Physical exercise is essential for our body, muscles and heart to remain strong, healthy and in good shape. But what about our brain? Will you need to exercise?
Like your body, your mind also needs regular training to make sure it stays healthy as you age.
According to Dara Schwartz, a clinical psychologist at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital in San Diego, and Ruth Curran, a brain injury survivor and author of the book “Being Brain Healthy,” there are tools and techniques that put your brain to work to ensure a long life. healthy and happy.
Discover 6 ways that will allow you to have your brain young and healthy.
6 ways to keep your brain young
1. Learn something new and complex
According to Dr. Schwartz, when you talk about brain health, you make an apology for gym training circuits. The first circuit he recommends is based on the idea of learning something new, preferably something that is not easy for you. If it’s challenging and frustrating, it’s probably better for your brain.
For example, if you don’t have a mechanical mind, try learning some automotive skill, or if you are not a person of words, try memorizing the lyrics of a song or poem.
2. Train your body
Part of your brain health includes making sure your body learns new things and getting out of a rut. One of the techniques used by Ruth Curran to expand and increase neural activity is to walk in a different way than what you are used to .
Curran recommends that you walk on the edges of the shoulder rather than the sidewalk, stepping up and down as if you were weaving your legs rather than just going in a straight line. Forcing the brain to do something different is a great way to put it on alert and active.
3. Practice public speaking
Dr. Schwartz believes that one of the key exercises to keep your brain young and active is developing verbal fluency. If you find yourself struggling with word search within a conversation, that’s an example that your verbal fluency is decreasing as you age.
To help you maintain this ability, Schwartz recommends the following:
- Public speaking.
- Research a topic that is unfamiliar or of interest to you, and then expose it for one to three minutes. You can speak out loud in front of a mirror, it doesn’t necessarily have to be with a person.
4. Use two senses together
Integrating multiple senses when you do any activity is a good way to keep your brain active. Curran for example recommends that you listen to music when you are cleaning or driving, this type of exercise helps you have mental dexterity .
For her part, Dr. Schwartz recommends listening to an audiobook while cooking.
5. Work your short and long term memory
Developing skills such as long and short-term memory, as well as concentration, is another of Dr. Schwartz’s techniques to increase the capacity of your brain .
To activate your memory you can focus on remembering what happened in your life during the year, or remembering the activities you did the day before. You can also play memory and intelligence games known as “Simon Says,” which are excellent for concentration.
On the other hand, Curran recommends that you download applications with memory games to your phone.
6. Perform a treatment if necessary
Suffering from anxiety or depression can have a great effect on the overall health of your brain. According to Dr. Schwartz, these conditions can cause the brain to slow down, even if you are practicing this circuit of activities.
Therefore, if you feel that you are struggling with either of these two problems, talk to your doctor so that they can guide you to combat and overcome that condition and you can make the most of the exercises that we have proposed.
Reference
- Aimee Cebulski. 8 Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp as You Age. For Livestrong [Revised August 2017]
