Laugh
One of my new year’s resolutions is to watch something comic every day. I was lucky to grow up in a home where Mum would crack jokes about everything. I laughed all the time. When it was time to leave home, and start living on my own, my childhood memories led me to a friend who made me laugh the hell out of me. It was my first roommate and best friend Marvis.
Marvis comes from a well-known humourist region-Western Uganda. I don’t know why but the best comedians in Uganda come from the western part and even the President is from this region and is somewhat comic.
When we parted ways with Marvis to move on to our next phases of life, I met a nice guy, married and we now have 3 kids. But motherhood, work, and financial difficulty took their toll on me and the laughter that I always wore at the bottom of my lungs suddenly disappeared.
After reading lots of books about health, beauty, and happiness and then discovering recently that Nigerians are the happiest people on earth yet they battle poverty, violence, and political tension, I decided, enough is enough.
I remembered the one thing that always made me happy so I returned to it.
Now I watch one comedy movie or show every day for about 2 hours and I laugh my head off. Laughter destroys pain, boosts energy and releases stress among many other things.
It’s now 10 days into 2019 and the results of my laughter therapy resolution are evident from the inside out of my body.
Meditate
In a life where we live neck to neck with work, to-do lists, etc… the only way to regain control of your brain is by finding some still time for it.
The amygdala, the part of the brain that produces stress and anxiety shrinks when you meditate.
This is because while meditating, you take your brain off the present moment.
So how do we get ourselves into the practice of meditating?
We do this through a routine. In the same way that you follow your morning rituals of eating a healthy breakfast, exercising, maybe saying a prayer, meditation should become a part of your rituals.
For starters, Yoga master Morgan Dix recommends that you meditate for 5-10 minutes.
He says you can start by sitting still for 1 minute and then gradually increase your time until you get used to meditating for at least 10 minutes a day.
Exercise
Exercises especially cardio workouts such as jogging, swimming, dancing and any exercise that pumps up blood provides for a healthy mind.
You don’t have to go to the gym each time, 2-3 minutes of exercises in the morning in your house followed by a healthy breakfast will give your brain the boost it needs.
Make sure you accompany your exercises with a balanced diet.
Keep the flow of Minerals, Vitamins, and fatty acids
Foods such as fish, fruits, green leafy vegetables, and grains are all brain boosters.
Grab a fruit at breakfast and with some milk, grains and an egg before you head out. Also, find the time to sit down and enjoy your breakfast so that you enjoy the moment.
Make yourself Chaga tea
Chaga tea is a mild tea with a slight hint of a woody and mushroom taste. The tea is made of Chaga chunks or ground powder and the chunks are from birch tree fungus called Inonotus obliquus.
Chaga tea contains a substance called Polysaccharides derived from mushroom carbohydrates. This substance increases energy levels which boast the brains function.
Tea on itself contains amino acids which can help reduce anxiety.
Settling for a cup of Chaga tea once or twice a day can greatly improve the productivity of your brain.
Chaga tea also contains ingredients such as Betulin/(ic) acid which is a promising cancer treatment and Melanin which is full of antioxidants that are worth exploring.
Here are some recipes for making Chaga tea
Sleep
A brain boasting list of tips is never complete without sleep as one of its tips.
I don’t know if you know it but your brain works the best after you sleep. That’s why many people are super productive in the morning after a long night’s sleep.
2 years ago, US’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that the US loses $411 billion per year due to lost work days and poor performance derived from a lack of sleep.
They also found that people who sleep for less than 6 hours a night face 10% percent higher mortality risk than people who sleep between seven and nine hours. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1791.html
Your brain goes to work while you sleep, cleaning out toxins, enables proper blood circulation and keeps your body at rest while you sleep. The results are that you wake up thinking clearer and feeling better.