Use these easy-to-incorporate tips to get your mind moving!

1. Break in your pillow
We regenerate our bodies and minds through sleep. Aim for a minimum of eight hours a night to keep your body and mind in peak performance.

2. Develop a taste for glucose
As the brain’s main energy source, glucose keeps it functioning at high speed. Aim to eat a variety of unrefined complex carbohydrates like whole-grain breads, brown rice, legumes and vegetables – all of which promote brain cell health – to supply a steady stream of energy to your noggin.

3. Get physical
A recent study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S. has shown that even a basic fitness routine of walking for 45 minutes, three times a week, boosts brain activity and improves decision-making skills. Add to that the fact that regular exercise benefits your overall health while boosting blood circulation and cutting down on stress.

4. Work your brain out
If you’re normally a left-handed writer, try jotting things down with your right hand, and vice versa. Employ the same method for using eating utensils and sports equipment. Because you're not used to working a different side of your body, you’ll force your brain to work harder to complete these tasks.

5. Load up on fruits and veggies
Full of antioxidants, fruits and veggies shield brain cells from free-radical damage. Aim to include a variety of both in your diet. Tip: Studies have found that eating one cup of blueberries a day has reversed short-term memory loss.

6. Ditch the calculator
Just because it may save time to add, subtract and divide with a calculator doesn’t mean doing will do anything beneficial for your brain. Try balancing your cheque book the old-fashioned way – even if it takes you double the time.

7. Think outside the box
Instead of following the same Saturday afternoon routine, try something that will challenge your brain. Expand your vocabulary, memorize your favourite Shakespeare passage, sign up for those music lessons you’ve always wanted to take. Make an effort to keep your brain engaged.

8. Eat more chocolate
No, seriously. Studies have found that eating dark chocolate, which is rich in antioxidants, has a protective effect on the brain.

9. Take time to relax
Go on walks. Take long baths. Read a book. Some of the best ways to boost your brain power are by giving it a chance to rejuvenate.

10. Take your vitamins
If you aren’t getting the vitamins and minerals you need from your diet, talk to your pharmacist about a supplement that’s right for you. Certain vitamins and minerals (like Vitamin B, calcium and magnesium) regulate and boost brain activity – not having enough can impair how efficiently yours operates.