When most of us think about exercising to build our muscles, we think about making our quads, biceps, abs, and glutes bigger and stronger. However, there is another very important muscle that you should be working regularly, and that is your brain.
By constantly working on your cognitive skills, not only do you become mentally sharper and have an easier time with memory and recall, but you also reduce your risk of a number of brain-related conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, you’ll enjoy greater problem solving skills and find that your creativity levels will likely soar.
To gain these benefits and more, here are some brain exercises you’ll want to do regularly:
- List Recall. This one is simple. All you have to do is make a list of all of the things you need from the grocery store or any other list you normally keep, study it, then put it away for an hour or so before trying to remember everything that was on it. Be sure to include some items that aren’t normally on your list (like maybe light bulbs, batteries, or an ingredient you don’t normally buy if the list is grocery related) to make this exercise a little more challenging.
- Math Exercises. Don’t worry. You don’t have to be stellar with regard to your geometry, trigonometry, or calculus as regular addition and subtraction will do for this one. The reason is because you’ll be doing these exercises without the use of pencil or paper. Start with smaller numbers and work your way up once they begin to get easier to do.
- Learn Something New. Learning new skills is another great way to keep your brain in top shape. And there are tons of options to consider, from picking up a new language to learning a new musical instrument, the sky is the limit on this one.
Do these three regularly and take care of your brain’s health!
