Brain Exercises to Keep your Mind Sharp

To keep your mind sharp and utilize your brain effectively, you have to do something, probably you have heard this: brain exercise. You may think it’s late to do that sort of thing. No matter what your age is, brain exercise will be greatly beneficial for you. Just give it a try and take some positive steps. Anyone can do the brain exercises which is one of their most wonderful properties. The principle ‘Use it or lose it’ is often used for your muscle, and it is also true for your brain. This article is intended to motivate you to begin brain exercises, whatever your age is.

Many researches and experiments have been performed on this subject over years. Many authors have written books about brain exercise, but at the very beginning I want to add something. Without any formal or directional instructions, anyone can exercise his/her brain by simply doing some algebra. But you might think, “Why do I need to learn or do algebra while I am not interested in it?”

Again, some people think that since they’re not going to be a scientist, mathematician, builder, an engineer or are not going into similar technical careers, and truthfully perhaps they will never use complex algebra for any real world applications, so why do they need to learn algebra.

Well, that may be a big question. But maybe you do not need algebra directly in your job, but what algebra do is, help your brain grow and make you effective in the course of problem solving. It will help you to learn quickly in a systematic way as you do it in algebra. In algebra, for a given problem, you have to understand a problem, select a formula and work step by step to reach the solution. As you do this, it builds a new connection in the brain and helps to learn new concepts throughout the life. Maybe you’re not excited by this as much as I am, but give it a try, and then you will realize how efficient it can be.

Now, it’s time to know what researchers say about brain exercise. Most probably you are acquainted with the term ‘neurobics’. This is related to your brain. One of the most famous book about neurobics is “Keep Your Brain Alive”- by Lawrence Katz and Manning Rubin. The principles of this book involve using your senses differently, focusing attention and changing your normal routine, even for a short span of time. Whereas some ideals may appear silly, but it is easy to see, how doing them challenges the mind. Do not fear about the crosswords or other types of puzzles because this book does not include these hazards. At this point, let me give some examples from the book:

• Use your non-prominent hand for brushing your teeth.
• Turn off the light in your house at night and using your memory, sense of touch, sound and even smell, navigate your way.
• Act or respond differently than you would normally do in a situation.
• Visit places which you have not explored yet.
• Mute your television and make up your own dialogue.
• Don’t they seem simple but effective? They really are. Try them a few times and you will understand why the book is so popular.

People do physical exercise to get rid of physical stress or alleviate the symptoms of depression. Well, no doubt this is really effective for the purpose. In addition to this, physical exercise also does some changes to your mind. Your brain is also stimulated as well as your body when you work out. You can understand it when you recognize the connection between the body and mind. According to a research by the University of California in San Francisco, physical exercise greatly reduces cognitive decline. However, to get the best result, exercise daily and try to do more each time.

The last thing I would like to say about brain exercise is meditation. A meditator can take complete control of his or her brain by the very act of suppressing through and concentrating on one particular thing like a mantra, breathing. You may increase your cognitive function over the long term by meditating regularly. People often find it difficult to meditate, and at a stage they give up.

But you should not lose your courage, because if you are able to concentrate even for a minute then you have already accomplished something. So practice and challenge yourself to meditate every day, and try to increase the duration of your meditation than the previous day.

At this point, you should have realized the needs and ways to exercise your brain. Don’t care about your age, just start from today and lead a better life.