WE KNOW OUR MIND AND BODY ARE CONNECTED, SO WHY DON’T WE THINK ABOUT TRAINING THEM IN THE SAME WAY? CLAIRE ARISTIDES, CLINICAL HYPNOTHERAPIST AND FOUNDER OF THE MINDOLOGY APP, EXPLAINS THE SCIENCE BEHIND NEUROPLASTICITY
Your brain is not the same as it was yesterday or the day before — it changes every single day throughout our lives and continues to reform and rewire itself based on how much or how little neural pathways are used.
In neuroscience, we call this the plasticity of the brain, and we have a saying: “cells that fire together, wire together.” In translation, it means that the best way to learn or create new behaviours for ourselves is by doing a new task a few times so that the neurons “fire together” and eventually “wire together”. The firing and wiring of pathways is a result of the connections of neurons in our brain. Each neuron has about 1000 “arms” called dendrites that connect it to other neurons, and the connection between the cells is called a synapse — by working out your brain, you’re strengthening these connections, just like a muscle.
Our growing knowledge of neuroplasticity shows that we should all engage in healthy lifestyles to protect and care for our brains as much as we can. This can mean different things for different people, but we do know that exercise, sleep, diet, social interaction and learning are all key pillars of brain training. And this is valid for whatever stage of life you might be in.
Exercise and mindfulness practices are also important for keeping the wiring and firing happening. With time and patience, you can rewire your brain and help protect against cognitive decline.
5 Ways to Workout Your Brain
- Try something new
Something simple, such as a new hobby, a new cafe or listening to a new music style. - Read a good book
Reading a novel can improve your brain function. Becoming engrossed in a story enhances connectivity in the brain and improves brain function. People who engage their minds in mentally stimulating reading activities experience slower memory decline, according to a recent study. - Mix things up
Use your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth or write your to-do list for the day. Move your keyboard mouse to the other side. Mix things up to take your brain off autopilot. - Change of scene
A change of scenery wakes your brain up, sparks creativity and challenges your brain. - Be social
Meet people and listen and engage with what they are saying and put your phone away!
In founding the Mindology app, we looked at the techniques used by high-achievers and professional athletes as part of their mental training for elite performance, such as self-hypnosis and visualisation. In the app, we developed a self-help guide so everyone can access these techniques at home. Games and puzzles are another great way to train for several reasons. When we are absorbed in a game or puzzle, it can give our busy overthinking state a rest, calming the mind. By being in a focused state, we engage in a form of mindfulness that has many well-documented benefits, whether you have a high-stress job or a sedentary lifestyle.
By engaging in the five pillars mentioned, especially problem solving and learning new things, your brain will form new pathways and strengthen the connections. Therefore, by practising this, making it part of your routine and repeating the actions again and again, just like you would train other parts of your body, your brain will thank you as you age. To quote an often used but great cliche: use it or lose it — the more you use your brain, the better it will work.
Claire Aristides is a clinical hypnotherapist and founder of Mindology, an app to calm and empower the mindset available on Apple and Android. @mindology.app; hello@mindology.app
