Six Fun Ways to Exercise Your Brain
You brain needs exercise just like your body to ward off the effects of aging. Here’s how to exercise your brain.
Do you spend time at the gym giving your muscles and heart a workout? Well, what about your brain? It needs exercise too. Recent studies are showing the benefits of using mental puzzles and challenges to exercise and strengthen brain power. The unfortunate reality is that brain function declines with age and the process starts as early as age thirty. The good news is the old adage “use or lose it” also applies to brain function. You really can slow down the aging process with exercises designed to strengthen brain power. What are the most effective ways to exercise your brain?
Learn a New Language
Learning a new language is a powerful way to exercise your brain. Why? It requires you to use multiple brain functions including memorization, interpretation, and speaking. It also requires focus. Once you’ve mastered a new language, challenge yourself by visiting a country where the language is spoken and exercise your new skills.
Play Board Games
Don’t choose mindless games based on chance, but games that require skill and mental focus. The classic example is chess where you have to think several steps ahead. There are even online sites where you can play chess with people from around the world to further challenge your brain. If chess doesn’t appeal to you, try checkers, Chinese checkers, bridge, memory games, or Trivial Pursuit. These also require considerable brain power.
Learn to Play an Instrument
Learning the complexities of playing an instrument is a stimulating and challenging way to strengthen your brain. If you’re up for a challenge, consider starting piano lessons. Studies have shown that children who take piano lessons score higher on cognitive tests, particularly math. Learning to play any new instrument creates new pathways to be formed which are beneficial for brain health.
Drive a Different Way to Work Each Day
This is a simple way to strengthen your brain. Exposing your brain to new sights and sounds can help to offset the aging process. Choose a different route every morning and immerse yourself in the visual and auditory stimuli you see. Stop living on auto-pilot!
Carry a Crossword Puzzle Book with You
Keep a book of crossword puzzles with you at all times. When you’re waiting in line, use it tochallenge your mind. You can also buy books of brain games that test mental abilities. Do them often.
Explore the World of Online Games
The internet is full of games that will test and challenge your brain. Do a search for “online brain games” and discover the wealth of options available to you.
As you can see, there are a multitude of ways to exercise your brain. Why not choose one and watch your brain power grow?
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jamesII | Apr 25, 2009 | Reply
You forgot the simple: Mere reading and writing. Some of the The topics you cover is strictly jargon to me. However, here I can relate. I like the article for its brief approach. you waste very little time or words. I quess writers write about what they know–still, because medicine is mostly where your education lies, I am one to beleive you know more about living and will have something cute and postive to add to the art part of nature and human nature– I guess I trying to say that I think you should write about human interest topic apart from medicine. Get sad. Be happy! Say someting funny. lEAVE WORK!
And, sometimes, depending on race, life is always a mental challenge–do you know what I mean. I imagine God meant for everything and everybody to copy the atom in action–all the creation in the world have no choice at this except humans– those that understand this will always have a challenge. The rest will satify themselves with fat and lazy–do you know what I mean? Will read more of you when I am looking for a mental challegne. Cool!
Magwealth | Apr 25, 2009 | Reply
That’s another good one from you.. you know I have avoided learning African languages for all my life, but now that you say, i actually see the point. I live in Botswana but I am Kenyan, yet in all the 7 years I have lived here I can only speak less than 50 words. I will surely challenge myself. Point taken Kristie. I love this one!
Sophia | May 18, 2009 | Reply
I surely agree with learning a new language! I’m having hard time with learning spanish and always put off to do homework, memorize words and whatsoever. but once i concentrate on studying it, after an hour and a half I feel my mind focosing on one thing and being more clever than ever, seriously. and many elder classmates look really young, especially when they are fully immersed in the class.
and I should try on-line chess thing for my own good. Thank you for a good short article on this subject!