Although our mind never ceases to amaze us, and is amazingly advanced, it's remarkably easy to trick it. Take the concept of 'phantom limbs' for example. Making your brain believe that an amputated limb is still attached to your body is nothing short of phenomenal. But this isn't all; there are a number of amazing ways you can hack your mind into doing particular things faster, better, and more accurately. Here are some ways how.
1. Shrinking pain.
A must try the next time you get that annoying paper cut. As it turns out, inverted binoculars are very effective pain killers! Based on a study done in Oxford University, scientists found that people who looked at an injury from the wrong end of the binocular felt less pain. Since the wound appeared smaller, the subjects would feel less pain, and some even experienced decreased swelling. Researchers say that this shows how we can trick our minds into controlling even sensations. So the next time you hurt yourself, get a pair of binoculars. If you don't have binoculars, just look away. Ignoring your cut will help you deal with the pain.
2. Hack your brain to be more productive, and remember things better.
You can be more productive and get a better memory by - drumrolls - taking breaks. Finally, something to show to our parents. Of course, I used to study the other way round though. I used to break for long hours, and study for 15-20 minutes in between. Jokes apart, studies have proven that resting your brain after studying/learning is very important for memory consolidation. It is advised that one should take a break from whatever you're learning every 60-90 minutes. This applies even when you're learning something practically. Like learning how to play the guitar for example. To pick up, or better an art form, the best way is to keep taking breaks, even naps, every 90 minutes.
3. Your body and mind CAN function at an optimal level with just TWO hours of sleep!
I'm not asking you to stay awake like a bat all night here. Neither am I asking you to sleep less. In fact, doctors say 6-7 hours of sleep for an adult is necessary. All I'm saying is, you can if you wanted to, and still feel fresher than someone who takes pride in his/her 12 hour naps. So no more dozing off during boring lectures, or on a slow day in office (like me ). It's called the Uberman Sleep Schedule. Probably named after the modern man's hectic lifestyle. It's a method of organising your sleeping time to maximize your REM (Rapid eye movement) sleep and minimize your non-REM sleep. While other stages of sleep help your body heal and grow, REM sleep helps your body feel rested, and keeps the brain sharp.
So how do you do it?
Instead of a normal goodnight's sleep, you have to rely on six twenty-thirty minute naps throughout the day. For example, at 2 AM, 6 AM, 10 AM, 2 PM, 6 PM, and 10 PM every day. Obviously it's going to be incredibly tough, and tiring the first few days, but after the third day your mind will learn to adapt to it. Because you're only sleeping for a short period, the brain realises that you need to go into REM sleep directly. So while the rest of the world gets about an hour and a half of REM sleep in a regular night's sleep, you will be getting two hours of the sleep that's most fruitful for the body.
4. State specific memory.
It's always easier to remember something when you're in the same 'state' in which you first learnt it. However, 'state', is a pretty loose term to describe it. It generally refers to where one is, or what the body is doing , or what sort of stimuli are present. Really helps while studying, trying to memorize something. You might not have the option, but try studying for that important test in the same room where you'd be taking a test. It'll help you study quicker, and recall the material easily. Not just study, even learning an instrument for that matter. Give it a shot.
5. No more stupid annoying song.
Yes! Finally a hack that will stop those annoyingly Honey Singh songs from being trapped in our heads. Here it goes. If you have a song stuck in your head that you can’t seem to get out, think of the end of the song and it should go away. The reasoning for this is pretty deep. This is due to something called the Zeigarnik effect, which is basically your mind having a problem with things left unfinished. Deep, right?
6. You can train your mind to hallucinate, just like an LSD trip!
What if I told you that you can trip balls without having to spend a single penny on drugs that can be harmful to your body. True story. All you need is a radio with headphones, a ping-pong ball, and a red lamp (or any other source of light that's red).
Step 1: Turn the radio to a station with just white noise (static), and put on your headphones.
Step 2: Cut the ping-pong ball in half and tape each half over your eyes.
Step 3: Turn the red light so it's facing your eyes.
Step 4: Sit there for at least a half an hour.
Step 5: Watch yourself ride a unicorn.
So how's this happening? Called the Ganzfeld effect, it works by blocking out most of the signals that go to your brain. The sound of white noise through your headphones and the light coming in from the ping pong ball is eventually cut out, and ignored by your brain. Due to which, your brain is forced to create its own picture. Enter hallucinations. But remember, always think happy things, it can very well become a bad trip otherwise.
Nzoy!