To initiate neuroplasticity, first recognize and acknowledge precisely what specific behavior, reaction, or piece of information you want to change or learn, as this awareness cues the nervous system for change.
If you are older than 25 and want your brain to change, bring an immense amount of selective attention to the specific thing you wish to alter or learn, as this is crucial for opening up plasticity.
Master your sleep schedule and determine how much sleep you need to achieve alertness when you sit down to learn, as alertness (via epinephrine release) is a necessary chemical circumstance for plasticity.
Identify when you are naturally most alert during your 24-hour cycle and dedicate that period to learning specific things aligned with your goals, as epinephrine release occurs more readily during these times.
To ensure alertness, energy, and attention for a task, identify a ‘kit’ of several reasons (e.g., love-based goals, fear of shame or humiliation) that motivate you to make a particular change.
To improve your ability to focus your mind for tasks like reading or listening, practice focusing your visual system on a small window of space, as mental focus follows visual focus and triggers neurochemical release for plasticity.
When practicing visual focus to improve concentration, do so at the precise distance from the work you intend to do (e.g., screen, paper) to optimize its benefit for plasticity.
When you need to listen very hard, close your eyes to create a ‘cone of auditory attention,’ as this helps prevent the visual system from taking over and improves listening comprehension.
If you feel agitation and find it challenging to focus, and feel like you’re not doing it right, chances are you are doing it right, as this agitation indicates the necessary epinephrine is in your system for plasticity.
Engage in learning bouts of about 90 minutes, recognizing that the beginning and end may involve some flickering focus, with the middle hour being the most concentrated period for optimal learning.
During learning bouts, eliminate distractions by turning off Wi-Fi and placing your phone in another room to allow for complete immersion and sustained focus.
When your attention drifts during a learning bout, continually bring it back, and if sighted, literally maintain visual focus on the thing you are trying to learn, as this is a key trigger for plasticity.
Ensure you get deep sleep after a period of focused learning, as neuroplasticity primarily occurs during sleep, strengthening the neural circuits highlighted during wakefulness.
Immediately after a learning task, engage in a 20-minute non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) protocol or a brief nap (90 minutes or less) to significantly accelerate the rates of learning and depth of plasticity.
After a period of very deliberate focused effort, allow your mind to drift through non-sleep deep rest, walking, running, or mindlessly sitting, as this deliberate disengagement accelerates learning and depth of learning.
Some individuals, including Nobel Prize-winning scientists, use nicotine (e.g., Nicorette) to increase alertness and focus by binding to nicotinic receptors, but be cautious of jitteriness and over-reliance, as plasticity requires distinct windows of focus.