Keeping your body fit is one of the keys to living a healthy life, but so does keeping your brain healthy. By finding ways to exercise your brain, you sharpen your mind by boosting your memory, concentration, focus, and other cognitive abilities. With that said, here is a list of five activities you can do to sharpen your brain.
Exercising your body exercises your mind
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There are many advantages that come with engaging in physical activity, and one of them is that it exercises the brain. Through physical exercises, your motor skills are improved. This improvement comes from your brain constantly learning new muscle skills, estimating distance, and practicing balance while moving your body. Exercises such as aerobics, yoga, or even dancing are great exercises you can try.
Learn and teach a new skill
If you have wanted to learn a new skill, here is another reason why you should. Learning a new skill can boost your brain by improving your memory and cognitive abilities. Learning these skills gives your brain a health challenge. As they say- practice makes perfect. Therefore, after you have learned the skill, the best way to expand your learning is to teach it to another person. Teaching someone gives you the chance to practice since you explain concepts you are familiar with and realize (and correct) mistakes you have made through teaching them. Teaching them also improves upon your cognitive abilities- therefore, strengthening the mind.
Solve puzzles
Solving puzzles like sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, and crosswords for 15 minutes a day is an excellent way to sharpen your visual thinking skills. These games involve math, logic, and word skills that contribute to improving your brain’s processing speed, visuospatial abilities, memory, and other cognitive abilities. Click here to pick from a range of puzzles to let your brain gain from the benefits of solving puzzles.
Learn a new language or an instrument
Researchers have found that learning a new language enhances the mind’s elasticity and its ability to decipher any form of information. Their research also showed that the more languages a person learned, the faster their neural network can process information. The same goes for learning to play a musical instrument. Learning an instrument like the guitar and piano changes the brain waves in a way that improves your listening and hearing skills. It also strengthens the structural connectivity between the parts of the brain that processes sound and the part that controls movement.
Feed your brain
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Yes, literally. There are foods that your brain needs for it to stay healthy, and one of them is the Mediterranean diet. This type of diet is not a single diet but rather an eating pattern that focuses on fish oils, olive oil, walnuts, fruits and vegetables, and other sources of nutrients that are beneficial to your body and your brain.
Regardless of your age, there is a need to sharpen your brain and keep it healthy. You can do it alone or engage your family in exercising your brain together to sharpen and increase your cognitive abilities and enrich your lives.
