At the start of a new year, many people resolve to make some kind of change in their lives, whether it is to lose weight, quit smoking, save money, or exercise more. But very few people dedicate themselves to better brain fitness.
Research shows that many of us are concerned about memory problems as we age. This year, why not resolve to be more mentally active on a daily basis? Engaging your mind in intellectual challenges by participating in new and interesting activities will help support brain health and function.
Other brain health contributors include eating a healthy, well-balanced diet; getting enough rest; reducing stress; spending time with others; and engaging in aerobic forms of exercise like walking, swimming, or biking.
Just like physical exercise, it is important to choose an activity or endeavor that will challenge you intellectually and interests you so you will stick with it. For example, if you don’t enjoy cross word puzzles then try reading instead. It is also important to reach beyond what is comfortable and try to increase the difficulty of the activity.
If you like to listen to music, try listening to a different type of music that you know little about and learn all you can about the genre. If you love to do a daily crossword puzzle, try doing more difficult or different types of puzzles. If you are an avid reader, pick up a book that you’ve always wanted to read, but haven’t, or read about a new topic of interest.
You can even work on brain fitness while waiting for appointments or at stoplights. All you need to do is work on recall. A common problem that many of us experience, especially as we grow older, is the inability to recall information when we need it. We have that tip-of-the-tongue feeling in which we know the name of a particular restaurant or person but it’s just not coming forth.
This is a type of forgetfulness that can be frustrating. The more we try to remember, the more anxious we become when we can’t remember. Experts recommend challenging yourself with recall types of activities whenever and wherever you like. All you need to do is think of a category and start listing items, either on paper or in your mind.
One suggestion is to make a mental or written list of as many fruits and vegetables as you can. You will look to your long-term memory to try to recall them. At first, common produce will come to you very quickly and easily, but the challenge comes when you really need to work to remember. At this point, when you keep going, you are exercising your brain.
If you’ve wanted to learn a new language, take up crafting, or attend educational workshops, do it! If you’ve also vowed to exercise more and eat healthy, these resolutions are also good for maintaining a healthy mind.
