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 The brain is perhaps the most wonderful organ of the human body. It's complex structure has yet to be fully understood and widespread scientific research is ongoing in an attempt to understand it. The brain controls physical movements, speech, emotions and thoughts and is what makes us unique, not only from animals but from each other.
As we get older however, our memory deteriorates. We can have difficulty remembering names and dates, where we left our keys or parked the car. Just like exercise can keep limbs and joints supple, so can brain exercises alleviate the 'worst' effects of ageing. Even young people benefit from mind exercises. Your mind operates in a certain number of ways and must thus be exercised accordingly. To keep yours in tip top shape, try the following exercises; 1. Do some puzzles - Sudoko, chess, crosswords - all force the brain to think about solutions to puzzles. Recalling words, solving cryptic clues, forecasting several moves ahead - these all make our brains think. 2. Do some math - Math is about logic. You should be able to do simple math in your head, without recourse to paper. Pick random math sums and increase the difficulty as you progress. 3. Learn a language - Learning a language not only engages the parts of the brain involved with speech, it also forces you to translate simultaneously thereby sharpening your mind skills. 4. Paint / write / compose - This forces your mind to imagine. The creative part of your brain is just as important as those dealing with logic or emotions. You don't have to be writing Shakespearean dramas or painting Michelangelo frescos. Indeed tear them up after you’re finished if you wish. The exercise is more important than the result itself! 5. Learn a skill - knitting, juggling, darts, hoola hoop, line walking - all make the brain interact and control our physical motions thereby keeping your system in tip top shape. 6. Memory - make random lists of objects and give yourself 30 seconds to memorize them. As you progress, make longer lists and rearrange them in alphabetical order in your head. This forces our memory to remain active. Alternate between lists of objects and numbers. 7. Sleep - From the moment we awake, our brains are active, chugging away at every task we do. Sleep is when the brain 'rests' itself. It's well known that mistakes are made when people are tired - concentration levels fall, memory is impaired, reactions take longer. Rest and sleep are the best way for your brain to recuperate, not endless cups of strong black coffee. Make sure you get adequate sleep every night. Some random brain facts that we found funny, if not amazing: - The brain is 75% water - Your brain consists of about 100 billion neurons! - When you were born your brain was the closest to its adult size than any other organ. However it still grows until you are 18 years of age. - All of your "thinking" is done by electricity and chemicals - Unconsiousness occurs after 8-10 seconds of loss of blood to the brain. - From all the oxygen that a human breathes, twenty percent goes to the brain. - Once a human reaches the age of 35, he/she will start losing approximately 7,000 brain cells a day. The cells will never be replaced.
Keeping your mind active is the key to retaining functionality. Just like an overweight couch potato loses the ability to move freely, an unexercised mind will gradually lessen in capability. Start off with some simple exercises increasing in difficulty as you progress. And the best thing about the above exercises is that they can all be easy and fun to do - totting up the supermarket bill in your head, remembering the shopping list, learning to juggle or completing a crossword are all fairly simple tasks to complete. Even pub quizzes can be of benefit to your brain once you don’t sozzle it with drink! Here’s to a healthy mind!
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