

How to Boost Brainpower - sak84
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=six-ways-to-boost-brainpower
What other hacks do HNers use to get their brains churning?
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sak84
What other hacks do HNers use to get their brains churning?

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moxy
I'm not going to mod this article up because I've seen this (and similar
articles) countless times before, however I will answer your question, because
I do believe there is merit to what is being said in these articles.

1\. Exercise. It does help. Not only does it keep you feeling fit, but the
chemicals released in the process have been shown to improve cognitive
performance. On an unrelated (but interesting) note, people who imagine
working out for twenty minutes a day or more actually perform better in
exercise tests than people who do not. Cool, eh?

2\. Meditation. Again, it not only feels refreshing, but trains your brain to
ignore distractions and perform more efficiently. I semi-regularly practice
meditation and I find that afterwards I'm endowed with a keen sense of
euphoria and concentration.

3\. I drink green tea. I've managed to pick up some minimally-processed
imported Japonica whole-leaf green tea and I must say, it is bliss in liquid
form. The slight caffeine boost enhances cognitive performance, or at least it
appears to.

4\. Everything else: diversifying your habits, getting hobbies, coding,
reading, organizing, starting new projects, communicating with people,
writing, etc. all help to get the proverbial gears turning (churning?).

There are no shortcuts to a genius brain, however. Though if you work hard,
work efficiently, and supplement your efforts with the activities mentioned in
this article, you will most likely see a significant improvement in your
mental faculties.

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sak84
What type of meditation? How often is semi-regularly?

I went on a green tea stint for a couple years. I bought some really expensive
green tea also, which tasted delicious and felt wonderful. The problem though,
was that I began drinking it too much, and did not feel the effect of the
caffeine that I used to. Since then, I have switched to coffee, but I still
don't get the feeling that I did when I drank green tea. So sad.

Where do you get your tea?

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moxy
My meditation is hardly regimented and strict, and is the result of many hours
of searching the internet for proper meditative technique. I would say it most
closely resembles Zen meditation, as it is primarily centered around
maintaining a steady breathing rhythm and concentrating on _nothing_.

I try to meditate several times a week, though I rarely meet my goals. I'd say
an average of twice a week for the past few months.

With respect to your comment about the green tea, you will certainly acquire a
tolerance to the caffeine after consuming it for an extended period of time.
While I no longer experience the caffeine boost that I used to, I still
nonetheless feel more alert after drinking.

I get my tea from a local shop in Athens called Fooks Foods which specializes
in oriental imports.

