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how to get mentally sharp

Psychological research shows that mental quickness can be improved within specific domains. For example, if you practice holding as many phone numbers in your head at once as you can, your short term memory for holding phone numbers will improve a great deal, but your general short term memory will only improve a tiny bit. So I would practice mental activities similar to those in the domains where you want to be "smart". Learning information in rich detail makes the use of particular concepts more "automatic", freeing mental resources for other activities. Concepts are best learned through connections to other, well-learned concepts and practical applications, rather than rote memorization.

ebola
 
Yeah, it's too bad that most education (up to and including undergrad) seems to be based on the memorize-and-regurgitate method.

Lots of good tips in this thread. I like negrogesic's in particular; mental arithmetic seems to be a dying skill. The key is to keep trying new things, and to keep practising what you already can do.

"Diversity isn't the spice of life, it's the key to life." If you do a lot of analytical thinking, try learning an artistic or expressive skill, and vice versa. If you mostly do physical work, try something intellectual, and vice versa. I've never agreed with the 'jack of all trades, master of none' bit of folk wisdom. You can learn a great deal about a subject (or become quite proficient in a particular skill) with surprisingly little effort. It's called the '80/20 rule' in motivational circles, meaning that you can accomplish 80% of something with 20% of the effort needed to accomplish all of it. Obviously it's not precise, but the concept is sound IME.

My #1 tip for getting mentally sharp: stop watching television. I've been a television addict my entire life, and even just cutting it down from several hours a day to the occasional cooking show/travel show (maybe 3 hours a week) has not only cleared my head but opened up tons of time to do something worthwhile.
 
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less BL makes me a much more sharp person. Its very much TV/narcotic like in that sense, where it dulls you down and makes you expect quick transitions and many small constant 'rewards'.
 
thisusername said:
listen to complicated electronic music
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Interesting suggestion. I like the sound of it though.

To expand on the suggestion:

- listen to more challenging music, avoid easily digested pop music.
 
listening to classical music has been shown to increase frontal and temporal lobe activity in the brain. both areas are considered to be the centers of higher cognition and thinking. repetitive, beat driven music like rap, most rock, and most electronic can decrease activity in these parts of the brain, having the effect of putting a person into a "trance".

imo, THE most important thing is deciding where to put your intent. if you decide that becoming happy and increasing your mental sharpness are extremely important and think about that every day, every hour....every minute, it will happen.

instead of telling yourself that you're depressed, think "i'm a person who is getting happier all of the time." even if your not convinced of this, keep "lying" to yourself. eventually you'll belive it and it will be true. What ever you intend to happen will happen. don't worry about failure, just focus on the goal with every ounce of your being and you'll be successful.

and breath deeply through your nose. humm to yourself. stretch your body. recognize yourself as universal being on planet earth.

peace
 
Gaian Planes said:
the brain is not a muscle, just to be clear.
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I'm sure he didn't mean it literally. But that the brain works like a muscle, the more you use it the better it becomes.

Use it or lose it!
 
Mehm said:
listening to classical music has been shown to increase frontal and temporal lobe activity in the brain.
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^^^Start with Bach, and then skip the whole classical/romantic period.

I am convinced that each time I write a fugue I get 5/3rds of an IQ point smarter....

Quick, what is 5/3? Hint; 3 goes into 50 ~16 times....
 
I was just reading this article on how social interaction is directly tied to cognition because being able to carry a conversation for 10 minutes is some of the best exercise you can do for your brain. It improves attention and attention, which are both key factors in cognition. So if you haven't been socializing much, I'm guessing this will drastically improve your situation.
 
I say get some healthy fats because that is what our brains are mostly made of...like fish oil/olive oil etc... lots of b vitamins and minerals like Calcium/magnesium/potassium. Also some sort of protection from electro-magnetic radiation that we are all constantly bombarded with.
 
the brain is a muscle, fuc anyone that says otherwise, the more you use it the better it gets. Learning well feels remarkably like working out, your brain gets a 'burn'

find what makes you burn like that, and do it.
 
IamAnotherYou said:
I say get some healthy fats because that is what our brains are mostly made of...like fish oil/olive oil etc...
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indeed. bacopa and ginkgo biloba are also popular brain boosters but you have to establish a regimen to really draw out all the positive effects.

i find green tea good for dissolving mental fog any time during the day, and ginseng is a good swift kick in the noggin too, though for me the effects are very strong and rather lengthy 8o
 
i have taken ginseng and gingko biloba in the past and havent felt anything from it
 
Try plugging it.

Seriously though, I didn't get much of an effect from gingko, and with the amount of caffeine that I take a day ginseng is a bad idea.

Get sharp by using your mind. There's no one way, just find what works for you.
 
be interested about everything
ideally, be passionate about some things too.

stuff other than drugs and your depression :)

the rest is easy
 
thisusername said:
listen to complicated electronic music
Click to expand...

What would you define as complicated electronic music? Old school drum and bass/jungle or what? Just wondering
 
Impacto Profundo said:
be interested about everything
ideally, be passionate about some things too.

stuff other than drugs and your depression :)

the rest is easy
Click to expand...
I completely agree!

Btw, eat lots of avocado, that's healthy!
 
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