Super Brain: 10 Things to Eat, Think, & Do to Improve Your Memory and Learn Faster

KEYPOINTS

• 01

  About two-thirds of your brain's performance is within your influence

  Brain coach Jim Kwik says roughly one-third of memory and brain performance is set by genetics and biology, leaving two-thirds in your direct control. After 32 years of daily coaching, he says people of any age, IQ, education or background can improve. His point is that 'genius is built, not born.'

• 02

  Learning how to learn is the 'lead domino'

  Kwik says school teaches what to learn but never how. There are classes on math, history and Spanish, but none on focus, memory or reading speed. Telling a child to 'focus' or 'memorize this' is like telling someone who never had a lesson to play the ukulele. Most of us also stopped upgrading our reading skills at age six or seven, even though reading demands have exploded, and he says that gap creates information anxiety.

• 03

  A visual pacer can speed up your reading by 25–50%

  Run a finger, pen or highlighter just above the line as you read. Kwik gives three reasons it works: it stops 'back-skipping' (rereading words and lines), your eyes are wired to follow motion, and sight and touch are closely linked, much as smell and taste are. He says some people even double their speed. With the average person processing information about four hours a day, saving one hour daily adds up to 365 hours a year, or more than nine 40-hour work weeks.

• 04

  Remembering names starts with MOM: motivation, observation, methods

  Motivation: before meeting someone, ask why you want to remember them. Kwik's test is that if a suitcase of a million dollars rode on remembering the next stranger's name, everyone would. Observation: most people don't forget names, they never hear them, because they're looking around or planning their reply. He notes the letters of 'listen' spell 'silent.'

• 05

  The SUAVE method for names

  Say the name right back, so you hear it twice and get corrected early (better than calling Ted 'Ed' after 20 minutes). Use it a few times in conversation. Ask about it: how it's spelled, where it's from, who they were named after. Visualize it, because we remember faces better than names; for example, picture Mary with two lambs, David with a slingshot or Mike singing on a table into a microphone. End by saying goodbye using the name.

• 06

  Find lost keys by encoding the moment with a vivid image

  Memory works by encoding, storing and retrieving. Most 'forgetting' is a failure to encode. You don't need to repeat 'my keys are here' 15 times. Take a split second to make it extraordinary, such as imagining the desk exploding as you drop the keys. The same see-it, feel-it, hear-it approach is how he says eight-year-olds memorize the periodic table.

• 07

  The 3M framework: mindset, motivation, methods

  Kwik defines mindset as your assumptions about something, and says 'if you fight for your limitations, you get to keep them.' Your self-talk is a program your brain runs, so he suggests adding 'yet,' as in 'I don't have a great memory yet.' For motivation, he asks himself about 10 times a day: 'What is the tiniest action I could take right now that will give me progress toward this goal, where I can't fail?'

• 08

  Ten keys for a limitless brain

  Kwik's list: a good brain diet, killing ANTs (automatic negative thoughts), exercise, brain nutrients, a positive peer group, a clean environment, sleep, brain protection, new learning and stress management. On peers he cites mirror neurons and says whether someone smokes has more to do with their social network than their biology. On stress, he says chronic stress has been shown to shrink the brain and keeps you in survival mode.

• 09

  His favorite brain foods and supplements

  Kwik lists avocados, blueberries ('brain berries'), broccoli, olive oil and a Mediterranean diet, and eggs, whose choline is a precursor to acetylcholine. He adds leafy greens, fatty fish for omega-3 DHA, turmeric for curcumin, walnuts and almonds for vitamin E, and dark chocolate. For nutrients he mentions DHA if you don't eat fish, plus ginkgo, lion's mane and creatine. These are his recommendations, not a medical protocol.