a draR essay that took all my willpower to complete. His face told the story. “Maybe a pass?” I asked op,mis,cally.

Increasing your cognitive performance

Introduction

Thankfully I ended up passing – and eventually gradua,ng. You see, awesome cogni,ve performance isn’t something you have to be born with. Neuroscien,sts agree that cogni,ve and neuropsychological func,oning (like memory and focus) is not sta,c and in fact can be improved.

Throughout history we’ve consistently goEen smarter. Over the last 80 years, IQ has risen three points per decade – this is known as “The Flynn effect.”

I’ve studied cogni+ve performance for years. It can be analyzed within many different contexts, including psychology, neurology and philosophy. These fields are no doubt essen,al for informing my research. However, my focus is how I can hack the processes and func,ons to achieve maximum output from my brain.

Over the course of my degree I spent more ,me studying the best ways increase cogni,ve performance than I did studying for my exams. So, what’s the secret?

I aim to keep this guide as short and concise as possible.

1. Sleep 2. Nutri,on 3. Physical Ac,vity 4. Brain training – languages, lumosity, crosswords, reading 5. Nootropics

There are numerous and varied ‘solu,ons’ available to help improve intelligence. Several studies have shown that these ac,vi,es are related to posi,ve outcomes in socio-‐economic status, morbidity and mortality.

Step One: Sleep

Sleep has tradi,onally come to play a significant role in the recovery of pa,ents who have suffered brain injuries, such as strokes. Studies have found that sleep improves memory, which somewhat explains why sleep is so important in the rehabilita,on of brain trauma pa,ents. If sleep can repair a temporarily disjointed memory, think what benefits it can reap to a healthy, s,ll developing one. Some people might seem more giRed at remembering things than others; for example, some may be untroubled by having to learn a piece of music, whilst other’s find it difficult. There can be a trick to this, and the trick could be more sleep. As memories are weak and likely to be lost completely when they’re formed, geQng them to immediately s,ck may not be easy.

Memory consolida,on can be stronger during ,me spent asleep than during a passage of ,me spent awake. For a memory to be consolidated, there has to be connec,ons between brain cells -‐ and this happens during sleep. So if you want to memorize a piece of music, I suggest taking a good rest aRer a session.

Sleep How sleep can improve your

memory

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Photo by: Eternalta

“ “It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it. ”

-John Steinbeck

Step One: Sleep

There are two types of memory; declara,ve memory, which is the memory for facts and informa,on, and procedural memory, which is the memory for skills.

Sleep can aid both types of memory. Being constantly awake for the few hours aRer you have learned a new skill, and engaging in different ac,vi,es as the day goes along, can actually damage your chances or preserving the memories of the skill; it may become lost amid the exhaus,on and mental exer,on of the days ac,vi,es.

Sleep enhances the ability to remember the skill, turning it into a habit. If you learn a new skill in the evening, and sleep almost immediately aRerwards, your memory of it will be retained in the morning, strong and alive.

In our contemporary society, as busy and hec,c as it is, a lot of people, par,cularly, professional’s, do not put as much onus on sleep as they used to. People will catch a few hours here and there, severely reducing the amount of sleep they get a week. The tradi,onal ‘eight hour sleep’ rule has become redundant and irrelevant.

People who nap oRen may be called lazy, but sleep improves learning and memory, therefore making it an important aspect of our lives. The role sleep plays in our contemporary society should be growing in importance simply because of how busy and hec,c it is.

Step One: Sleep

As you sleep, your brain remains ac,ve -‐ it con,nues to work, binding cells together, strengthening different brain regions. In short, it is working to preserve and consolidate your memory

Sleep can reac+vate memories you have recently learned –

for example, a mathema,cal proposi,on, or a guitar scale. For a lot of people, geQng eight hours or more sleep each night may be difficult, but that is not to say that catching a nap a few ,mes a week should be impossible. Naps can be as short as six minutes, or they can stretch out for up to two hours. Most people may find it difficult to make ,me in their daily schedules for a two-‐hour nap, but studies have shown that six minute naps can aid, and boost memories.

Longer naps would allow a person to enter a deep sleep (REM), which would give the brain even more ,me to work on preserving memories. Moreover, the most vital memory-‐consolida,on ac,vity occurs during REM. The amount of sleep a person gets in a week is typically dependent on their lifestyle. We all need our memory to be sharp, strong and func,oning, but some may require stronger ones than others. There is no easier solu,on than to sleep more.

Step Two: Nutrition

The human brain eats up 20 percent of your daily calories. If you subsist on a wretched diet of junk food, it means your brain is absorbing 20 percent of it each day. 20 percent of a hot dog, 20 percent of a greasy burger -‐ and so on. If, however, you have a healthy diet, your brain is reaping 20 percent of the rewards, which can only be a good thing.

But it gets beEer. The right kind of food can aid and boost your memory. Our memories rely on our brain cells; the more brain cells we have, the beEer our memory is.

Because our memory is found in our brain, it is important to keep a good supply of oxygen running to it. Oxygen and nutrients channel through our bloodstream, which means that too much fat and cholesterol in our blood can only hamper the oxygen and nutrients geQng to our brain -‐ and our memory. I suggest cuQng down on faEy foods that contain a lot of cholesterol as they will con,nue to have a nega,ve effect on your memory.

Nutrition�How nutrition can help memory �

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Photo by: Academia Humanas Oficial

“ “A strong body makes the mind strong”

- Thomas jefferson

Step Two: Nutrition

A healthy diet bodes well for our en,re body, but a significant amount of people are probably unaware of the long-‐term, and short-‐term effect it has on our memories. As well as improving our physique, a healthy diet can preserve our ability to learn and remember.

Think of it like this -‐ your memory will reflect your physique. If you’re overweight and out of shape, your memory, too, will be out of shape. If you live on a diet of faEy foods that are drenched in cholesterol, your memory will live on a diet shaped by cholesterol. Naturally, that will not be a good thing.

It has been found that an,oxidants can significantly preserve and strengthen our brain cells, and I know that an,oxidants are found in tasty fruit and vegetables, such as carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, and oranges. There are many others too; berries are well-‐known to contain some of the highest amounts of an,oxidants, as well as flavonols and anthocynanins.

Black soybeans contain the most amount of anthocynanins, which are speculated to contain neuroprotec,ve proper,es, which preserve our neuronal structure, thereby preserving and consolida,ng our memory.

Sea food is full of faQy acids (omega-‐3’s), and studies have shown they are good for memory preserva,on.

Step two: Nutrition

Research has demonstrated that people with high levels of omega-‐3’s are much less likely to develop demen,a than people with low levels. Studies on the effects of omega-‐3’s on the brain are fairly recent, but they hold that a faEy acid called Docosahexaenoic produces the membrane that causes the elas,city of ion channels in our brain cell membranes. These ion channels change shape so as to increase, or decrease the flow of electric signals into the cell.

You can eat food such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel and be sure that you’re giving your memory a boost. Nutri+onists oTen say that we should eat breakfast like a king, and lunch like a pauper.

I feel that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and one high in protein and high-‐fiber can boost and improve memory, as well as increasing alertness. It is, of course, important to be aEen,ve and alert before work, and so by keeping up a diet that helps you start the day in a posi,ve mood, you’re enhancing your mental func,ons. Eggs, rich in protein, also include choline, which has been found to aid the produc,on of acetylcholine. People with low levels of acetylcholine were more suscep,ble to demen,a than those with high levels. A good diet means a good memory.

Step Three: Exercise

Physical exercise, as well as benefi,ng us physically, can also enhance our memories, which means that it is useful for the development of children; students who are in academia; older people who require extra help in preserving the sharpness of their memories; and anyone who may be suscep,ble to demen,a.

Physical exercise can be strenuous -‐ but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, research shows that moderate physical exercise, such as walking, is more beneficial to the improvement and consolida,on of our memory than extreme physical exercise.

Ø Oxygen needs to get to our brain, where our memory is located. Physical exercise, such as jogging, increases the flow of oxygen that channels through our bloodstream to the brain.

The oxygen finds its way to the parts of the brain that preserve our cogni,ve func,oning. Part of the problem with extreme physical exercise, such as boxing, is that our muscles will take up a lot of the oxygen we are using, which therefore means the brain will only be picking up the scraps. For this reason, I’ve always found it more useful to indulge in moderate physical exercises and ac,vi,es, such as sprin,ng and walking.

Exercise�Exercise can help memory

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Photo by: Elvert Barnes

“ “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”

- Friedrich Nietzsche


If physical exercise is to preserve, improve, and consolidate our memories, it is therefore much more useful if we are in a posi,on to use our cogni,ve func,ons immediately aRer exercise.

I find it is possible to focus and concentrate aRer a good walk, but ,redness can creep in aRer too much physical exercise, such as aerobics or weight training. Your legs may ache, and your muscles may burn, which means you may need to rest for a while aRerwards. Physical exercise can improve our memories and learning, but it is prac,cal to find the right kind of exercise that is conducive to our own physical strengths.

When we engage in physical exercise, endorphins are released to the brain. Endorphins contain thirty amino acids units, which are known to act as natural nootropics.

Studies have shown that those of us with high levels of endorphins are capable of retaining more memories than those with low levels. Those with higher levels are also able to retain the memories for long periods of ,me.

Research into the rela,onship between endorphins and memory are at a rela,vely early stage, but there is enough to determine the power they have on our memory.


Neurons are important assets of our brain. Without them, brain plas,city would falter, and their survival and renewal is vital for the consolida,on of our memories. Exercise is known to aid produc,on of neurotrophic factors, which are essen,al for the preserva,on of neurons. Exercise can also contribute to the birth and development of new neurons, with the collec,ve growth known to correlate with exercise. Exercise is also known to increase the levels of dopamine in our brain. ORen related to pleasure and pleasurable ac,vi,es, dopamine release agents such as amphetamine, which can help people focus and regain concentra,on. Demen,a is associated with people who have low-‐levels of dopamine, which therefore makes exercise a possible antagonist of such an incurable mental disease. Overall, the more you exercise, the beEer your memory will be. But always remember to not overdo it -‐ there is only so much oxygen, and you don’t want your muscles to gobble it all up.

Step Four: Brain Training

The purpose of brain training exercises is to improve the cogni,ve behavior of our brain, and to preserve and consolidate our memory. Rigorous brain exercises are found to stave off the effects of demen,a, or at least keep them at bay for those already suffering from the mental disease. Brain training enhances the following:

ü aEen,on ü flexibility ü alertness ü speed ü memory ü problem-‐solving processes

A jigsaw puzzle, for example, requires you to memorize the pieces you are looking for, their images, as well as the shape you need. The kind of constant repe,,on required in playing a jigsaw puzzle aids short-‐term memory, and encourages as well as requires strict discipline, focus and concentra,on.

Brain training languages, crosswords and reading

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Photo by: educarjeanpiaget

“ “The mind is everything. What you think you become.”

- Buddha


Ø The human brain isn’t an organ that has to stay sAll unAl it begins to fade and die in old age.

This should not be its des,ny. It isn’t an organ that is immutable -‐ with the right means and the correct harnessing, it can change, adapt and regenerate; in short, it can evolve. This is known as brain plas+city, or neuroplas+city.

In short, this means that, with the right kind of care, exercise and s,mula,on, neurons are regenerated, with old ones surviving the test of ,me. This regrowth is important for your brains long-‐term health; it prolongs the lifespan and ability of our memory.

As your brain grows, it develops the ability to process informa,on rapidly, solve problems, and carry out tasks. But the problem for the brain is it will eventually become reliant on familiarity if it isn’t given new s,mula,on and encouragement to keep growing and improving. If you’re content and comfortable with what you have in life, from your job to the knowledge you possess, your brain will mimic you. If you aren’t prepared to enlarge your life, excel yourself, and try new things, neither will your brain.

Ø By the Ame you reach middle-‐age, you may find yourself living out the lazy lifestyle of a couch potato -‐ and your brain will do the same. It will become old before its ,me, under-‐used -‐ and ready to give up.

There is no beEer way to defamiliarize your brain, surprise it, and encourage it to keep developing than to carry out brain training exercises -‐ such as puzzles.


Sudoku is a challenging puzzle that will s,mulate your brain, and enhance your memory. I find crosswords can work for this too, but only difficult crosswords.

Simple crosswords will have liEle to no effect on your memory, because they will demand prac,cally nothing from your mental efforts. Difficult word searches can be good for detec,ng and memorizing word paEerns, as well as unscrambling leEers, all of which will help the cogni,ve behavior of your brain.

Learning a new language is good for your brain and memory. Research has also concluded that there is a link between speaking more than one language and the forestalling, or complete preven,on of demen,a. Bilinguals have been found to have a beEer ability for switching aEen,on, a talent that decreases with age, whilst other studies have shown that the quicker a person learns a new language, the more other parts of the brain are able to grow. Ø It may sound obvious to menAon, but bilinguals are also able to focus beEer on two tasks being carried out at the same Ame than monolinguals.

Of course, I understand that learning a new language can be challenging -‐ but that is exactly the point. It gives your brain a workout, and naturally gives more aEen,on to your memory. It enhances crea,vity and awareness. Language triggers reac,ons from the four regions of the brain which are assigned to language comprehension


-‐ for bilinguals, the reacAons are twofold, threefold -‐ or possibly a lot more. Think of the posiAve effects this kind of thing will have on the health and preservaAon of your brain and memory.

A lot of people may be put off by learning a new language, insis,ng that their memory is not as great as others who know up to five or six languages; but it is the learning method that helps to improve our memories. A ,red, lazy aQtude to learning a new language will be mimicked by your memory; it will become ,red, lazy, and possibly redundant. If you don’t put the effort in, you can be sure that your memory won’t. In our modern world of television, film adapta,ons and audio books, reading has become an almost fossilized ideal for many.

Why should we read when we can watch a cinema+c adapta+on of a novel?

The answer is that reading, besides deluging you with new knowledge, can also improve your memory. Reading demands more of your brain than watching television, and therefore acts as a good mental workout. You may be reading about the economy, and believe that all that is happening is that you are learning what effect capitalism is having on us all; but the reality, on a neurobiological level, is that func,ons in your brain are hard at work, such as language produc,on, associa,ve learning -‐ and they are contribu,ng to the growth, consolida,on and overall improved health of your brain and memory.

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Photo by: Ozyman

“ “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”�

- Joseph Addison

Step Five: Nootropics

Nootropics How nootropics can enhance your

memory

Studies have shown that nootropics act as cogni,ve enhancers; they sharpen our mental abili,es, par,cularly our concentra,on and focus -‐ and they also improve and aid our memories. In some cases, such as Noopept, they even work to restore our memories.

Ø Nootropics taken by themselves (unstacked) can boost your brain power, but when they are combined with other supplements, their effect can be much more effec,ve.

Piracetam, a member of the racetam family, is widely known to be a par,cularly potent nootropic. In a report da,ng back to 1976, it was concluded that Piracetam improves verbal memory. Unstacked, it is effec,ve; but when it is used in combina,on with Alpha-‐GPC, a natural choline compound that improves memory and sharpens cogni,on, its effects are even greater.

The actual methods and mechanisms of racetams, and how they improve our memories, are unknown, but research has suggested that they accelerate the effects of acetylcholine, a neurotransmiEer that is known to play a key role in the enhancement of memory.

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“ “Your health is what you make of it. Everything you do and think either adds to the vitality, energy and spirit you possess or takes away from it.” �

- Ann Wigmore

Step Five: Nootropics

The ul,mate effect of acetylcholine is ‘suppression of adapta,on’ in neurons, and this suppression improves memory func,ons. Along with using racetams, you can further boost your memory by combining the racetams with food that is known to increase the amount of choline in your body.

Ø It is important to note that acetylcholine is not found in nootropics or food. Rather, you need to maintain a steady diet of choline rich foods, such as eggs, liver, salmon, and yogurt, in order to boost the produc,on of acetylcholine.

Ø Combining nootropics with food (stacking), will increase the boost on your memory.

Nootropic stacks can enhance your memory, but it is important to know what you are doing. The benefits will barely be felt if you misjudge your stacks by combining the wrong supplements. It is worth doing enough research before you begin combining supplements and making your own nootropic stacks.

Personally conduc,ng a few trial and error tests will be worthless because the long-‐term effects of an improved memory may be hard to define. What you are aiming for is not a short-‐term fix. Therefore, you should find out which stacks are par,cularly potent for boos,ng memory by researching what has been proven to be effec,ve. It will save ,me and will prove more fruiqul. Once you know what you are doing, and what works best, you will then be able to create your own stacks.

Step Five Step Five: Nootropics

The ul,mate aim of stacking is synergy; that is, you want a combina,on of nootropics and supplements to work together harmoniously in order for them to achieve the best results.

Ø A well-‐known combina,on that has been found to enhance memory is caffeine and L-‐theanine.

Caffeine is a s+mulant, whilst L-‐theanine is an amino acid that is found in green tea. As our memories work beEer when our minds are calm and relaxed, drinking green tea can increase our relaxa,on. Supplemen,ng it with caffeine tablets means there will be an interes,ng trade-‐off; as the L-‐theanine works to relax you, the caffeine will work to help you focus, and sharpen your alertness, concentra,on and memory.

By drinking this combina,on, the green tea will help to ward off any anxiety or ‘crash’ that is oRen felt from drinking too much caffeine. You will feel beEer, and research has shown that they work together synergis,cally to improve memory.

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Photo: Ozyman

“ “the greatest wealth is health”

- Virgil

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