It is never too late, or too early, to give your brain an extra power boost! Making a few changes to your daily habits can go a long way when it comes to improving your mental efficiency. Adjusting lifestyle habits such as the food you eat and the amount you exercise can act as a brain booster – just a few minor modifications can leave you feeling more energized, focused, and even improve your memory. To top it off, we have a few brain performance supplements that you should consider adding to your health routine. Combining habit tweaks with brain and memory supplements will help your cognitive function take a turn for the better. Look at these 4 ways to get started!
- Start taking brain performance supplements.
If you are wanting to boost your brain power and ensure you’re at your mental best, a great place to begin is with brain and memory supplements. These additions to your lifestyle are good for several improvements: mental clarity, focus, mood, efficiency, memory, and more. They act as natural brain boosters and may compensate for any unknown deficiencies you might be dealing with. There are several supplements available for you to try, but here is where you should start when considering brain power and mental efficiency:
Fish Oils
There are 2 omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils that help with cognitive function and brain power: DHA and EPA.
DHA is useful for improving your short-term and long-term memory, reduces brain inflammation, and promotes healthy learning in both children and adults. EPA helps preserve the health of cell membranes and facilitates communication between brain cells.
In general, omega-3s are essential for brain function throughout all stages of life. They play an important role in brain development, with some studies showing reduction in memory loss and potential prevention of memory loss related diseases.
Resveratrol
Resveratrol is known to improve your memory, mood, ability to learn, and cognitive reserve. Studies suggest that taking resveratrol may be able to reduce cognitive aging by up to a decade.
Creatine
Creatine helps encourage higher levels of phosphocreatine production in your body. Phosphocreatine is responsible for ATP production, and more phosphocreatine means more energy. As a result, researchers have studied its potential to treat several diseases including:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- ischemic stroke
- epilepsy
- brain or spinal cord injuries
In addition, creatine works to reduce fatigue and tiredness in individuals who typically suffer from these forms of exhaustion.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a supplement that triggers CNS stimulation, leading to a sense of alertness and boosted brain function. The reason it works so well to keep you awake and focused is because the stimulant blocks adenosine, or the inhibitory neurotransmitter responsible for sensations of drowsiness.
Acetyl-L-Carnitine
This brain performance supplement improves your energy production, decreases stress levels, and reduces cell death in both youths and adults alike.
Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo biloba is a brain booster that has been used by various cultures for thousands of years. It has a reputation for its improvement for blood flow to the brain and for its work as an antioxidant. As an antioxidant, biloba can help reduce and halt the amount of neuron deaths in the brain. This brain performance supplement is well known for boosting memory and cognitive speed.
Bacopa Monnieri
Bacopa monnieri, or Bacopa, is another supplement that has been around for centuries. It increases the brain chemicals involved in memory, learning, and thinking. Because of its healing properties, it is often used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, improve memory and thinking skills, reduce anxiety, and assist in attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Rhodiola Rosea
Another popular plant in traditional medicine, Rhodiola rosea helps combat fatigue by restoring the brain’s energy and providing an anti-fatigue effect. It’s best for increasing your mental performance, concentration levels, and reducing your overall stress levels.
Vitamin D
D vitamins do much more than their name suggests, as they have a particularly significant role in neural activity. They are neuroprotective: they regulate your immune system and act as a neurosteroid. D vitamins protect your brain’s neurons and reduce inflammation levels.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is a brain and memory supplement that helps develop the brain, myelin sheaths (nerve protectors), and blood cells. It can be used for memory loss treatment, increasing concentration, and boosting energy and mood.
- Start exercising.
A regular exercise schedule is beneficial for more than just your body. Exerting yourself physically helps to increase blood flow to the brain, which always demands good circulation. By improving your circulation to and from the brain, you’re increasing your body’s ability to flush out toxins and carry nutrients to the brain. Exercising will help your brain improve its memory, lower cortisol levels, and generate endorphins.
- Eat healthier.
“You are what you eat” is a cliché for a reason. The brain uses the nutrients you consume, and a healthy diet will ensure it’s receiving everything it needs to properly do its job. By eating a balanced diet, you will increase new neuron production, connections, and communication. You will see the physical effects of your healthier eating habits through improved learning, memory, and thinking. Because healthy diets also impact your brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), your hippocampus will improve your attention span, mood, and mental health, too.
- Get more sleep.
Sleeping is when the brain reorganizes itself. It removes toxins, solidifies new memories, regulates your appetite, leads to more creative thinking, and promotes a more efficient thought process. The amount of sleep you do or do not receive even has a hand in your immune health. Without sleep, you are debilitating all of these processes. Sleep deprivation is linked to several physical and mental struggles:
- Reduced alertness, awareness, concentration, and shorter attention span
- Slow reaction times
- Poor judgment and decision-making skills
- Impaired memory and forgetfulness
- Moodiness
- Lack of motivation
Use Brain Performance Supplements & Improved Habits
In conjunction with each other, brain performance supplements and better lifestyle choices will prove to boost your brain power and mental efficiency. The key is staying consistent with your adjustments of habits, remaining patient with yourself, and starting small. You can consult our team at BIPRI any time for a more personally curated list of supplements to help your brain and body feel healthier!