Make your brain better

New Scientist is running an article on “11 Steps to a Better Brain” that I found fascinating. Specifically these snippets leapt off the page:

“…with the help of modafinil, sleep-deprived people can perform even better than their well-rested, unmedicated selves. The forfeited rest doesn’t even need to be made good. Military research is finding that people can stay awake for 40 hours, sleep the normal 8 hours, and then pull a few more all-nighters with no ill effects.”

“…many people are using Ritalin not because they suffer from attention deficit or any other disorder, but because they want superior concentration during exams or heavy-duty negotiations.”

“…go to the top of the class by eating breakfast. The brain is best fueled by a steady supply of glucose, and many studies have shown that skipping breakfast reduces people’s performance at school and at work.

But it isn’t simply a matter of getting some calories down. According to research published in 2003, kids breakfasting on fizzy drinks and sugary snacks performed at the level of an average 70-year-old in tests of memory and attention.”

This last part was about a study of nun’s in a convent right here in Minnesota, “…a study of its 75 to 107-year-old inhabitants is revealing more about keeping the brain alive and healthy than perhaps any other to date.” The study was undertaken due to the longevity of the nun’s and that many of them — after death and autopsy — were revealed to be in severe states of dementia though showed no outward symptoms.

I’ve written about brain hacks, how your brain is wired, ADD/ADHD stuff and more. There are alot of great resources and articles on the ‘net about all of these areas that are focused on brain and mind enhancement — like one blogger I follow religiously, Zack Lynch (in fact, you can use Zack’s blog as a launching pad to access tons ‘o sites and blogs about this category).