Everyone knows that to keep your body healthy you have to eat right and exercise, right? Well the same thing applies to your brain health too! To keep your brain running at peak speeds you need to exercise it. In fact, research has shown that by practicing mentally challenging tasks, you can significantly reduce cognitive decline as you age. With that being said, you don’t have to solve complex math problems or anything boring like that! In honor of Brain Awareness Week, check out our list below of 5 FUN ways to keep your brain sharp!
Turn familiar objects upside down
When everything looks normal, your brain basically dismisses the information. Turn things upside down to activate your brain network to interpret the shapes, colors and relationships of a puzzling picture. [1]
Play “10 Things”
Take an everyday item and demonstrate 10 different “things” the object could be. For example, a hairbrush could be a microphone, guitar, violin, baseball bat, a canoe paddle, a gun, a hand shovel, a music conductor baton, or even a toy car. Forcing your brain to think of extraordinary jobs for a very ordinary object will keep it and your imagination strong.
Old School Brain Games
Old school brain games are always fun! Try out Sudoku to strengthen your numbers and logical reasoning skills. Crosswords are great too! These can build up your vocabulary and help you with spelling. Other old school brain games could include word searches, color by numbers, or even card games like solitaire!
New School Brain Games
New school brain games are websites or apps that you can download on your phone to strengthen you brain. These apps are like crossfit or bootcamp for your brain. They claim if played daily, the games will significantly improve your cognitive abilities over all. A few good ones you can check out are[2]:
Tell Me a Story
Telling a story is great way to solidify a memory! It’s like how they say if you really want to learn something, try to teach it to someone else. By telling a story of something that recently happened, or that even happened years ago, you are more likely to remember it. Next time you really want to remember something, tell someone about it!
Keeping your brain sharp is super important as you age, especially if you start to see a decline in your cognitive abilities. In honor of Brain Awareness Week, also consider volunteering for research! When brain games aren’t enough, clinical research steps in to save the day and development future treatment options. By volunteering, you could play a big part in finding the next breakthrough for your condition. Visit www.mylocalstudy.com to search for studies enrolling in your area! All study-related care is provided at no cost and compensation is available for qualified participants.
[2] https://www.verywellmind.com/top-websites-and-games-for-brain-exercise-2224140
[1] https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/brain-exercise/
