How can I improve my presence of mind?

Our body have two aspects - physiological and psychological.Once you strike a balance between the two, you can experience a calm, productive and peaceful mind.

To improve my presence of mind I try to follow few techniques, which includes:

1. Drinking optimal amount of water. Our brain uses around 15% of the oxygenated blood or cardiac output. Well hydrated body means your brain is getting sufficient oxygen to work at its best.

2. Going for long walks. I prefer walking, it helps in neurogenesis[1] .

3. Take Vit C[2] and antioxidant rich diet to keep your brain healthy.

4. Prime your subconscious mind: I had a bad habit of forgetting things, so I started priming my brain to remember things on snap of a finger. It is much like self hypnosis where you are teaching the monkey to behave on a stimuli. Mine is snapping the fingers, you could take a moment close your eyes and recall “why you were doing, what you are doing”.

5. Thank your brain: Be mindful of your thoughts. See what you are feeding your brain. Call me crazy, but I actually thank my brain whenever I get a subconscious insight or intuition. It is enforcing a good behavior through rewards. Your subconscious is much more powerful than you can imagine, but you need guide it through. Once you get in a habit of working with your subconscious mind, trusting it a little more, you’ll find yourself in tune with time. You’d find your presence of mind improving with time.

6. Use of recreational drugs[3]. This is tad bit controversial but it works. Psilocybin is referred to as a “nootropic” agent, one that has numerous functions in the brain that can improve hippocampus health. The hippocampus is part of the brain responsible for learning as well as converting short-term memory to long-term memory.
   a)I have used alcohol and shisha; and a friend used cannabis before his exam. He vouches by the concentration power. But we are not addicts, we haven’t tried any other drugs before. It is rare. It works.
   b)Caffeine works for some people. But then again, they are not addicts they take coffee to improve the functioning of their brains.

7. Relaxation exercises: For me it is music. Music helps me in concentration and reduces stress. For some people deep breathing, having a glass of water works. Less stress = more concentration. So try meditation or breathing exercises to reduce stress.

8. Last but most important aspect is to have a child like glee. When you have that curiosity of a child you focus on the task with laser sharp vision. It has helped me a lot in my life.
   That is all I do to improve my performance. I hope this helps.

Be well <3

Footnotes
1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurogenesis
2.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2649700/
3.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23727882