How Would I Know If Brain Training Really Works?

In the last article, we looked at the potential in designing the training of your own brain and the concept of brain plasticity.

In this article we are going to answer two questions:

1. does brain training really work?
2. how would I know if it works?

I suppose the answer to the first question is – yes. However, it depends on how you train your brain for the goal you wish to achieve.

What does training the brain mean to you?

Many of us are fascinated with the idea of increasing our intelligence, our focus and our memory. This might be particularly so as we grow older.

You’ve seen those ads for memory enhancers such as Prevagen®, yes? (by the way, note who is making the recommendation and why).

If we could increase our capabilities in these areas, then we could

• solve more problems,
• succeed in our careers, and
• gain the respect of our peers.

For example.

Can the brain really be upgraded? Is there such a thing as a real ‘Limitless’ pill?

And do all these brain training apps really work?

The hidden potential of the brain

You have probably heard claims that we only use a small percentage of our brain (something like 10%) and that we have lots of untapped potential.

Well, the latter point is true…

The former is, most likely, a myth, as it is a misrepresentation based on a misunderstanding of the way our brain works.

Likewise, many so-called brain training games and apps have been shown to only really improve the specific task that they present us with.

Let’s face it…

Counting penguins makes you better at counting penguins and that’s about it.

Right?

That is not to say that there aren’t ways we can enhance our brain function and get more from our various mental faculties. It is possible to improve such areas as focus, memory and attention.

However, in order to do that we need a better understanding of neuroscience, the biology of our brain and how our brains respond to stimuli.

The key to all of this is something called brain plasticity.

This is the ability of the brain to grow and change shape in response to experience and training. We are capable of growing new neuronal connections and altering our chemical makeup yet only when properly stimulated.

Go back to the video on plasticity from the last article, if you want to review it.

Why train your brain?

What is truly exciting is that the capabilities of the human brain – and mind – go far beyond merely upgrading your ability to retain information, or to be witty in conversation.

Brain plasticity shows that the brain can adapt to incredible demands and changes. This is how some blind individuals have managed to develop sonar. It’s what allowed some people to develop synaesthesia and be able to visualize complex mathematical equations.

It allowed strongman Dennis Rogers to recruit more muscle fiber during exercise and to stop two aircraft from taking off with his bare hands in what, in 1993, was termed “The Human Chain Feat“.

It allows gymnasts to move with fluidity, memory masters to recite pi to tens of thousands of decimal points (the record is 31,811) and it is what allowed Einstein to decipher the secrets of the universe simply by picturing the movement of light.

And what about people who might not be considered athletic?

Do you remember Sri Chinmoy? I remember reading about him in a bodybuilding magazine in the UK many years ago when I was learning about the sport. If I recall correctly, he looked nothing like a bodybuilder (not to me, anyway).

And yet, he pressed a 1000-pound dumbbell with one arm.

He is more of a weightlifter. Or was.

Here is a YouTube™ video featuring him in 2004 doing a seated calf raise with over 1000 books.

You remember that scene from the Hitchcock’s movie The 39 Steps where a “memory man” is challenged with the question: “what are the 39 steps?”

I just couldn’t resist that one!

It allows Whim Hof to raise his body temperature and survive exposure to extreme cold. Plasticity allows autistic savants to create perfect sketches of cityscapes they’ve seen for seconds.

It is how I have personally managed to

• train myself to research and write at least one blog post a day (allowing for breaks),
• adapt thousands of lines of code to fit my own projects,
• see myself in a great teaching job six months ahead (and predicting the day I would get it),
• find creative ways to solve writing and coding challenges.

Just some examples…

You know that saying about being a Jack of all trades and master of none? I would reframe that statement to say that I am a Jack of my chosen trades and I am working at becoming a Master of them all.

Did I also mention learning to wake up without an alarm clock?

Ultimately, this all means you have the ability to design the brain you want, to become optimized for the challenges you face in your life and for the goals you are working toward. You can become more highly focused, more creative, more confident or even upgrade the speed of your thought.

You can train your brain just as a bodybuilder trains their muscles. And the potential that this represents is something that has not even been fully explored. Your mind is limitless, it is the final frontier.

And now to the second question.

How would I know that brain training works?

Have you noticed that I have included training the mind as part of your brain training program?

This is because when you actively train your mind to be creative, solve problems in the alpha brain state, or even doing meditation, the physiology of your brain improves.

One way in which you might wish to train your brain and mind is through a program such as the Silva Method.

While I am currently going through the Silva Life System a second time (the last time was around 2009), I am not an instructor nor am I an affiliate.

There are countless videos about the method on YouTube™.

I would suggest that you look for those by qualified Silva instructors such as Laura Silva Quesada, Ken Coscia, and Katarazyna Ostasz (from Ireland), for example.

Or better yet, sign up for the program itself. It provides a solid and structured approach to training your brain as well as your mind.

You might even start off by getting the book that started it all, The Silva Method by José Silva. I bought this book second-hand and read it before I decided to sign up again for the program.

Did I say that you will not only be training your brain? That you will also be training your mind? Isn’t that how geniuses such as Einstein achieved greatness?

By the way, remember that reference to counting penguins? What if you could rework that in order to effect better sleep?

You could do that through the use of a technique called Sleep Control used in the Silva Method.

I tried it again, recently, following the formula properly – and it works!

Here is an answer to that question…

You know brain training works when you have used it to achieve your goals in the way that you actually want to achieve them.

In addition to this, there comes a dawning realization – if it wasn’t already there – that you are a unique and special human being with the ability to achieve your human potential while you are on this planet through the use of your intelligence.

There might not be a real ‘Limitless’ pill on the one hand.

On the other hand, however, there are options available that can assist you in experiencing something you already are.

In the next article, we will look at dealing with ebbs and flows in productivity.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Sources:

Dennis Rogers. Located at Oldtime Strongman (online),
https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/blog/2011/09/01/dennis-rogers/ [Accessed August 17, 2022]