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Our brains can’t deliver peak performance every minute of the day — it
works di:erently as the day progresses.

Some days you can perform at the top of your game. Others days, you may
struggle to do your best work. It happens to even top performers.

Just like the muscles, some people train in the gym, your brain requires
stimulation and exercise to grow and maintain cognitive function.

Experiments in neuroplasticity (our brain’s ability to change throughout

your life) have proven that the brain is capable of modifying itself, either by
changing its structure, increasing and reducing its size or altering its
biochemistry.

Neuroplasticity works through repetition and mental stimulation. A lot of

the good change you expect for better cognitive function is in your control
— you can train your brain to achieve peak performance.

The question then is, what habits, routines, activities, and stimulations
really work? What can you do daily to train your brain to achieve
performance? There’s no substitute for intellectual labour, but there are
ways to maintain a healthy brain.

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Choose activities or exercises that involve as many parts of the brain as
possible — eyes, ears, mouth, hands and feet. These are all mental
processes critical to peak performance.

Examples, you can throw a ball against the wall or recite a poem while
doing jumping jacks. While walking on a treadmill, read a book or a
magazine. The goal is to make your brain work hard in sync with your body.

“Each of these examples works multiple parts of your brain and body
simultaneously, in ways that will improve your focus, decision-making
ability and coordination,” says John Kennedy, a pioneer in the Reld of
applied neuroplasticity and director of the Mental Performance Institute.

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“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement,
achievement, and success have no meaning., said Benjamin Franklin.

Mindsets inform action, so those with a growth mindset about the brain’s
ability to improve or change are thought to be more likely to build new and
better habits that can enhance cognitive performance.

“I think that the growth mindset is a very helpful brain hack. The growth
mindset emphasises the possibility of change and growth as opposed to
focusing on capacity or ability,” explains Dr Linda Wilbrecht, Associate
Professor, UC Berkeley.

You can improve your cognition function through e:ort, practice, and
persistence. When you are open to embracing new habits and activities, you
can build pathways that can make your brain stronger and smarter.

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According to research, the brain gradually stops registering a sight, sound
or feeling if stimulus remains constant for too long. You lose your focus and
your performance on the tasks decline.

The brain naturally functions in spurts of high energy (roughly an hour)

followed by spurts of low energy (10–20 minutes).

This natural ebb and ^ow of energy should be used for high-value tasks and
breaks. Working with your body, not against it is the ultimate productivity
hack. You can’t demand more of your brain if it’s low on energy.

“There is certainly evidence that when the prefrontal cortex, the part that
does a lot of rational decision making, is depleted in energy, your rationality
and ability to make sound decisions decreases,” says Dr Randall Platt,
Assistant Professor, ETH Zurich.

“The best brain hacks I can think of are more like scheduling or
optimization hacks.” “I would recommend giving your highest performing
time to your most demanding tasks. If you’re best at 7 in the morning, and
you’re checking emails at that time, I don’t think you’re optimally using
your capacity,” he tells Sainsbury Wellcome Centre.

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When you are consistently stressed, anxious, frustrated or upset, your brain :&5$63<6'3<6/

becomes too busy trying to control negative feelings — you spend a lot of
mental energy and you become too distracted to perform well.

“Two systems in your brain are competing,” says Neuroscientist Hans

Hagemann and co-author of The Leading Brain: Powerful Science-Based
Strategies for Achieving Peak Performance.

“That leads to not being focused on anything anymore.” To regain cognitive

control, recognize and ‘label’ how you feel, he said. Learn to be more aware
of your own emotional states and tame them accordingly.

Peak performers control their emotions to think optimally and clearly.

When your emotions are under control, you can consciously put yourself in
the best state that gets you in a position, and in a situation, where you can
really perform at your best.

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You can reduce the risk of cognitive decline if you are open to learning new
or didcult skills beyond your comfortable domain. The more you engage
your brain, the better.

A study on the impact of sustained engagement on cognitive function found

that learning new and demanding skills while maintaining an engaged
social network is key to staying sharp as we age.

“It seems it is not enough just to get out and do something — it is important
to get out and do something that is unfamiliar and mentally challenging,
and that provides broad stimulation mentally and socially. When you are
inside your comfort zone you may be outside of the enhancement zone,”
explains, lead researcher Denise Park of the University of Texas at Dallas.

To beneRt from new experiences, cultivate your curiosity, master new and
better skills, habits and activities that push your boundaries. Challenging
mental activities can slow cognitive decline.

Practicing, exploring, and learning new things can give your brain the full
workout it needs to perform at its best.

The key takeaway is that your brain’s edciency can be improved by small
shifts and steps in the right direction. To improve your cognitive
performance, pair mental stimulation with physical activity, develop a
growth mindset, work with your body, not again it, learn to regulate
negative emotions and

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