Neuroscientist: Skip breakfast sometimes and 2 other simple tips to boost your brain performance

The first time Rahul Jandial opened the skull of a living human being as a third-year medical resident at the University of California, San Diego, he knew he’d found his calling. “There’s a fear, of course, but also awe that you’re literally inside somebody’s head, which elicits intensity as well as excitement. I don’t want to sound indelicate, but for me, it’s a thrill,” Jandial says. But you don’t have to be a neurosurgeon to be fascinated by the brain. Everyone from Silicon Valley tycoons to biohackers are dabbling in cognitive performance enhancers known as nootropics, which tout improved cognition by a drop of a pill. And that’s what worries brain surgeon Jandial, who calls the “smart” pills being peddled and much of the advice being doled out unproven “nonsense.” In fact, it inspired Jandial to write a book with science-backed advice on how to achieve optimal brain performance. “I’ve known students in my medical school classes who thought they get better grades by taking ‘smart’ pills, which in truth only allowed them to work longer and harder at being just as stellar or mediocre as they were to begin with,” Jandial, a dual-trained brain surgeon and neuroscientist at City of Hope in Duarte, California writes in his new book, “Neurofitness: A Brain Surgeon’s Secrets to Boost Performance and Unleash Creativity.” Rahul Jandial Rahul Jandial Jandial tells CNBC Make It that the best ways to boost brain power for peak performance are actually easier than people think. Here are his top three: 1. Skipping breakfast twice a week Intermittent fasting may be trendy , but fasting is nothing new: Several of the world’s major religions call for periodic fasting , and Jandial thinks that might have to do with how it affects the brain. Research has shown that fasting […]

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