Brain Improvement Exercises – How To Stay Sharp
In the modern world of high technology, brain improvement exercises are a popular way of getting up to speed. As the population gets older, people are getting more and more interested in maintaining their mental abilities well into old age through increased use of the brain, as the old saying goes, use it or lose it.
Most brain training exercises are simply common ways to stimulate your brain into reinforcing old neural pathways or growing new ones. The key to stimulating new growth in your brain is to try new things. You might try reading books that you would have never read before. If you usually read novels, you might try reading about science. Or, if history is your usual subject, you could try mystery books. If you play hearts a lot, try picking up cribbage.
Games are great ways to exercise your brain. Playing chess, electronic games, or cards all challenge your brain into calculating possibilities and developing strategies. This helps the brain to take in new information, process it, and formulate plans.
Sometimes, brain improvement exercises involve doing activities that seem slightly unnatural. For example, you could try eating or using the remote control with the opposite hand of the one you usually use. In fact, try using your other hand for a whole day, this will definitely stimulate different areas of your motor control center.
Brain improvement exercises can also include the use (or nonuse) of your senses. You could learn something new by trying to dress without opening your eyes. Maybe learn to read lips on TV or in real life, this way you emphasize your visual sense for receiving communication instead of your hearing. Likewise learning to read with Braille juxtaposes two senses, visual and touch.
Learning a foreign language can be a long-term example of a brain improvement exercise. It’s impossible to learn a new language all in one sitting, so the result is stimulation that continues for as many weeks, months, or years as you study. And language is the gateway to learning the culture and points of view of other people so you literally learn to think differently.
One very interesting brain exercise is visualization. To help you with your creativity and imagination try using your mind’s eye and visualizing things. Try visualizing your home and moving around from room to room, upstairs to downstairs. Picture every room and every piece of furniture, picture every step you make avoiding chairs and tables. Slightly modified this can be a great exercise for prepping for a presentation or athletic competition.
Brain teasers are often some of the best brain improvement exercises around. These force you to think critically and laterally about problems and their potential solutions. Lateral thinking puzzles force you to think of numerous situations and possibilities, mostly not obvious ones, that can resolve a contradiction or problem. These are a great way of learning to think ‘outside the box. Brain teasers help train your mental focus and concentration. Click here for some great brain teasers and puzzles!
Physical exercise is great for almost anything. Other than training too hard or getting injured only good things can come from some cardio or playing sports, this includes training your brain. During extended physical activity your brain gets fueled to the max with oxygen and building compounds, which enable you to think harder and longer.
You’ve probably noted that after exercising you feel more clear-minded and have a greater sense of general well too! Sports give you the same health benefits as cardio but also give your brain a chance to practice spatial reasoning and perception, planning, and strategy. Exercise also helps to release beneficial brain chemicals. Make sure to exercise physically not just for your heart or belly but for your brain too!
Use it or lose it definitely applies to your brain. As we get older it becomes especially important to supplement our brain use by brain training or brain improvement exercises. Not only are they helpful in strengthening our mental skills but they can be extremely fun, can help you meet people and make you and your life more interesting! Most importantly, they can give you stronger skills that will help you in everyday life.
