Juggling boosts grey matter in the brain.

Helping your brain is more than just performing mental tasks.  Our brain is hardwired in such a way that performing physical activities can actually help across a wide spectrum of cognitive tasks.  One positive aspect of incorporating these tasks is that they are often less tedious than mental tasks.  Some of them are plain fun.

Learning to juggle can be difficult at first, but once mastered, it's like riding a bicycle, you will always retain the skill.  Many people start with scarves or some kind of fabric.  The fabric moves through the air slower and is easier to grab while also being more forgiving of mistakes of hand-eye coordination.
Here's a great place to start learning how to juggle.

Don't worry if it takes you a while to get the hang of it, you're actually doing More for your brain by simply attempting the new task, than an accomplished juggler is by practicing.  The accomplished juggler can probably toss balls in his or her sleep, while the beginner is constantly forcing the brain to make changes in order to accomplish this strange new task it's been given.  In that spirit, try to learn something new every day, even if it's just a small, simple task.  The more the brain has to adjust, the more it gets used to adjusting.  It is my belief that this is important for the overall health of the brain.

The (almost) forgotten master of multitasking.

Many decades before medical science was ready to acknowledge brain plasticity, a man by the name of Harry Kahne was doing something(s) extraordinary.  A piece of chalk in each hand AND each foot, some limbs writing words backwards, some forwards all the while fielding questions from the audience, Harry Kahne was truly a marvel.  I'm sure it appeared something like a magic act, but there was no trick.  He claimed anyone could do it, even writing out guidelines for just how to learn.  Here it is, completely free:

Harry Kahne: Multiple Mentality Course

Why his methods are not picked up by researchers and used to help people recover brain function I will never know. 

Harry Kahne writing with both hands, both feet and mouth.

Looking through these exercises,  you start to see a trend.  Take something you know, such as the alphabet, and learn it backwards, forwards, mixed up; every way imaginable.  The brain improves and makes new connections the fastest when it is challenged with new activities.  Knowing only this basic premise, you can create your own mental challenges to sharpen your brain.  But start with Harry Kahne's guide.  There's really nothing quite like it out there even today.  He was way ahead of his time.

Dual-N-Back. The game changer.

There are a myriad of supplements, techniques, tips, tricks, and exercises all purporting to help brain function.  Most of them, as you probably know from experience, have little to no noticeable effect.  Dual-N-Back is not one of those things.  Right from the beginning you know it's different.  It's work.  And your brain knows it.  It will beg you for a break like your body constantly tests you while running long distances.  This is not a crossword puzzle or Sudoku or any of the other games you tell yourself are good for your brain.  It's not fun in the slightest.  However, if you are looking for one of the single most potent things you can do to improve cognitive function, this is it.

Hard to describe, but easy to learn once you try it.  You have to constantly remember X number of positions ago in a sequence of both visual and auditory stimuli.  Essentially this forces you to focus the entire length of the exercise.  In Dual 1 Back, for instance, you only have to remember the position and sound of the item that last appeared.  It's quite simple on this level, but it will get you used to the exercise.  Dual 2 Back is where things start to get tricky.  Constantly remembering not the item that just appeared, but the item that appeared before that, can be difficult if you're new to the exercise.  Believe it or not, if you stick with it most people can get used to remembering 5 items ago, or Dual 5 Back, in a matter of a few months.

At the recommended 20 sessions per day (each session lasting only around 45 seconds) it's simply the best bang for your buck out there for brain boosting.  It is one of the only known exercises that can actually increase your fluid intelligence (IQ)!  And the best part?  My personal favorite program for N-Backing is completely free.  Here it is:

Brain Workshop

There are pay for play Dual-N-Back programs out there, but why fix what isn't broken?

A free browser based Dual-N-Back program that I use from time to time is found here:

Cognitive Fun  -Just click on the Memory tab to see the list of N-Back games.   

I did mention earlier that it's not fun to work on Dual-N-Back.  Well that's not entirely true.  After only a few sessions, you'll find yourself able to follow conversations much more easily, even if the person is talking quickly.  That's where the fun lies.  It trains focus like nothing else.  Willful focus, that is.  Ever tell yourself, "This is important brain, focus on this!" and..your brain lazily boots up its attention areas, finally focusing once the needed time has passed?  Well this fixes that.  And the effects of only a few sessions can last for weeks and even months.  With the occasional tune up session, you can retain your new level of focus indefinitely.  Research has shown that subjects who stopped N-Backing then started again were able to quickly jump back to and even surpass their old levels.

The Downside-There's not much of a downside to this, really.  No catch.  Just put in the work and you get the benefits.  I will mention however, that it is my personal belief that individuals who suffer from obsessive compulsive tendencies should avoid doing these exercises.  The emphasis on focus tends to exacerbate those issues.

So that's it.  Have fun! (or don't have fun).  The brain figures out fast when you're making it do real work, and will send out the 'not fun' signals.  Ignore them and push on anyways.  You won't be disappointed. 

How much can we really change about our brain?

Not so many years ago it was scientific convention that, after our childhood years, our brains were no longer very malleable.  Our current number of neurons were thought to be a set number that diminished with age.  Fortunately the scientific process worked, and with a flood of research indicating otherwise, the mainstream stance on the brain had to be readjusted. 

We now know that the brain is both very adaptable (known as brain plasticity), and also able to generate new neurons.  Both of these things the brain can do even into our elder years.  Even more recently, IQ, also known as fluid intelligence, has been shown to be improvable as well.  It seems there is not much the brain cannot adjust or adapt too, provided we are willing to put in the effort. 

Welcome to Cognitive Enhancement.  Our focus here will be to provide you the best ways to keep your mind sharp, and hopefully get it to do some things you never thought it could do.