Your brain needs exercise too. Try these brain exercises out and flex your mental muscle a bit.
Find the ones you like and use them whenever you feel your mind needs a bit of a workout.
Recently I found an article which exercised my brain. Some of the exercises were very easy to set up and perform. Try them and see which exercises work well for you.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5 Games to Keep Your Mind Sharp
Use our 5 game ideas to help strengthen your most important muscle — your brain!
It might be time to start utilizing little tricks in your daily life to help keep your mind sharp. You need to use your brain in creative and challenging ways to keep it sharp for the long term. Playing mind games is one way to do so. Try using these games every day to keep your thinking skills sharp and at the ready.
- Incongruous Colours BLUE
Using markers or crayons, write out the words of different colours in a colour that is different from the word. So, write the word “green” in red, “blue” in yellow and so on. Then go through the list as quickly as you can say the colour that the word is written in, not the word itself, aloud. This game is more challenging than it seems!
- Going on a Picnic
This is a fun game to play with your spouse, friends or children. It’s a memory-based game where you start with “I am going on a picnic, and I am taking …” The first person says something with the letter A. Then, the second person starts the phrase again, recalls the A word and then adds on a word that starts with B. This back-and-forth continues until you get through the entire alphabet.
Example:
Person 1: “I am going on a picnic, and I am taking an apple with me.”
Person 2: “I am going on a picnic, and I am taking an apple and a blanket with me.”
54, 48, 42, 36, 30, 24, . . .
- Final Countdown
This game is one of the most flexible, as it can be done anywhere and only takes a few minutes. Pick a number to start from and then start counting backwards. Use a different number to count from each time, and count down by multiples. For example, start at 54 and count backwards by 6, or start at 93 and count backwards by 3.
- Opposite Day
Use your non-dominant hand as much as possible for an entire day. Simple tasks like brushing your teeth or hair suddenly become more challenging and require additional thought and attention.
- Picture This
Take any photo from your home or a magazine and study it for one minute. Then, turn it over and write out as many of the details of it as you can remember. Afterward, check for accuracy and take a look at what you missed.This exercise is easier if you put X’s on each item named in the photo.
Games like these will help sharpen your brain, especially when practised frequently. Don’t be surprised when it becomes easier to remember all the little details!
By: Madeline Glasser
Zoomer magazine
Madeline is the author of the Food, Fitness, and Family blog
