A Top Memory Coach Shares 3 Easy Hacks To Improve Brain Longevity

When a childhood head injury left Jim Kwik struggling in school, he became known as "the boy with the broken brain." But through decades of discovering different learning habits, he was able to literally rebuild his brain. 

Now, Jim is one of the top memory coaches in the country, a leading expert in brain optimization, memory improvement, and accelerated learning and the author Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life. "There's no such thing as a good or bad memory. There's a trained memory and an untrained memory," he shares on today's episode of the mindbodygreen podcast. 

"Our brains are these incredible supercomputers, and our self-talk is the program that will run," says Kwik. Meaning, positive thoughts can totally influence your brainpower. "If you tell yourself, I'm not good at remembering names, you won't remember the name of the next person you meet because you program your supercomputer not to," Kwik adds. 

Research backs him up, finding that self-talk can totally alter cognitive performance1. It's similar logic to manifesting; our minds are powerful, and you do have the ability to attract what you want. "If people truly understood how powerful their minds are, they wouldn't say or think something they didn't want to be true," Kwik adds. 

Now, that doesn't mean you can't ever have one negative thought—just like indulging in sweets every now and then won't throw off your balanced eating plan. "But if you did consistently, a little becomes a lot, right?" Kwik adds. "Same with our thoughts." 

According to Kiwk, "As your body moves, your brain grows." It's true: Aerobic exercise has been shown to generate new neurons in the hippocampus2, or the region of the brain associated with memory, learning, and emotions. Contracting your muscles via resistance training, on the other hand, releases certain myokines3, or muscle-based proteins, into the bloodstream—and some of these myokines have been shown to have neuroprotective properties4. 

Aside from those neuroplasticity benefits, "research shows that when you listen to a podcast or an audiobook and you're going for a brisk walk, you're on an elliptical, or you're doing something rhythmic, you'll actually retain and understand that information better," Kwik says. 

In fact, research shows that students perform better on academic tests5 when they participate in some kind of physical activity during the school day. In another study, researchers found physical activity can help people learn a second language6. 

"Your external world is a reflection of your internal world," says Kwik. "Anecdotally, when you make your bed, clean your desk, or put all the files on your [computer] screen in the right folders, then you have clarity of mind." 

Research, too, has shown that stress can result in ritualized behavior7, such as repetitive movements (like cleaning). Sprucing up your space can literally take your mind off of what's bothering you and give you a sense of agency—you may not be able to control an uncertain event in your life, but you can control the clutter in your home.   

"So I remind everybody to 'Marie Kondo' your mind by really optimizing your environment," Kwik says. You can find the tidying expert's cleaning routine here if you need some organizational inspiration.