It’s easy to forget how our mental health contributes to our overall wellbeing. Just like all of our muscles require strength training and exercise to adequately support you, your brain also needs to be exercised and cared for to ensure that you as a whole are performing and feeling at your best.

If you don’t use it, you lose it applies to the brain as well. Just like your muscles will atrophy (shrink) without using them regularly, your brain will also atrophy. The brain shrinking contributes to aging, memory loss, brain fog, lack of the ability to focus and concentrate plus a whole slew of other functions.

Brain exercises that won’t empty your wallet:

  1. Test your recall. Make a list — of grocery items, things to do, or anything else that comes to mind — and memorize it. An hour or so later, see how many items you can recall. Make items on the list as challenging as possible for the greatest mental stimulation.
  2. Let the music play. Learn to play a musical instrument or join a choir. Studies show that learning something new and complex over a longer period of time is ideal for the aging mind.
  3. Do math in your head. Figure out problems without the aid of pencil, paper, or computer; you can make this more difficult — and athletic — by walking at the same time.
  4. Take a cooking class. Learn how to cook a new cuisine. Cooking uses a number of senses: smell, touch, sight, and taste, which all involve different parts of the brain.
  5. Learn a foreign language. The listening and hearing involved stimulates the brain. What’s more, a rich vocabulary has been linked to a reduced risk for cognitive decline.
  6. Create word pictures. Visualize the spelling of a word in your head, then try and think of any other words that begin (or end) with the same two letters.
  7. Draw a map from memory. After returning home from visiting a new place, try to draw a map of the area; repeat this exercise each time you visit a new location.
  8. Challenge your taste buds. When eating, try to identify individual ingredients in your meal, including subtle herbs and spices.
  9. Refine your hand-eye abilities. Take up a new hobby that involves fine-motor skills, such as knitting, drawing, painting, assembling a puzzle, etc.
  10. Learn a new sport. Start doing an athletic exercise that utilizes both mind and body, such as yoga, golf, or tennis.

Make a couple of these part of your regular routine and you’ll soon be on your way to better brain health!

Which one are you going to try? Share with us below in the comments.

#AreYouReallyHealthy #HealthFactFriday

PS: The above is a great way to get started with mental health, but did you know I have a simple brain test that will help me guide you in the right direction.  Check out https://areyoureallyhealthy.com/braintest to learn more about my brain health test kit.