Brain exercises: how to improve memory in five minutes a day

A good memory and a sharp mind are not innate human talents, but skills that can be developed and trained by both children and adults. For this, there are sets of special exercises and methods aimed at improving brain activity and synchronizing the work of the cerebral hemispheres.

Human brain and memory training

Like the body, the brain needs exercise. Many tasks that once created new neural connections gradually become routine and reduce the brain's ability to focus and concentrate on new things. The reason for this is the violation of interhemispheric interaction and the lack of their equivalent development.

Man's desire to learn new things, which creates new neural connections, helps normalize brain functioning. But the lack of "food" for the brain slows down the learning process, due to the deterioration of memory, lack of quick reaction and ability to think creatively.

An effective way to restore and improve mental and cognitive abilities is to perform special brain training exercises. Daily exercise helps improve brain activity and, consequently, a person's cognitive abilities, which include thinking, memory, speech, perception, imagination and attention.

Benefit

What are the benefits of gymnastics for the brain:

• concentration and reaction speed increase;
• memory improves;
• emotional resistance to negative factors increases;
• movement coordination improves;
• has more energy to perform everyday tasks;
• the hidden abilities of the brain are revealed;
• sleep quality improves.

Psychotherapists often prescribe gymnastics for the brain to treat neuroses, depression and emotional burnout. Exercise helps to shift from negative thoughts, distract attention and restore a person's productivity.

Peculiarities

You have to train your brain throughout your life, starting from childhood and continuing into adulthood. By its principle, gymnastics for improving memory and brain activity is the same for both children and adults, but it has a number of features.

In adults

Forgetfulness, poor spatial orientation and a general decrease in performance can be observed in anyone over the age of 20. The usual reasons are bad habits, poor sleep and irregular work schedule, which overload the brain with an abundance of information. In order to normalize the work of the brain and restore the sharpness of the intellect, you need to reconsider your lifestyle, be physically active, be able to rest and spend 5 minutes a day on thematic exercises.

Also, adults should not forget about brain development methods for children - fine motor exercises, studying poetry, retelling, etc.

In children

The degree of development of interhemispheric connections determines the child's academic success, proper coordination of movements, communication with peers, quality of speech and emotional intelligence. The development of new neural nodes should begin at the age of 2-3 years, when a child's brain absorbs much more energy than an adult's brain.

The main and popular way of brain development in children is through educational games that combine activities to improve hand-eye coordination, concentration and motor skills. In addition, the even development of the cerebral hemispheres is favorably influenced by:

• finger gymnastics;
• breathing exercises;
• logorrhythmics;
• I'm listening to music;
• dancing;
• reading and recounting what was read;
• creativity: modeling, drawing, weaving, etc. ;
• self-massage;
• kinesiology exercises;
• didactic games: comparing objects, guessing objects by description, etc.

All this helps to improve interhemispheric interaction, which affects the formation of healthy self-esteem and the success of the child. And the desire to learn new things can become a useful habit for a child that will help him throughout his life.

How to develop memory

Memory is closely related to other cognitive abilities that also need to be developed. Therefore, its development should be approached comprehensively, performing special exercises and changing your daily life in other interesting ways, which we will consider later.

The best exercises

Classes must be conducted in a peaceful environment. The duration of the training is from 5 to 20 minutes. It is also important to complicate the exercises by increasing the number of repetitions, adding additional gestures, movements and sounds.

For the brain

The following set of neurogymnastic exercises was developed by American psychologists Paul and Gail Dennison based on educational kinesiology.

Exercise 1. "Brain Buttons"

Exercise helps to "start" the brain and adapt to work.

1. Stand straight, back straight.
2. With one hand, massage the depressions between the first and second ribs in the area to the left and right under the collarbones. The other hand is placed on the navel, which allows you to focus on the center of gravity.

Exercise 2. "Hooks"

1. Take any comfortable starting position: standing, sitting or lying down, cross your ankles.
2. Stretch your arms forward, cross your palms towards each other and interlace your fingers.
3. Turn your arms inward at chest level so that your elbows point down.
4. Return to the starting position. Repeat 8-10 times.

Exercise 3. "Knee-elbow"

1. Starting position: standing.
2. Lift and bend the left leg at the knee.
3. Touch the knee of the left leg with the elbow of the right hand. Then repeat the movement with the right leg and left hand. Do 8-10 repetitions.

Exercise 4. "Elephant"

1. Starting position: standing, in a relaxed position. Knees slightly bent.
2. Tilt your head towards your shoulder. From this shoulder, extend your arm forward, like a torso, and draw a horizontal figure eight, starting from the center of your field of vision, upwards and counterclockwise. Important: the eyes follow the movement of the fingertips.

Perform the exercise slowly 3-5 times with the left hand pressed against the left ear and the same number of times with the right hand pressed against the right ear.

Exercise 5. "Drawing in the mirror"

1. Take markers or a pencil in both hands.
2. Draw mirror-symmetrical numbers, letters, etc. on a piece of paper with both hands at the same time.

Additional exercises for maximum involvement of the brain:

1. "Past-palm. "Hold out both arms in front of you. Squeeze the fingers of the left hand into a fist, straighten the right. Then consistently change the position of the fingers, gradually speeding up the movements.
2. "The winner". The fingers of one hand make a "V" gesture and the other hand makes an "OK" gesture. Alternate hands, gradually increasing the speed.
3. "Horns and legs. "One hand shows the horns, the other legs (thumb, index and middle finger). Alternate hands, gradually increasing the speed.
4. On one side, successively connect the thumb with all the other fingers, starting with the index finger. Do the same with the other hand, but starting with the little finger. Do the exercise with both hands at the same time.
5. "Puzzles". On one side, bend all the fingers except for the index and middle fingers, on the other - except for the ring and little fingers. Connect them like puzzles. Switch hands, gradually speeding up the movements.

To remember

Simple and effective exercises to improve memory:

1. Route map.Draw a map of the route you take to work. Try to remember all the smallest details: names of streets, metro stations, bus stops, shops you met on the way.
2. Alphabet.Quickly think of words for each letter of the alphabet.
3. A magician.For this exercise you will need a deck of playing cards. Shuffle it and remember the order of the first 3-5 cards from the deck. Shuffle the deck and find these cards.
4. Carbon copy.Find any image on the Internet or take a banknote. Study the picture for a moment and draw what you see on a piece of paper from memory. Then check the drawing against the original to identify any missing details.
5. Remember the school song or learn your favorite songs. It is also excellent for memory training.
6. Before going to sleep, remember the people and objects that surrounded you. If you attended the lecture, try to reconstruct all the material in your head.
7. Take an object. Look at it in detail for a minute. Then turn away from the topic and try to describe it by writing a detailed review.

Other methods

In addition to special exercises, there are other useful ways to activate the brain and improve memory:

1. You are constantly learning new things.Minimal brain load and lack of new information lead to deterioration of memory and other cognitive abilities. Also, shifting your attention to something unrelated to your work helps develop stress resistance. The best options are learning foreign languages, online courses, handicrafts, etc.
2. Play mind games, solve crosswords, puzzles. This will help clear your mind and broaden your horizons.
3. Get out of your comfort zone.For example, take a different route to work, take up a hobby you were afraid of, actively meet and interact with people in real life.
4. Tune in at the same timeboth hemispheres of the brain. Brush your teeth, eat, open the door, hold the doorknob with your non-dominant hand.
5. Read, write by hand.Reading trains memory, activates imagination and creative thinking. And handwriting is a great way to develop motor skills.

It is equally important that you can rest. Avoid sleep deprivation and learn to meditate. The brain needs relaxation and rest.

Products for memory and brain development

To keep your brain active, it is important to pay attention to your diet. A healthy daily diet should contain proteins, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates. You can also include the following products in your menu that support brain activity:

1. Fatty fish.A source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which influence the active saturation of brain cells with oxygen and nutrients.
2. Bitter chocolate.Chocolate with 70% cocoa slows the mental decline caused by aging and prevents cognitive impairment.
3. Eggs. Egg yolks contain choline, which the body uses to create the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is responsible for memory and mood.
4. Bread from whole grains and cereals.Cereals improve metabolism, fill you with energy and improve blood circulation in the brain, thanks to the content of vitamin B6.
5. Tomato.A source of melatonin, which prevents the aging of brain cells and improves the condition of blood vessels.

Also, for active brain activity, it is important to maintain fluid balance by drinking enough water to drink every day.

Prevention

For a clear mind, good memory and active brain function, it is important:

1. Get rid of bad habits.Smoking, alcohol and taking psychotropic substances impair blood circulation in the brain, which leads to oxygen starvation and the death of neurons.
2. Take a walk.Daily walks saturate the brain with oxygen and help develop concentration and memory.
3. Practice.Physical activity improves blood circulation, improves memory, coordination of movements and improves health.
4. Give it to the brainuniform loadand don't forget to rest.
5. Maintain good sleep hygiene.Sleep at least 7-8 hours. Sleep is necessary for the brain to rest, strengthen necessary and destroy unnecessary neural connections.

The most important thing is to train every day. Only regular exercise will give the desired result.