Brain hacking, also called mind hacking, is an application of some tools and techniques in a certain way, so as to trick your brain into believing things the way you want. It is the ‘intelligence factor’ that separates human beings from other species. The human mind has tremendous possibilities that one can ever think of. Isn’t it interesting to know that you can actually trick your mind to respond in a certain way, improve your intelligence and also enhance your cognitive skills!
In other words, brain hacking is your brain’s unique way of improving its normal functioning and increasing different dimensions. This is possible because your brain has the ability to improve its structure and functionality, also known as neuroplasticity. This is not just a fun technique, but also a key to evolving oneself in a higher way. Although there is a number of brain hacking techniques that you can apply, I have listed out only 5 hacks, easy but potent ones to trick your brain in minutes.
Smiling – Brain hack to feel happy naturally
You all must have noticed that when you are happy inside out for some reason, a beautiful upward curve shows up naturally on your face. When someone smiles at you, it radiates good vibrations in you and makes you pass a smile too. Smile is known to be very contagious as it lightens up the atmosphere and makes everyone feel good.
The act of smiling releases dopamine and serotonin – some of the ‘feel-good’ chemicals of the body. So the next time you are unhappy or agitated, do a little effort of smiling for some seconds. Your brain will get naturally tricked into thinking that you are happy and release some of your happy and stress-free hormones.
Studying at spaced intervals
I came to know about this brain hack from one of my History teacher way back in school. She advised me to study at spaced intervals, rather than cramming over the notes for hours at stretch. A 5-10 minute break between every 45 minutes of study proves to be very helpful to retain the information in your brain. This brain hack technique tricks your mind into believing that it is acquiring fresh information (without strain), even after hours of studying.
Raj Bapna, author of a famous book titled ‘Raj Bapna’s Mindpower Study Techniques’, has also talked about a similar brain hack technique which works wonders for students when studying for long hours. In his book, he has explained this in the form of a graph showing how one’s brain retains more information and sharper memory when short intervals are incorporated into studies. He has also shown a retarding- straight line graph depicting the stagnancy of memory when a person studies for long hours at a stretch.
Brain hacking with visualization
This is the simplest of all technique if you know how to use your imagination well. When you are sad, or you feel like things are not going your way, you should definitely try this. Try to visualize a wonderful scenario in mind intensely. Use all of your five senses to create that vision. This creates sensation and emotion in you and tricks your brain into believing the scenario.
For instance, I usually visualize myself in the midst of a forest sitting in a nearby tree or sitting on a rock and cleansing myself under a waterfall. I create the atmosphere of a forest, the sound of birds chirping around, the sensation of my foot on bare earth. As I slowly open my eyes, I feel so good mentally, as if everything that happened was real. This is the power of this simple brain hack technique. It alters your emotion and feelings.
Memory palace – A powerful brain hack technique
This is a powerful brain hack technique that helps to store and recall a lot of information especially long list of things. It’s very simple. Whenever you have to remember a large list of things, connect those words with the things that you already know. Like for example, you can create a memory map in your mind, and fit the new information into it so that your mind will be able to relate to it.
Form a memory palace (mind map) of your neighborhood in your mind. Divide your information and place each bit of it in a specific area of the map, like one into your nearby shop, one into a parlor, and so on. So the next time you want the list, you can simply recall your neighborhood map containing the stored information. Your brain associates an old memory with a new one and keeps a record of it easily.
Rewire your brain to shrink pain
Different brain hacking methods have been experimented to trick one’s brain to abate pain, physical or mental. Some of them are Mirror therapy, inverted binoculars, etc. But to use these, you need to possess certain tools. One of the simplest ways of tricking your brain into feeling less pain is breathing. Yes, you have read it right. You can shrink your pain by breathing in a certain way. This technique is known as bio-energetic breathing.
It is not like meditation where you are usually told to take slow and deep breaths. In this technique, you have to breathe as fast as you can for a span of up to 10 minutes. See that your inhalation and exhalation are deep and complete, and yet fast in pace. This, of course, doesn’t relax you; instead, it creates emotions in you and clears off any emotional blockages in your mind and body. This brain hack technique recreates your feelings and pumps out your pain in minutes.
So here ends my list of some cool and interesting brain hack techniques that will help rewire your brain in minutes. There are a number of other ways too that you can use to trick your brain. If you know about any other brain hack techniques, you can write them in the comments below.