Brain development is setting it in unusual conditions and situations in which he will develop new algorithms in the search for responses to new information. The process of “inflating” of brain scientists describe as: between neurons form new synapses, the cerebral cortex becomes thicker (and more tortuous), the substance of the brain sprouts new capillaries, axons begin to quickly conduct nerve signals, thus, the functional relationship between individual structures of the brain are strengthened. On this principle, and founded most of the techniques “fitness for the mind” that allow the language of computer geeks, pump yourself and make your mind more alive and fast.
17 beneficial practices to develop and optimize your brain
1. Out of the comfort zone. 
If muscles like the accuracy of action the specified number of repetitions, a clear timetable and a minimum of improvisation, the brain prefers exactly the opposite: he couldn’t bear to routine work, lack of experiences, familiar situation. There is a similar feedback: than less trained muscles – more difficult to start training, the less active the brain the more it resists the new. Therefore, the harder you decide on any changes in your life (even small things) — the more you need it really.
2. Try every day to enrich their knowledge.
There is a saying: “Knowledge that is not replenished, skadet every day.” And here it is impossible to argue — as weakening of the muscles, do not load exercise and the brain, “abandoned” by its owner, relaxes and grows old. Force him to work to remember new words and terms to know the dates of the events and the history of great names. Engage in research. It is a known fact that people whose brain is quite actively worked in the course of life (for example, they were engaged in intellectual work), less prone to senile dementia and other very sad manifestations of age characteristics: disorders of memory, intellect and psyche. Study, study and study again – that’s one of the keys to a long, productive and interesting life.
3. Learn to speak. 
Hearing once again from a friend: “How are you doing?” “what’s new?” invent each time new phrases – avoid stereotypes in communication, that is, “break the pattern” a boring interlocutor. Of course, not forgetting to be polite. If you price things spoken creatively, from different angles, thereby stimulating the memory and the speech centre in the brain – the left temporal region of the areas of Wernicke and Broca. Tell stories or to set up a video blog. Master storytelling. Today we have the service there are a lot of technologies, so it is not necessary to come up with excuses — better to look for opportunities for development. After all, each of us have something to share with other people. If you don’t like the camera — just communicate more and read to each other aloud. Remember that famous line from the movie: “all is Not lost and life is not over until you have a friend and a couple of good stories to tell.”
4. Develop the senses.
Extend the spectrum of their feelings. Move in your own apartment or take a shower with your eyes closed. Try to determine by touch the coin lying in your pocket. Try to learn the Braille system of reading and writing for the blind. Despite the fact that such exercises look quite strange, you will make intensely “hot” new touch region of the brain that are normally involved little or no work, and thus will provide good exercises for the development and growth of neurons. Or make a homemade days of communication in sign language. Of course, if it will seem to them a fairly good and funny idea.
5. Enjoy music. Or math. 
Neuroscientists researching the principles of operation and activating different parts of the brain, came to the conclusion that some departments aktiviziruyutsya in response to the actions, it would seem, absolutely different in nature. For example, in solving math problems and listening to music, you can register a similar activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex. Solve every day math problem, but if you know anything about music, try to develop a taste towards complex forms. Perhaps this will give you a better understanding and mathematics. Today, scientists have every reason to believe that music engages more departments and areas of the brain than any other activity.
6. Go different routes.
Even if is unusual, the road will take more time — it will be something interesting. The Scandinavians have a saying: “Returning the same way is gradually turning into a Ghost”. And they’re absolutely right: the brain doesn’t like the same routes. Travel whenever possible, go to museums and exhibitions, and every year try to spend in a new place. As the recent researches of physiologists, it develops spatial memory, and even contributes to the increase in the size of the hippocampus.
7. Learn languages. 
Even if you are not going to go to another country, use foreign language learning as an exercise for the development of the brain. You do not think the time devoted to the sport, wasted. So it is with languages. The data obtained by scientists, testify that the brain when language learning is growing, and in the most literal sense of the word. Grow him in a separate area of the hippocampus and some areas of the cerebral cortex. But that’s not all: bilinguals and polyglots brain is so good “navstreets” to work with the new information that they become capable of more multitasking and are able without difficulty to simultaneously solve in mind a few different issues. Say more: those who took the time to learn (albeit at a conversational level) of any language besides Russian, is based on the average five-year “reprieve” from dementia caused by Alzheimer’s. By the way, today a preventive effect, which renders the study of languages, much stronger than any of the medicinal therapies of this disease.
8. Deceive your brain.
Our brain loves it when we are able to outsmart him. Do familiar things in an unexpected way, Change hands sometimes, try to brush your teeth, to write, to draw, to print on the keyboard to hold the spoon and left hand. If you are left handed then Vice versa. Aerobatics — a computer mouse. At the time, as you do usual things in an unusual way, the activation of motor cortex — (“transferred” from the left brain to the right) that has a beneficial effect on your abilities. This practice is very useful to harmonise the hemispheres of the brain and vystraivanii new connections between them. There are even techniques such as the creation of artificial physical discomfort, for example — to walk around the house in slipper on one foot and in the Shoe on the heel on the other, and after some time to rearrange them.
9. Teach yourself to aerosim training. 
If we talk about really heavy stuff, there are pathological processes (many of which are caused by including physical inactivity), which literally kill the functioning cellular structures of the brain. Of course, it happens not in one day (if we are not talking about injury or stroke). Originating at a relatively young age, the visible symptoms of wilting of brain activity are already in Mature age. What can we do to make today for the future yourself? To give the brain enough oxygen. Moderate exercises at least 150 minutes per week (or 75 minutes of high physical activity), plus daily walking not less than 500 meters. This practice increases the volume of the cerebral cortex in frontal and parietal areas responsible for memory, attention and switching from one task to another. It is known that aerobic exercise is able to improve things with the functioning of the brain, even in older people in just a year! Here is a diagram, which made the American scientists on the basis of analysis of the tomography data of the subjects, adolescents and the elderly: agree: much easier to accustom oneself to physical activity, while you are still in full bloom. And although the brain loves habits, and love of variety, aerobic exercise is not concerned. Roller-blading, Cycling, running, walking briskly — these are good habits that are worth buying.
10. Do something “impossible” for himself.
If you believe the fairly popular theory of the hemispheres and the fact that one of them is responsible for logic, another for work, then change them sometimes places make be implemented in the same way. Of course, scientists in 2013 he published the results of studies indicating that everything is much more detailed and complicated than the left with the right hemisphere more and more on each other than it was considered before, and almost all complex processes they are working together. And there really is people with an underdeveloped left or right hemisphere overdevelopment, of course, if we are talking about the physiological norm. But the stereotype about “techies” and “humanists” still very strong, and indeed it often works. You can, considering himself a perfect logician “techie” to think that you will never succeed, for example, dance, draw or take pictures. But in vain: perhaps it will open up new professional horizons. A well-known fact that brilliant ideas and solutions often arise in people who do not know the rules (and therefore do not follow the generally accepted taboo) in the unfamiliar realm of knowledge. But such ideas often open up new prospects in the technology.
11. Improve your creativity.
This could be useful anywhere — from the creative decisions in everyday life to career and business. Steve jobs said, “Creativity is just creating relationships between things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t do anything actually, just noticed”. Exercises to develop creativity look strange, but, I assure you — the brain when they are really straining to the fullest. Here is one such exercise. Take a sheet of paper and draw a TIC. Enough to start 6 in height and 9 in length. You can also print out this picture: 
Now tune in to the creative wave, take a pen and begin to cross to turn into pictures and small sketches. Repeat not, a prerequisite is the use of this item. 
The job may look different, for example, like this: 
Or here: 
Similar forms for the development of creativity can be found in the Internet, in a variety of ways. In addition, to do this with someone of a race is very fun. In General, the brain loves games.
12. Keep a diary.
First, keeping a journal will help to put in order the Affairs, and secondly, to understand themselves better. Moreover, the more eloquent is the description of his experiences the day — describe sounds, smells, tactile sensations — the greater good for the brain. In addition, it also helps develop creativity. In the 20-ies of the last century, scientists, study in detail the biographies of over three hundred historical geniuses (such as sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, Johann Sebastian Bach), found a striking coincidence of the habits of these people. One of the signs of genius scientists call the tendency to eloquently describe your feelings and thoughts in a diary, poems, letters to friends and family. Later, scientists found that it is one of the most useful habits to develop creative and intellectual abilities. It is also known that almost all people who have achieved success in life, keep a diary in one form or another. Most of these people were not born brilliant. But they had the habit of action that promotes development. Scientists say: all you need to become a genius — is a basic software package on your computer and library.
13. Practice change. 
Any new situation is forcing our brain to adapt to it and find new solutions. Habits tire the brain, and novelty stimulates the sensory inputs (the way) of the brain, thereby making life more vivid and memorable. The brain likes to frequent change. Often do renovation at home, change the image, hairstyle and perfume. Don’t be afraid to wear bright extravagant things. The brain loves new situation, give it to him. Often do renovation at home and in the workplace, at least once a month, swap things, swap kitchen utensils, try to cook exotic recipes.
14. Improve working memory.
Neuroscientists and psychologists in addition to long-term and short-term memory there are also so-called working, which stores and processes information about what we are doing right now. In General, working memory is a type of short-term memory, but it can be compared to the CPU cache, which is also called a cache memory – it is also loaded with data which are required directly for the current task. Many researchers believe working memory is the source of the so-called rolling of intelligence, which is responsible for all cognitive and Executive processes of our brain. Working memory provides our effectiveness in conditions where we are inundated with a flood of incoming tasks: calculation, communication with customers, answering emails, calls, and small decisions. Working memory is responsible dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The results of recent studies indicate that the good performance of working memory is much more useful on the way up the career ladder than dry index IQ. The capacity of working memory is limited. There usually is stored by more than 7 ±2 elements. Its content is constantly updated, allowing to correlate the information at the time, as our attention is focused on other things, for example, we can prepare dinner while talking on the phone. It is believed that the so-called attention deficit disorder (ADHD) in children is associated with disruption of this type of memory. That’s one of the exercises for its development. Say the color name, which is written these words: 
For the development of working memory is also very useful to solve simple mathematical problems, add or multiply numbers in mind or memorize a sequence of words and symbols. 
15. Do strange exercises.
Some of them are well known to us from childhood, but if you try to do it now, you will understand how it is fascinating. Exercise “Ear-nose”. It looks very funny, but worth it. The left hand take the tip of the nose, and the right — for the opposite ear, ie left. Simultaneously release the ear and nose, clap your hands, adjust the position of the hands “exactly the opposite”. You will understand her childhood better. Exercise “Mirror drawing”. Put on the table a blank sheet of paper, take in each hand a pencil. Try to draw a vase. Or bring both hands simultaneously mirror-symmetrical drawings or write letters. When performing this exercise, you will feel relaxing the eyes and hands, because by the simultaneous operation of both hemispheres improves the efficiency of the entire brain. Exercise “Alphabet”. Look at the double rows of letters, where each letter written letters L, P or V. the most interesting. The top letter you recite and bottom indicate movement. L — left hand rises to the left, P — right hand rises to the right side, both hands coming up. The exercise is performed in sequence from the first letter to the last, then from last letter to first.
A B C D E
L P P L
F G H I J K L
V L P V L
L M N O P
L P L L P
R S T A F
V P L P V
X C H W I
L IN P L
Bet — it will be incredibly fun. By the way, the brain likes it when we do everything with a positive attitude.
16. Develop fine motor skills.
Scientists have conclusively proven a connection finger motor skills and speech functions. From the anatomical point of view, about a third of the entire area of the projection of the motor cortex is the projection of the hand, located very near the speech area. That’s why language development is inextricably linked to the development of fine motor skills in children and adolescents. In other words, in order to develop the brain, not necessarily to stick to reading or memorizing things. Sometimes to grow more neurons, is sufficient to hobby-related motor skills: learn to knit, weave bead, embroider or create origami.
17. Finally, the fingering.
Some exercises for the brain and his development of certain areas seem strange, but trust me: your brain will be grateful for such a charge. The fingering or finger gymnastics is an incredibly useful practice. It is often used in teaching and rehabilitation. She practiced yogis in the community where such manipulations are called “wise.” This video describes four exercises to develop fine motor skills and improve concentration. Just try it again. If you’re a guitarist or play the piano – for sure, you will succeed with greater ease. The rest is patience and success!