Mental exercise can improve brain power, concentration, and memory. Activities like puzzles, reading, and playing an instrument can help, as can breaking out of ingrained habits and trying new things.
Mental exercise is a process of increasing brain power, skill, and concentration by performing specific tasks that are demanding on the brain. This need not be a formal process; many people find that completing things like sudoku or crossword puzzles gives them great mental exercise. Others play computer games or video games designed to challenge and exercise the brain. Studies have shown that this type of lifelong brain exercise can help keep memory sharp, improve concentration, and can improve performance by solving difficult problems at work.
There are many ways to get mental exercise in life without sitting down to a computer game or crossword puzzle. Reading a challenging novel, writing in a journal, or learning to play a musical instrument can help keep your brain sharp. Learning to play a musical instrument is especially challenging for people, often because it requires learning to read music and developing entirely new muscle memories. Exercise can also help keep your brain fit by increasing blood flow. Any activity that engages the mind and body can serve as mental exercise and tends to be far more beneficial than just sitting in front of the television.
Crossword puzzles or word searches can also be great mental exercises. Number games like Sudoku are also very useful, as are trivia games. Even an activity like hand-balancing your checkbook can help stimulate activity in the brain. Putting together a large and complex puzzle is another fun activity that can challenge your brain. Similar to learning to play a musical instrument, learning to speak a new language can also be a wonderful boost to the brain and can even be beneficial for travel.
Another of the best ways to exercise your mind is to consciously try to break out of ingrained habits. Using the hand opposite to the one normally used to eat or brush teeth, for example, can help encourage the use of both sides of the brain. Some people even try to change their computer mouse, which can be quite challenging. Additionally, driving on a new route to work or school that requires more concentration can help wake up the brain and prevent the “zoning out” that can often occur in the car. It takes effort to continually stimulate the brain and give mental exercise, but it’s worth it in the long run.
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