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Simple Mental Exercises to Boost Brain Power
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What are you doing to boost your brain power?
Many of us are not aware that old neurons can grow new dendrites. How can this help boost brain power? Mental decline is not from the death of nerve cells, but the thinning of the number of dendrites, branches on nerve cells, that receive and process information from other nerve cells that form the basis of memory. If connections aren’t regularly switched on (similar to a loose light bulb connection), dendrites can slowly lose their power to connect. This can reduce the brain’s ability to put new information in memory and retrieve old information.
So, what does the brain actually need in order for your dendrites to remain powerful? Brains need non-routine activities. Unexpected experiences combining vision, smell, touch, taste as well as emotional senses.
Below are simple activities that can prevent mental decline and provide some non-routine in your life. The goal is to create more connections between different parts of your brain. Cells will strengthen and become more resistant to the effects of aging.
Practice your mathematical abilities. The following exercise, recommended by Dr. Vernon H. Mark, author and neurosurgeon of “Brain Power,” suggests computing the following in thirty seconds:
123 + 248 = 293- 215 = 24 x 345 = 48 divided by 6= 386 + 294=
?Move around familiar objects to shake up your brain (trash basket, tooth brush, items on your desk,…)
?Dress in the dark
?Close your eyes when eating or finding the right keys on your keychain
?Take a different route when you drive or explore different areas in a store (sporting goods, stationery, pet supplies, perfume, clothes, toys,…)
?Eat breakfast foods for dinner…in bed
?Soak in a tub with flavored scented bath gel (a scent you normally are not used to)
?Brush your teeth/eat with your non-dominant hand
?Read daily aloud to a child/friend/partner
?Use your intuition – 6th sense
-Engage in social interactions by guessing what people will say
Anyone interested in slowing down mental aging must make mental gymnastics a priority. Commit to engaging in a different activity to help you get out of your normal routine. Boosting brain power does not have to be a mental strain.
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