Brain Hacks

Sex not only feels good, it’s good for you. Regular sexual activity is good for your brain, mood, and memory, and it also assists with pain relief. Having sex three times a week decreases risk of stroke by 50 percent. Regular sexual activity ultimately can help you live longer. This isn’t just theory—it’s clinical fact. A Duke University longitudinal study on aging found a strong correlation between the frequency and enjoyment of sexual intercourse and longevity. 

Sex itself is great and orgasms are even better. During orgasm, blood flows into the right prefrontal cortex, creating that fabulous sense of release and gratification. Orgasms also stimulate deep emotional parts of the brain and thus provide a calming influence. Those who have orgasms experience less depression than those who do not. According to Werner Habermehl, a German sex researcher, the more sex you have, the smarter you become. He credits the stimulation of adrenaline and cortisol during lovemaking, plus the bonus surge of serotonin and endorphins that follows orgasm. Regular orgasms ultimately lead to a boost in self-esteem. 

Want to supercharge your neurons? Or at least have a better shot at remembering where you put your car keys? Drink some grape juice. In one study conducted at the University of Leeds, “highly stressed” subjects (working women between forty and fifty years old with preteen children) who drank about 12 ounces of grape juice showed immediate improvement in brain performance. Some of the gains continued even after the subjects stopped drinking the juice. An earlier study showed that a group of older adults with mild cognitive decline had improvements in memory after drinking somewhat more grape juice. There is also some evidence that drinking grape juice can lower blood sugar levels, helping protect against diabetes, which is associated with dementia (although the diabetes-dementia connection is not entirely clear to researchers). The polyphenols in grape juice are antioxidants and help rid your brain of pesky free radicals.

Ginseng, one of the most popular herbal remedies in the world, is thought to aid brain function by improving memory and learning. In one study, reaction time, attention, and discrimination (responding appropriately to different situations) were all positively affected in people who took ginseng supplements. A study re- ported in 2017 showed that the use of ginseng helped prevent stress-related depression and anxiety by affecting the brain’s hormonal response to stress. The active chemicals in ginseng, called ginsenosides, are known to help support nerve growth and neuro-transmission. This, in turn, helps protect the brain during times of acute (sudden) stress. Different kinds of ginseng exist, but much of the research is focused on Korean red ginseng. A standard dose is 200 milligrams daily, and a standard extract has 4 to 7 percent ginsenosides. Check the label before using.

It may feel like an indulgence, but getting a good back rub is actually a smart in- vestment in your brain. Studies show that after a massage, people were more alert and able to solve problems faster—in some cases, twice as fast! Massage also helps you relax and get a good night’s sleep, which is critical in maintaining brain health. A recent meta-analysis of the literature shows that massage therapy can keep depression at bay, and several other studies support the idea that massage can reduce anxiety. It is well known that massage helps lift your mood. It stimulates your brain to release dopamine and oxytocin, two of the feel-good brain drugs your body produces to help stabilize mood. At the same time, massage seems to dampen the production of cortisol—the stress hormone. Some research shows that the part of your brain associated with feeling happy is more active during a massage.

In general, a shorter rub helps sharpen your attention. If you need to be on your A game, a fifteen-minute back rub might be just the ticket. A longer, slower mas- sage is more suited to helping you relax and ward off insomnia. It takes about fif- teen minutes of rubbing for the feel-good drugs to start percolating in your brain. And while a one-time massage provides you with positive effects, the benefits are cumulative. This means the more you do it, the better it is for your brain. This is particularly true of the mood-enhancing benefits of massage—it is easier to maintain your positive state of mind if you get a regular massage.

Playing chess can actually increase your IQ level. Various studies over the years have shown that young people who play chess show significant intelligence gains, including increased verbal and math skills. These benefits are earned by playing the game a few hours a week over the course of several months. Researchers theorize that the level and concentration needed to play the game stimulates the brain. While the IQ-boosting effect is most pronounced in children from grade school through high school, older players also show benefits. A study of grand master chess players showed they had enhanced activity in their frontal and parietal lobes, areas associated with problem-solving and pattern recognition. Researchers also found that playing chess used both sides of the brain. Activities that stimulate both sides of the brain are known to help strengthen the whole brain. Another study showed that older people (over age seventy-five) who played chess had less likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s.

Hypnosis isn’t just about getting a grown man to quack like a duck. It can also be used to decrease stress and improve cognition. Hypnosis is basically a type of meditation that can induce the theta state in your brain—a state of relaxed brain activity that is comparable to REM sleep. You may remember that REM sleep is crucial to the health of your body and that it is the point in the sleep cycle where you dream. Researchers say that achieving this state helps you relax, improves your creativity, increases mental clarity, and improves cognitive performance. 

While you can be hypnotized by someone else or by listening to guided hypnosis audio programs, you can hypnotize yourself by following a few simple steps. First, find a quiet space where you can be alone. Make sure you’re comfortable— that your clothing is nonrestrictive and you’re in a comfortable position. Try sitting instead of lying down, because you don’t want to fall asleep! Then focus on an image—a relaxing picture of a sunset, a candle flame—and take a few deep breaths. Say a positive affirmation, something like, “I am relaxed and calm.” Keep repeating this affirmation while you focus on the image and continue taking deep, relaxing breaths. After a few repetitions, stop saying the affirmation but continue breathing deeply and focusing on the image. Stay in this relaxed state for ten or fifteen minutes (or longer if you’d like). Then bring yourself out of it by saying some- thing to connect you to the real world: “I am now awake, refreshed, and ready.” Then do a few simple exercises, like stretching or touching your toes, to bring you back to your usual waking state. 

Crafts like knitting and crocheting can improve your brain health by helping you relax. According to Herbert Benson, MD, author of The Relaxation Response, the rhythmic and repetitive nature of knitting can put your brain in a meditative state. It requires you to pay attention but, once you’re past the learning stage, doesn’t create stress (unless you’ve just discovered you dropped a stitch five rows back). This type of relaxed awareness benefits your brain significantly. Knitting and similar crafts actually reduce the amount of cortisol, a stress hormone, in your brain. While you’re knitting, your brain is less likely to ruminate and focus on negative or depressing thoughts, which may be one reason why knitting is linked with improved mood. By the same token, it can help distract you from anxious thoughts.

A recent study published in the Journal of Neuro-psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences showed that older adults who knitted or crocheted were less likely to develop memory problems and suffer cognitive decline as compared to adults who read newspapers and magazines. One researcher speculates that knitting stimulates the creation of neural pathways, which helps prevent cognitive decline. Some evidence suggests that knitting can even have a therapeutic effect for people with diseases like Parkinson’s, since the entire brain is used in the process. Getting all parts of the brain working together improves brain function. Knitting may also stimulate your ability to think creatively and to remember. Following complex directions can also help boost mental skills. In addition to all the brain benefits, you can produce hats, scarves, and mittens to share with friends and family!

Carotenoids, the compounds that give orange and yellow foods like carrots their color, aren’t just bright pigments that make the garden pretty. They’re also nutritional powerhouses that help keep your brain sharp. In addition to being antioxidants and playing an instrumental role in preventing heart disease and certain forms of cancer, carotenoids enhance brain function. One study showed that people with low levels of certain types of carotenoids fared badly on tests of mental function, including mental quickness, memory, and recognition. 

It has been well established that one carotenoid, lutein, is important to eye health, but recent research shows that it is crucial for brain health as well. Although lutein makes up only about 12 percent of the carotenoids people eat, it makes up about 60 percent of the carotenoids in the brain, meaning the brain specifically “prefers” it. In fact, some researchers have linked lower levels of lutein in the brain with cognitive decline. Other researchers are studying the possibility that the consumption of carotenoids may prevent or delay Alzheimer’s. 

Your body can’t produce carotenoids on its own, so you have to eat them in your diet. They can be found in abundance in carrots, broccoli, cantaloupe, cauliflower, green leafy vegetables (such as kale and spinach), and tomatoes. Some research suggests that it is easier for the body to access the carotenoids in these plants if they are cooked first to help break down the cell walls, so don’t rely only on fresh salads—also cook these foods in soups and stir-fries to bring out their best nutritional value. 

One of the best ways to spark up your brain is to have an intellectually stimulating conversation. Trying to wrap your mind around new ideas and concepts forces your brain to wake up and pay attention. By surrounding yourself with smart people who can challenge your thinking, you’ll improve your cognition and memory. Having a debate with a friend isn’t just socializing—although socializing is also good for your brain—it forces you to make logical connections between ideas and to do it on the fly. (Working under pressure is a great way to stimulate those little gray cells.) Plus, you’ll probably learn something new. 

Though flavonoids have long been known to help prevent heart disease and blood clots, researchers now believe they also support brain health. One way they do this is by protecting the brain from neurotoxins. Some research suggests flavonoids may aid memory, learning, and overall cognitive function as well. They may help spur the growth of cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain associated with memory. In addition, they work as antioxidants. They may also potentially protect against a variety of brain disorders, particularly age-related degeneration such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. Researchers believe neuro-inflammation contributes to the onset of these diseases by killing nerve cells, as well as adding to the brain injury that occurs in strokes. Flavonoids may help reduce neuroin-flammation and protect against cell death. Recent studies show that flavonoids aid communication among neurons, support new cell growth, and help nerve cells adapt to changes (“synaptic plasticity”). 

A recently concluded long-term study showed that eating flavonoids helped healthy people do better on cognitive tests, with the improvement being cumulative—those who ate flavonoids over a long period of time performed significantly better than those who did not. 

Because flavonoids help improve blood flow, they also create an indirect benefit for the brain, as cardiovascular problems such as hardening of the arteries can cause stroke. Plus, better circulation brings more nutrients to the brain. 

New research suggests that flavonoids from citrus fruits have an easier time crossing the blood-brain barrier, so stock up on those oranges and limes! Other sources of flavonoids include apples, cranberries, endive, grape juice, kale, onions, and red wine.