Neuroplasticity allows us to design our brain

Summary

• Because of neuroplasticity, the ability of our brains to literally rewire themselves to meet changing demands, we can guide this rewiring to improve our own minds.

Details

• Just as we train a muscle, we can likewise train our brains for example to focus for a longer period of time, or to learn new complex skills

References

• Aileen Kwun, Korean-American writer and editor covering art, design, culture, and travel.

Quotes

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change throughout your lifetime, in relation to factors including behavior, process, and environment — which means the vast majority of us who aren’t natural-born geniuses with infinite potential (sorry, Einstein) can still improve our lot with strategic and incremental changes to our daily routines. Understanding these basic principles of neuroplasticity is the first step to achieving higher cognitive performance, Yousef reports. “I would say the brain is probably the most complicated thing in the universe,” she says, and while the complexity of this organ is certainly not to be understated, “I love the colloquial analogy of thinking of the brain as a muscle, because it puts the individual, the human being, in the driver’s seat. It empowers the individual in the place of truly being the designer of their own brain.”

“You are the designer, you know your brain and your own conscious experience,” Yousef says. “One example of this is being able to increase your ability to focus for longer periods of time and gain more cognitive control by training your attention. The more focus training (i.e. meditation) you do, it’s like hitting the gym, that ‘muscle’ gets stronger, and then it becomes easier to then in turn focus.”

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