Use It or Lose It
Have you ever walked into a room and wondered why? Or forgotten where you put your keys or parked your car in the parking lot? Well, you are not alone, and the good news is you can improve your brain power! Our brains are organs that grow by interacting with the world around us. Mental stimulation and physical exercise improve brain function and actually protect against cognitive decline. The human brain is able to continually adapt and rewire itself. So, along with your weekly physical exercise routine, plan a few days a week of mental exercise, too. Be sure to include stimulation of all five senses. The following list offers a few activities to help improve your brain power:
- Wake to different smells each morning. Coffee may be the usual aroma you smell, but try mixing it up a bit. Place vanilla, lavender or any other scent you enjoy next to your bed to smell first thing.
- Play the memory game with your kids.
- Plan an opposite day: do activities such as hair care, dental care or eating with your non-dominant hand.
- Take a shower with your eyes closed.
- If you sit in a certain seat at church, work or the classroom, try changing seats.
- Read out loud.
- Take a different route to work a few times per week.
- Study a picture for one minute then try to write down everything you remember from the picture without looking.
- Write an article or begin to journal.
- Draw a picture: this stimulates the right side of your brain and inspires creativity.
- Talk to a person you have never met before every day.
- Engage in a good, healthy debate. This increases your ability to think on your feet.
- Swap lunches with a co-worker. This surprises your taste buds and triggers new nerve pathways.
These are but a few examples of ways to give your brain a workout. For more brain games and information, please visit www.BrainMatrix.com or talk to your health care provider.
Melanie Yunger is a local wife, mom and nurse practitioner who enjoys playing the memory game!