One of the main benefits of stimulant drugs (such as cocaine, ephedrine, and amphetamines like Ritalin) is their ability to dramatically increase mental energy and concentration. They can make it easier to focus on your work and studies for prolonged periods of time.
How is this achieved? Basically, it’s thought that psychostimulants increase catecholamine neurotransmission in the brain.
There have been several studies lately that reveal how bad sleep disordered breathing can be for your brain.
Now, a recent article published in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine shows how harmful sleep apnea can be to even children’s minds. The study, conducted by Dr. Ann Halbower and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University, reveals kids who have sleep apnea have:
Many are using Nintendo’s Brain Age game to boost their brain power.
Here are two more powerful tools, however, you can add to your brain
gym:
[Two videos follow at the end of the article]
A recent Harvard University newspaper article suggests that many Harvard students casually rely on prescription stimulant drugs to get a competitive edge and boost brain power while studying.
The article further suggests that stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin "might be on their way to becoming the new coffee".
A study out of the University of Adelaide, to be published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, shows that omega 3 fish oil may be better than Ritalin at treating Attention Deficit Disorder.
Within 3 months of treatment with the fish oil capsules, the children started to show signs of improvement, and by 7 months, many of them were doing better at school.
Ampakines are a class of proprietary drugs that are being developed by Cortex Pharmaceuticals and its partners. These compounds are thought to be potentially useful in improving memory and concentration in people who have ADHD and Alzheimer’s disease. Many are hopeful that the drugs will help improve cognition and performance in those that are normal and healthy.
Not too long ago, I posted how over the long term, meditation can actually increase the size of the brain. Specifically, it thickens the cerebral cortex in areas important for attention and concentration.
I came across another study, though, that shows meditation over the short term can also temporarily increase your ability to concentrate and focus. The study was out of the University of Kentucky in Lexington.