I set off this week to put together a post listing some things we can do/eat/watch/listen to/whatever in order to learn more/better/faster. And what I came up with is that would be pretty boring and a lot of the research is so unsubstantiated that it seemed silly to tell all of you to.. I don’t know.. eat three pounds of Brussels sprouts a week to increase your synapses when who knows if that’s true. That’s totally made up, by the way, but I won’t discourage you from eating three pounds of Brussels sprouts a week because they’re so delicious! Good and good for you!

However, I did find an interesting tidbit in a Newsweek article titled “Can You Build a Better Brain?” Well, apparently, you can. Research in neuroplasticity (the study of the brain’s ability to grow and change in response to activity) shows that your brain is highly responsive to new stimulation and applicable regions of the brain will grow when you spend time doing something in which you have to pay a ton of attention.

For example, consider the difference between when you’re 100% on autopilot while doing something you’re used to and when you’re learning something for the first time and you have to finely focus on every part of the activity. Doing something that you already are really familiar with - playing the piano when you’ve played for years and years - is not going to do much to expand or improve your brain’s functionality. But, taking up piano for the first time, learning the keys, the notes, the different pitches - doing something in which you have to be incredibly attentive  is likely to “boost processing speed, strengthen synapses, and expand or create functional networks.”

So essentially - beyond all the benefits you already receive from approaching life with an open mind and actively reaching out to discover new things - if you try something new, you’ll have a better brain. I’m sure we’re all smart people, but the world could always use a little more intelligence circulating about. So what are you going to try?