How to train your brain like a muscle

For Better Focus, Mood, and Pain Relief

By Kate Ferguson, Chief of Staff at Samphire Neuroscience

We’ve all heard the phrase, “use it or lose it” - usually about muscles. But your brain works the same way. This is called Hebb’s Law - “neurons that fire together, wire together”. When you challenge the brain in a consistent way, repeat new skills, or adapt to change, it strengthens connections. This ability to change and grow is called neuroplasticity - and it’s one of the most exciting and well-researched frontiers in neuroscience, with over five decades of studies confirming its influence on your day-to-day life.

Neuroplasticity isn’t just for memory games or learning a language, and it does not end when you turn 25. It can help you improve focus, regulate mood, and even change how your brain processes pain - including the cramps and low mood that can arrive before or during your period. And just like physical training, it works best with the right exercises, recovery and - sometimes - a coach.

What does it mean to train your brain like a muscle?

Training your brain like a muscle means deliberately strengthening the pathways your brain uses to think, feel, and respond. These pathways (networks of neurons) get stronger the more you use them. If you stop using them, they weaken.

Scientists used to believe the brain stopped changing in adulthood. Now we know it keeps adapting throughout life. This means you can:

• Learn new skills and make them second nature
• Build emotional resilience
• Reduce sensitivity to pain
• Adapt faster to challenges
• Much, much more!

And if your brain is adaptable, that also means you can retrain it during tougher phases of your menstrual cycle - periods when mood swings, brain fog, or cramps usually take over.

Everyday habits that build brain strength

Just like a balanced workout plan, “brain training” benefits from variety:

1. Aerobic exercise - Improves blood flow and boosts brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that helps neurons grow and repair.
2. Mindfulness or meditation - Increases grey matter (the part of the brain made up of nerve cell bodies and connections that process information and control movement, memory, and emotions) leading to better focus and emotional regulation.
3. Learning new skills - Builds new connections and strengthens existing ones.
4. Sleep and recovery - Consolidates learning and resets stress systems.

Your menstrual cycle: a monthly brain training window

If you have a menstrual cycle, you’re already living with a natural rhythm of brain change. Research shows estrogen and progesterone affect brain connectivity and even brain volume in regions linked to memory, mood, and pain.

Recent high-resolution brain imaging studies confirm that grey matter volume in certain areas - including the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and parts of the cortex - changes measurably across the menstrual cycle in relation to hormone fluctuations. This means the cycle is not just a reproductive rhythm but also a cycle of brain adaptation, with natural windows for focus, learning, and emotional regulation.

• High-estrogen phases (around ovulation) can boost learning and focus.

Pre-menstrual phases (when estrogen drops) can make mood dips, irritability, or heightened pain sensitivity more likely.

Brain imaging showing how brain activity patterns change across the menstrual cycle, reproduced from Avila-Varela et al., 2024 (npj Women’s Health).

This isn’t “in your head” - it’s literally in your brain. Understanding these shifts means you can plan brain training around your own biology, leaning into natural strengths and supporting yourself in more challenging phases.

When your brain needs a coach

Sometimes, even with the best habits, your brain benefits from an extra nudge.

Neuromodulation - gentle, targeted brain stimulation - can help. It uses a low electrical current to make neurons in specific areas more responsive, which can make it easier to change how those circuits work over time.

That’s exactly what Nettle™ does. By delivering gentle stimulation to areas of the brain involved in mood regulation and pain processing, Nettle™ has been shown to improve pain and mood symptoms associated with menstruation - all without hormones or systemic side effects. In ‘the real world’ users report this and so much more.

Think of it like a personal trainer for your brain. You bring the desire for change and consistency; Nettle™ helps you get more out of each “session” so the changes stick.

Pairing neuromodulation with awareness

Brain training isn’t just about stimulation - it’s about understanding your patterns. Samphire - our app - acts like an active diary for your cycle. It helps you:

• Spot when symptoms are likely to appear
• Plan for focus days and rest days
• Build habits around your natural rhythms

When you combine awareness from Samphire with support from Nettle™, you’re training your brain both internally (through habits) and externally (through targeted stimulation). That’s how you’ll see, and maintain measurable benefits!

References

1. Avila-Varela, D.S. et al. (2024) ‘Whole-brain dynamics across the menstrual cycle: the role of hormonal fluctuations and age in healthy women’, npj Women’s Health, 2(1), p. 8.

2. Brüchle, W. et al. (2021) ‘Physical Activity Reduces Clinical Symptoms and Restores Neuroplasticity in Major Depression’, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12.

3. Fuchs, E. and Flügge, G. (2014) ‘Adult Neuroplasticity: More Than 40 Years of Research’, Neural Plasticity, 2014, p. 541870.

4. Gazerani, P. (2025) ‘The neuroplastic brain: current breakthroughs and emerging frontiers’, Brain Research, 1858, p. 149643.

5. Hölzel, B.K. et al. (2011) ‘Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density’, Psychiatry research, 191(1), pp. 36–43.

6. Lin, T.-W., Tsai, S.-F. and Kuo, Y.-M. (no date) ‘Physical Exercise Enhances Neuroplasticity and Delays Alzheimer’s Disease’, Brain Plasticity, 4(1), pp. 95–110.

7. Sevinc, G. et al. (2021) ‘Mindfulness Training Improves Cognition and Strengthens Intrinsic Connectivity Between the Hippocampus and Posteromedial Cortex in Healthy Older Adults’, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 13.

8. Tang, Y.-Y., Hölzel, B.K. and Posner, M.I. (2015) ‘The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation’, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), pp. 213–225.