Take good care of your brain
The brain does not like routine. It likes to be stimulated in various ways. To keep it in good shape you need to deliver it the most diverse, new stimuli.
I have a few interesting and simple exercises for you, which will keep your brain in good shape. You'll use your senses in ways you have never tried before.
The brain does not like routine. It likes to be stimulated in various ways. To keep it in good shape you need to deliver it the most diverse, new stimuli.
I have a few interesting and simple exercises for you, which will keep your brain in good shape. You'll use your senses in ways you have never tried before.
What will your brain get out if it?
- You will create new connections between neurons. You will go further than using the beaten paths and you will end stimulating always the same nerve trakcs.
- You will provide your mind with valuable aerobics, which will greatly increase its efficiency and flexibility.
- An unstimulated brain ages fast. Routine plays a great part in it. It’s time you started providing your brain with new experiences and make it age slower.
- Your creativity and ability to cope with everyday tasks will increase. The brain which is in good shape is flexible and finds effective solutions easier.
- You will get rid of boredom and you’ll make your life more enjoyable. What is more, these exercises will give you a great and interesting experience.
The new, multi-sensory associations are perfect exercises for the brain. Therefore, the best way to keep it in good shape is to do things you have not done before, or doing things you’re familiar with, but in a new way. Any change forces your brain to make use of new neural pathways. News stimulate the activity of many areas of the brain that are dormant during routine activities.
Senses and observation
Senses are the tools used by the brain to retrieve information from the surrounding reality. During the day, we use mainly the sight and the hearing. These senses give us a lot information about our environment. We use the taste, smell and touch less. Performing exercises that I have described below engage the senses which you wouldn’t normally use in a given situation.
When performing these exercises also remember to be maximally focused. Follow your reactions and feelings carefully. Pay attention to the changes occuring in your view on some activities and the change in your ability to perform them. Be careful and vigilant.
Exercises to keep the brain in good shape
Here are the exercises I was talking about. Follow it with full commitment and attention.
- Close your eyes while taking a shower. Use only the sense of touch when in the shower, and once you're done, try to continue with other bathroom activities with your eyes closed; such as shaving, brushing your teeth, etc. You will feel how varied is the texture of your body and the objects we use in the bathroom.
- Wash your teeth with a different hand than before. This exercise is special, because during this activity a different hemisphere will be involved than in the past. All neural circuits that have served this action will now be inactive and it’s their counterparts in the other hemisphere which will take care of brushing.
- Sit on a bench in the park; at a bus stop; in the city center, and close your eyes. Listen to all the sounds around you. Examine their intensity, consider which way are they coming from and whether they are far or near. Perform this exercise for a few minutes, and you will begin to hear more.
- While having a meal, close your eyes, and eat slowly. Feel the taste of everything you eat, enjoy it.
- Change the layout of everything you have in your room. Move the desk and the chest of drawers. Change the order of things on your desk such as lamp and books.
- Go to the market, notice how many great colors and scents are there. Grab some fruit, smell it, if the seller agrees, taste it.
- Talk to someone without words, using only gestures. Do this exercise a few minutes.
- Rearrange the activities typical for you in the morning, eat something different for breakfast, choose a different route to work or school.
For more exercises you can check out the book "Neurobics" (by Lawrence C.Katz and Manning Rubin). You’ll find many of these types of tasks there to improve the efficiency of the mind. Some of them may be surprising and difficult, but all are interesting and worth trying. Good luck with your mental aerobics!