Brain Exercises – Keep Your Brain Healthy

Although physical exercises such as running and jogging are good for your brain health, there are other exercises you can do while sitting to make your brain and mind healthier and smarter. Here are a few brain health exercises you can do.

Observation Exercise

You can do this alone or with a partner. While sitting in a public place memorize the details of the people you see. You can start with memorizing three details, then progress to memorizing more. If you’re with a partner, make it a game and take turns to see who remembers the most details.

This exercise is what brain experts refer to as ‘passive memory training’ because it doesn’t warrant any special memory techniques. It simply allows the brain to indulge in a fun activity, rather than make it perform at its peak and store the memories in its memory bank.

If you want to become a better observer, this exercise will certainly help you develop memory skills. You can also try this exercise on cars, or buildings, or any objects, for that matter.

Play “10 Things”

This brain exercise has you take an object and try to think of 10 things that may be similar to your object. Take an egg flip for example. What other things are similar to your egg flip? Is your brain working in overdrive wondering what else it could be? Or did you think of 10 things easily?

If you can’t think of any, how about a guitar, or a shovel, or even a fly swatter? Now it’s your turn to come up with a few more! As you can see, a game like this forces your mind to really think hard and so improves its function.

Indulge in Art If You Don’t Already

Drawing or being creative artistically is a relaxing brain exercise and therefore has the added bonus of relieving stress. A mind that suffers less from the impacts of stress not only works smarter but is healthier too. It also makes you use the creative side of your brain. You may not do this every day, but investing some time on art projects can greatly improve your brain’s ability to process nonverbal and emotional cues.

It’s Time to Start Reading Aloud

Reading aloud allows your body to use other brain circuits. This is the reason why many editors and writing experts recommend that reading aloud should be done during the editing process.

When each word is spoken out loud, the brain ‘can hear’ the dialogue or conversation. This enables the brain to easily pick up grammatical errors etc. It also helps improve the memory as you are far more likely to remember what you have ‘said and read’, than just read.

Other Brain Games

This article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Rubik’s cube. This is one brain exercise that can either frustrate you or have your brain trying as hard as it can to solve the puzzle! If you can solve the Rubik’s cube, congratulate your brain! Well done!

As for other ideas, there are plenty of things you can do to exercise your mind and boost its power. The key is to allow your brain to try out new, novel and complex things. If you do, new neurological pathways will develop inside your brain. The more you engage in brain exercises, the less likely your brain will decline in cognitive function.

Plus, a smarter brain boosts your self-confidence, speeds up your reaction time, and enables you to think faster when it is seriously needed.