Your brain is constantly rewiring itself. Every time you learn something new, practice a skill, or even just think different thoughts, you’re physically changing the structure of your neural pathways. This process is called neuroplasticity, and it means you have far more control over your brain’s capabilities than you might think.
Here’s the exciting part: You can deliberately increase neuroplasticity and harness this power to improve your life. Read on to explore how to give your brain what it needs to change—and how to actively direct those changes toward your goals.
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Increasing Neuroplasticity
According to neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta (Keep Sharp), there’s no known limit to the strength or number of our neural connections, and the concept of neuroplasticity suggests it’s not our genetics but rather our choices that dictate our intelligence levels. Neuroscientist Tara Swart (The Source) echoes this sentiment, explaining that understanding how the brain changes itself is essential to harnessing the full power of your brain, which in turn allows you to achieve what you want most in life and shape your future.
Understanding the Basics: Use It or Lose It
But how exactly does the brain change itself? One of the most practical implications of neuroplasticity is what might be called the “use it or lose it” principle. According to psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge (The Brain That Changes Itself), the more a pathway is used, the more efficient it becomes. This is why practicing something a lot—using the same neural pathway—makes it easier to do. Conversely, pathways that aren’t used frequently are less efficient, which is why doing something new or that you’re not used to doing can be so difficult.
Doidge offers a simple example: If you’re right-handed, you’re more likely to use your right hand for most things you do because that neural pathway is well-established. However, if you want to increase your skill with your left hand, you can practice using it for those activities. As the pathways controlling your left hand become stronger, you’ll become more skillful with that hand.
Gupta provides another illustration using music. If you learn a song on the guitar, you form new connections between your neurons. If you keep practicing, these connections will strengthen until you can play the song easily from memory. If you stop practicing, these connections will weaken rather quickly while new ones form or others strengthen. The brain is constantly shaping and reorganizing itself in response to the stimuli it receives, says Gupta. Because of this, what you choose to focus on shapes the brain’s circuitry.
However, Swart cautions that neuroplastic change is time-consuming and takes a lot of energy. As your brain changes, you’ll find that you often seem to backslide, suddenly struggling again with an aspect of your new skill you thought you had mastered already. When you’re learning, the brain makes short-term changes that don’t immediately translate into long-term changes; the changes become permanent only with repeated practice. To learn anything new, you must continually commit to learning it.
(Shortform note: Some estimates suggest that it takes an average of 66 days to form new habits, with individual variations ranging from around two weeks to close to nine months. If you’ve only been at it for a few weeks or months and find yourself backsliding, don’t be discouraged: Continue making the conscious choice to develop the new habit you’re working toward. You can also try other tips, such as setting clear, concrete goals (which research shows are easier to meet), finding ways to make practice more fun, and asking for help from your social support networks.)
3 Ways to Support Neuroplasticity
Given that neuroplastic change requires substantial energy, the first step in harnessing your brain’s potential is ensuring it has the biological foundation to support this work. Because neuroplastic change takes up so much energy, it’s essential that you provide your brain with the resources it needs to make these changes. Swart provides three ways to fuel your changing brain.
#1: Rest Your Brain
Get adequate rest on a regular basis. According to Swart, sleep gives the brain an opportunity to cleanse itself of toxins that interfere with its functioning. Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep each night, so make sure you’re setting aside enough time each night to get as much sleep as your brain needs. Swart asserts that sleeping on your side is the best position for facilitating your brain’s natural detoxifying process. Also, she recommends that you establish a relaxing routine before bed that helps you get ready for sleep and avoid using screens for one hour before you go to sleep.
#2: Feed Your Brain
Your brain also needs plenty of energy in the form of nourishment, Swart explains. The brain uses as much as a quarter to a third of the energy from the food you consume, and failing to give it the energy it needs reduces the quality of its functioning. Your diet should include whole grains, plenty of protein, vegetables, and healthy fats from sources like fish and avocado. Highly processed foods, alcohol, and excessive sugar and trans fats are inefficient fuels and make it harder for the brain to function.
#3: Hydrate and Oxygenate Your Brain
Hydration and oxygenation are also essential for healthy brain function. Make sure you drink enough water (half a liter per 30 pounds of body weight each day), and exercise regularly to increase oxygen flow to the brain. However, Swart notes that polluted air can actually harm brain function, so avoid exercising in areas with high levels of air pollution.
Active Techniques That Catalyze Change
Once you’ve established these biological foundations, you can employ more active strategies to accelerate neuroplastic change. Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman (Huberman Lab) explains that synaptic modulation by neuromodulators plays a crucial role in neuroplasticity and identifies several ways to catalyze neuroplastic changes:
- Talk therapy has long been recognized as an effective method for addressing mental health concerns by fostering self-reflection and insight.
- Breathwork techniques entailing conscious control of breathing patterns are gaining attention for their potential therapeutic benefits.
- The responsible use of psychedelics: Huberman warns that you should exercise caution when using psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA due to risks and legal restrictions. He recommends professional guidance when exploring alternative methods such as these for enhancing neuroplasticity.
Directed Neuroplasticity
Beyond these catalysts, you can take an even more targeted approach to rewiring your brain. In The Mind and the Brain, Jeffrey Schwartz and Sharon Begley describe self-directed neuroplasticity (SDN) as an approach that entails actively directing your mental focus to rewire neural pathways and foster healthier brain function.
SDN is very similar to neurocycling, cognitive neuroscientist Caroline Leaf’s approach to healing your mind from trauma and toxic thinking. Neurocycling teaches you to leverage neuroplasticity and exercise mental self-control. In her book Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, Leaf writes that you can use directed neuroplasticity to rebuild your brain’s neural networks (the structure of physical thoughts) and improve its electrical activity to achieve coherence (the measure of brain health that Leaf says reflects your level of mental toxicity). “Directed” means that you’re shaping these changes in a particular way—in this case, you’re making positive changes by eradicating unhealthy thoughts.
Affirmations
One specific tool for directing neuroplastic change is the use of affirmations. Swart identifies a couple of ways you can use neuroplasticity to improve yourself and your life. First, she recommends creating a list of affirmations. Write down several inspirational quotes (from books or movies, from people you respect, or directly from your own brain), and repeat them to yourself multiple times a day. This will cement them in your brain and help move your goals from your subconscious to your conscious mind.
(Shortform note: To write the best affirmations, some experts recommend writing them in the present tense because it simplifies them and makes them easier for the subconscious to understand. They also recommend keeping them positive, avoiding negators like “not” or words with negative connotations, and keeping them solution-centric rather than problem-centric. Additionally, they suggest placing reminders of your affirmations [through sticky notes or other visual reminders] around your house so you see them frequently.)
New Experiences
Another powerful method for promoting neuroplasticity is deliberately seeking out novelty. Swart also recommends pushing yourself into new experiences. This will help you overcome the fear of failure that can be so debilitating in creating the future you want. New experiences trigger neuroplastic change in your brain and give you a wider understanding of the world around you. These new experiences can be small or large. For example, you could go hiking on a trail you’ve never been on before or listen to a new genre of music.
(Shortform note: New experiences don’t just improve your neuroplasticity: Research suggests they also activate the brain’s reward center, producing dopamine and making you feel happier. They also make you feel more present in the moment. However, it’s important to note that the neuroplastic changes created by new experiences might be temporary. If you’re trying to make a permanent change in your brain, you’ll need to repeat the new experience frequently to create and strengthen the neural connections involved in it.)
Reality Check: Challenges and Realities
With all these powerful tools at your disposal, it’s tempting to expect rapid transformation. However, it’s crucial to maintain realistic expectations about the process. While the promise of neuroplasticity is exciting, it’s important to understand the challenges involved. Swart is particularly clear about this: neuroplastic change requires significant time and energy. The brain doesn’t transform overnight, and the process of building new neural pathways is metabolically expensive.
Moreover, Swart notes that short-term changes don’t immediately translate into long-term changes. You might have a breakthrough moment in learning a new skill, only to find yourself struggling with it again the next day. This is a normal part of the learning process. The changes become permanent only with repeated practice, so mastering anything new requires continuous commitment.
This reality check doesn’t diminish the power of neuroplasticity—it simply grounds our expectations in biological reality. Change is possible, even profound change, but it requires patience, persistence, and consistent effort.
Explore Further
The science of neuroplasticity reveals a fundamental truth: your brain’s potential isn’t fixed by genetics or age. Through consistent practice, proper support, and intentional focus, you can reshape your neural pathways throughout your life. The process demands time and patience, but armed with these evidence-based strategies—from quality sleep to novel experiences—you have the tools to actively guide your brain’s transformation.
To learn more about neuroplasticity in the broader context of the brain and mental health, check out Shortform’s guides to the books and podcast episode that these ideas come from:
- Huberman Lab: “LIVE EVENT Q&A: Dr. Andrew Huberman Question & Answer in Toronto, ON” (Andrew Huberman)
- The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
- The Source by Tara Swart
- Keep Sharp by Sanjay Gupta
- Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess by Caroline Leaf
