Do you ever wake up some days and just spend the first 10 minutes staring at the wall opposite your bed and trying to get your brain to engage?
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Maybe it’s worse than that, and you drag yourself through most days in an extreme state of brain fog, trying to get your work done, and maybe even invest a bit of tie and energy in your hobbies and social life, without completely dropping the ball and making some kind of dramatic mistake along the way. Mental function is a tricky topic. It’s not very easy to measure, but we all have a sense of when we’re performing at our best, and when we’re absolutely not.
One way of trying to resolve this issue is to keep a detailed journal and record when you’re feeling sharp and when you’re not. This way, you can start the process of working backwards and trying to identify the triggers that put you in a bad, or good state. A simpler solution, however, is to look into some well-known strategies for boosting mental function and seeing if they might help you. Here are some ways to improve your mental function.
Take nootropic supplements
Focus Supplements are a company specialising in the sale of nootropic supplements. But what is a nootropic supplement, anyway? Simply put, nootropics are supplements which have some benefit on cognitive function. These can include things as conventional as blends of magnesium, but may also include various herbs and ingredients so exotic that you’ve never even heard of them. The key thing to keep in mind is that nootropic supplements allow you to support your body’s fundamental chemistry, in such a way as to maximise your cognitive performance.
Get more sleep
A shocking number of people seem to consider sleep a kind of decadent luxury, like eating a chocolate cake, or soaking in a hot bath with added essential oils and bubbles. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth, however. The amount and quality of sleep you get is, in fact, intimately tied to your cognitive function, as well as your health overall. In his international bestseller, “Why We Sleep”, Matthew Walker details the fact that the different stages of sleep all see to have vital functions in storing and consolidating memory, among other things. People trying to memorise new information perform dramatically worse when even mildly sleep-deprived. If you want to be sharper and perform better, mentally, start getting more sleep.
Constantly focus on learning new skills and facts
The much-acclaimed book, “The Brain that Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge, details the fact that, as we learn new facts and skills, we encourage the growth of new matter and neuronal connections within the brain, which seem to have a positive, protective effect on the brain in general. An example is shared of an old man who makes a point of continually having hobbies, and learning new skills, and who maintains excellent mental function well into old age. If you want to keep your mental function at its peak, focus on learning new skills and facts, constantly.