Sunday, August 19, 2007

'Train Your Brain' by Ravi Samuel

How to get your brain to function more effectively?

The most important brain functions related to studies are attention, concentration, memory, abstract thinking, comprehension, learning, processing-thinking speed and reasoning.

There are three aspects to memory: Learning, Registration and Recall. Never read something without understanding. After reading, think about it, visualise pictures, diagrams, flow charts etc. Revise the points and not the text as you will be able to remember the text when you remember the points. Before revising, recall and see how much you remember. Use flash cards for revision. Comprehension is nothing but how well you are able to understand. If a student listens to the teacher and then reads the relevant material, it will improve comprehension. After reading a sentence take a moment to think what the sentence is about. Try to explain to yourself in your own words the meaning of the sentence. The whole process of studying is to know, but sometimes in a hurry to complete portions some students ignore this aspect and keep memorising without understanding. If you read with an intention to learn the material, then you are likely to understand and remember every word you study. Ask yourself questions about what you have read.

The speed in which one can read to understand and then remember can vary from person to person. Students must know their own speed of learning. When a student reads a subject for the first time, he should read the text slowly and understand every point. Then with repeated reading the student can increase the speed.

Brain Functions

Language is another important brain function related to studies. The material is remembered as words and also reproduced in words along with diagrams. Language develops only with constant usage. Read about the subject as widely as possible from magazines, journals, books and so on.

While speaking use as many words as possible. All arithmetic applications are done in the back of the brain. From simple calculations to very complex calculations, all are done in the occipital lobe.

If you are weak in calculation, whenever you find time, do mental calculations. Do not jump to the answer. Go step by step in your mind, don't worry about the time you are taking. It is important that you derive the answer. Repeatedly practise calculations; in one month, you will be super fast.

If we don't know how to ride a bicycle, we don't say the cycle is bad. Similarly, we should train ourselves to make use of the brain to our advantage. The most important step to develop the brain is by saying, "I have a super brain!".

(The writer is a Cognitive Behaviour Psychotherapist based in Chennai.)
(Courtesy: Young World, The Hindu, August 10, 2007)
Grateful thanks to The Hindu.

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