In the coming decade, brain wellness will become a popular,
now that there’s proof that living a brain-healthy lifestyle works
Health experts recommend sticking to brain training that involves real-world activities. Exercises to strengthen brain function should offer novelty and challenge. “Almost any silly suggestion can work,” says David Eagleman, PhD, a neuroscientist and adjunct professor of psychology and public mental health and population sciences at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University in California. “Drive home via a different route. Brush your teeth with your opposite hand. The brain works through associations, which is why it’s easier to memorize lyrics than it is to try to remember the same words without music, so the more senses you involve, the better.”
Your morning reading routine is a great place to start. “Simple games like Sudoku and word games are good, as well as comic strips where you find things that are different from one picture to the next,” says John E. Morley, MD, a professor of medicine in the division of geriatric medicine at St. Louis University in Missouri. In addition to word games, Dr. Morley recommends the following exercises to sharpen your mental skills. (Keep in mind that there’s a lack of high-quality research in this area; these recommendations are based on Morley’s clinical experience.)
Test your recall
Make a list – 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 the list as challenging as possible for the greatest mental stimulation. One small past study suggested that writing and organizing lists helps adults recall word lists more effectively.
Let the music play
Learn to play a musical instrument or join a choir. Learning new and complex skills is good for the aging brain, and a past review published in The Gerontologist suggested that musical activities, like playing a musical instrument, singing in a choir, or taking piano lessons, showed particular promise for healthy brain aging, though research is limited.
Do math in your head
Figure out problems without the aid of a pencil, paper, or computer. One small study, published in Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, suggested that solving math problems had a positive effect on participants’ cognition. You can make this exercise more difficult – and athletic – by walking at the same time.
Take a cooking class
Learn how to cook a new cuisine. Cooking uses a number of senses – smell, touch, sight, and taste – that involve different parts of the brain. Plus, you’ll use cognitive skills like planning the meal, problem-solving, crafting a grocery list, multi-tasking, and organizing, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Learn a foreign language
The listening and hearing involved in learning a new language stimulates the brain. Plus, being bilingual was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia in one meta-analysis published in October 2020 in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.
Create word pictures or handwriting
Visualize the spelling of a word in your head, and then try to think of other words that begin (or end) with the same two letters. If you are Chinese, try to handwrite Chinese characters on your cellphone, rather than use Pinyin.
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 go somewhere new. One past study, which focused on London taxi drivers (who are expected to memorize the complex layout of the city), found that drivers who successfully memorized the city map showed permanent changes to brain structure and better cognitive function.
Challenge your taste buds
When eating, try to identify individual ingredients in your meal, including subtle herbs and spices.
Refine your hand-eye coordination
Take up a new hobby that involves fine motor skills and can help you keep your hand-eye coordination sharp. Per Harvard Health Publishing, this could include racquet sports, tai chi, knitting, drawing, painting, or playing video games.
Learn a new sport
Start doing an athletic exercise. A review published in Frontiers in Psychology noted that boosting your balance, strength, and aerobic capacity – that is, your body’s ability to use oxygen for energy – can help protect your brain as you age. Morley specifically suggests yoga, Tai Chi, golf, or tennis as exercises that boost brain health, while Harvard Health Publishing recommends swimming for its brain-boosting benefits. But Chinese Mahjong is also worth considering, as it absolutely engages the brain.
Soon people will realize they can take steps to keep their brains healthy, just as they know they can prevent heart disease by taking certain actions.