How can I make my brain sharper, smarter, and lightning fast?

我怎样使自己思维更敏捷、更聪明、反应快？

获得227.7k好评的回答@Andrew Ferebee：

1. Exercise

1.锻炼

Regular exercise can increase brain function, improve memory, speed up cognitive¹ processes, and fight off diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

有规律的锻炼能提升大脑功能，改善记忆力，加快认知过程，并且战胜疾病，如阿尔兹海默症和痴呆。

2. Get 8–9 Hours of High Quality Sleep

2.8-9小时高质量睡眠

If you do NOTHING else except improve your sleep, I promise you that your brain will be faster and sharper than ever before.

除了改善睡眠其他什么都不做，我也能保证你的大脑会比以前反应更快、思维更敏捷。

3. Meditate² for 10–30 Minutes a Day

3.一天冥想10-30分钟

Meditation³ has been shown to help rebuild grey matter in the brain and increase cognitive performance significantly.

研究表明冥想有助于重建大脑灰质，有效提高认知表现。

4. Play a Variety of Different Games

4.玩各种不同的游戏

5. Pick up a Musical Instrument

5.学一种乐器

Not only is music an amazing hobby that will do wonders for your social life, but it will literally⁴ rewire your brain and make you a faster and better learner.

音乐这个神奇的爱好不仅会给你的社交带来惊人的影响，而且竟然能重新激活你的大脑，使你学得更快更好。

6. Volunteer

6.做志愿者

7. Eat a Diet High In Healthy Fats and Low in Processed Sugars

7.饮食应富含健康脂肪，少含工业制糖。

8. Habits You Must Avoid

8.必须改掉的习惯

1) Drugs and Alcohol

1)吸毒酗酒

2) Eating Sugar

2)吃糖

3) Stressing Out

3)压力过大

4) Operating from a Fixed⁵ Mindset

4)思维模式固定

获得342.5k好评的回答@Joel Kaplan：

Back in 2015, Red Bull took their athletes through a series of “fear exercises” to help them perform better under pressure.

回顾2015年，红牛车队（奥地利一级方程式车队之一）带领队员经历了一系列“恐惧训练”以帮助他们在压力下激发更好的表现。

They had to drive racing⁶ cars on a dirt track, hold their breath under water as long as possible, and even crawl through a tunnel filled with snakes. At the end of the “fear training”, the athletes measured their heart rate, blood pressure, and mental comfort.

他们要在一条很脏的赛道上开赛车，在水下尽可能长时间憋气，甚至要爬过满是蛇的地道。“恐惧训练”结束后，队员测了心率、血压和精神舒适度。

Guess what happened?

猜猜结果怎样？

They were able to move faster, they were able to think faster, and they were able to act faster. Most importantly, their brain and body adapted under pressure. What was first a mentally exhausting and stressful activity, became something that they could do with ease and much more quickly.

他们移动速度更快，思维更敏捷，反应也更迅速。最重要的是，他们的大脑和身体适应了压力下的状态，原本是耗费脑力和施加压力的活动，反倒让他们能轻松应对，并且完成速度更快。

So what can you take away from this little experiment?

那么你从这个小实验中了解到了什么？

Do the things that scare you the most… and you will become sharper, smarter, and faster than ever.

做你最害怕的事，你就能比以往思维更敏捷、更聪明、反应更快。