You're working hard at a satisfying career. You're settled,
more or less, in a longtime relationship, and enjoy a fulfilling social life.
You've established a comfortable routine with your family and friends. Life in
general is going great.
Or is it? Could it be that your mind is
stagnating?
The brain is an organ and, as such, it requires
oxygen and exercise, just like the heart and
lungs. Feed your mind and you'll feel emotionally and physically invigorated.
It may be too soon to succumb to middle-aged worries about "using it or
losing it," or to start fretting about Alzheimer's and other degenerative disease. Nonetheless, it's still
important to focus on keeping your brain in shape.
By regularly engaging in the right activities,
you can increase your memory, improve your
problem-solving skills and boost your creativity. Here are some tips on how to
keep your mind active.
lifelong
learning
Integrating select activities into your regular schedule will
pay long-term dividends.
1-
Read a book
Choose from classic literature, science fiction or
career-enhancing business books and give your brain a boost. Pick up a novel before your next
business flight or vacation. On top of the cerebral benefits, the escapism that
comes from reading can be very relaxing.
Brain benefits: Reading helps you exercise your cognitive skills and
increase your vocabulary. Do it regularly and you'll be amazed at the
information you absorb, which will make you a more interesting
conversationalist.
2-
Take a course
Learn something new. Sign up for a cooking class, register for martial
arts training or enroll in a wine tasting seminar.
Brain benefits: You'll be challenging yourself to absorb new concepts,
information and ideas, and you'll hone your retention skills through
memorization.
3-
Learn a language
Attend classes, listen to tapes or date a woman with whom you
can converse in another language. Instead of watching the same television
programs you always do, take in a foreign language movie with subtitles.
Brain benefits: Learning a new tongue keeps your brain flexible and
your mind sharp, helping to reduce the slowing of the thought processes that
comes with age. It can also make your next vacation or business trip easier if
you know the language.
exercise
your mind
Sometimes, physical and mental exercise go hand-in-hand.
4- Run
Lace up your running shoes and get moving. Even
if you never plan to run a marathon, it will get both your
body and mind in shape.
Brain
benefits: Running will increase the levels of
oxygen in your brain and flowing through your body. In turn, your body will
release more endorphins, which will make you feel energized while producing a
sense of pleasure and well-being.
5- Play golf
Escape to the links and spend a few hours in the fresh air
counting birdies, bogeys and mulligans. Golf is a social sport and a great way
to network and relax at the same time.
Brain benefits: Golfers get mental stimulation using their
decision-making skills as they plan stroke strategies. As the sport involves
the control of repetitive movements, it instills mind-body discipline.
6- Do
yoga
You might be surprised at how strenuous yoga can be. Beyond the physical demands that give your entire
body a workout, yoga has great calming and relaxation qualities.
Brain benefits: Yoga forces you to focus on controlling all your
muscles and your breathing. You'll let your worries slide away, giving your
mind a rest from stress.
7-
Play pool
Rack 'em up, grab a cue and concentrate on your strategy. Billiard players must focus on the immediate, blocking out distractions
as they plan their next moves.
Brain benefits: Strategic planning increases mental clarity.
Concentrating on the immediate helps keep your mind sharp. Furthermore, this
game of angles demands that players think in terms of physics, something most of
us rarely do in our everyday lives.
keep
thinking
Developing habits to fill the brief intervals in your day
will also help hone your mind.
8-
Play a game
Challenge a colleague to a game of chess at lunch. Invite
friends over for an evening of cards. Besides the social aspects, such
activities will keep your mind active.
Brain benefits: You'll use your memory and expand your powers of
recall. You'll also test your mathematical skills and logic.
9-
Subscribe to a daily newsletter
Whether it's a "word of the day," "quote of
the day" or "this day in history" newsletter, receiving new
information each day will add data to the hard drive in your head.
Brain benefits: The mental stimulation will increase your
comprehension skills. The additional knowledge will also make you sound more
worldly and intelligent.
be
creative
Even extended leisure time needn't be downtime for your
brain.
10-
Grab the controller
Believe it or not, playing certain video games really can be
good for your health. The operative word here, however, is "certain"
-- choose games that involve strategy or problem solving. Playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City may be stimulating, but it doesn't do much for the mind.
Brain benefits: Problem solving and role-playing games will help you
practice strategic planning. You'll also improve your hand-eye coordination.
11-
Build a model
Remember the fun you had as a kid making model airplanes and
cars? Recreate that by building a miniature model.
Brain benefits: Following all those written instructions sharpens your
powers of concentration. Focusing on the task at hand will also be very
relaxing.
12-
Learn an instrument
Pull out your old guitar, sign up for piano lessons or rent a
trumpet or a clarinet. Learning how to make music will stimulate your creativity.
Brain benefits: Reading music provides mental stimulation. Playing an
instrument requires powers of recall as well as concentration to maintain tune
and tempo.
13- Do
a crossword
Stick The New York Times crossword puzzle in your briefcase, then get to work on it
during your commute or while you're waiting for an appointment or a meeting to
begin.
Brain benefits: You'll improve your cognitive skills and creative
thinking as well as your word power and vocabulary.
14-
Engage in a debate
A lively discussion can be invigorating. As long as you avoid
letting it digress into an argument, you can have a lot of fun debating the
pros and cons of an issue with a friend or colleague.
Brain benefits: You'll practice your quick-thinking skills, logic and
creativity. Developing convincing theories on the spot will help you in your
career and in your personal relationships.
boost
your brain
Keep your mental faculties in tip-top shape by giving
yourself plenty of opportunities for mental stimulation. Use your cognitive
skills, test your powers of recall, improve your memory, and challenge yourself
to be more creative in your thinking. You'll reap great brain-boosting benefits
by keeping your mind active.
