Brain health is important for making sure you live your life to the best of your ability, regardless of what your age is.
Your brain has an amazing thinking power. It knows how you speak, how you act so it is important how you keep your mind as active as possible all the time.
As you grow older, your risk of developing serious life-changing disease enhances and brain health is a major factor in how at-risk you are.
Although you can’t change the genetic inheritance, you can make changes in the lifestyle that can reduce the risk of developing the disease like dementia or Alzheimer.
More research points towards the importance of doing all that you can to improve your brain’s health.
The onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s is affected by the ongoing activity of the mind and helps to improve cognitive abilities.
Therefore, if you wish to decrease the risk of developing such a memory disease, you have to ensure that you are combating the signs of aging related to cognitive decline.
This can be done by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and keeping the brain active.
Brain Training is Must
The ‘use it or lose it’ idea is behind the growing market for brain training services. They are usually computer-based games or tasks specifically designed to be mentally stimulating.
A group of leading research experts has argued that evidence that brain training helps in combating cognitive decline as you get older.
It was found that people who played word search games keep getting better at them but might not see improvements in their thinking skills more broadly.
Are you aware of the age-related brain changes?
Here are the normal age-related changes to the brain:
- Fat and other deposits accumulate within the brain cells that hinder the functions.
- Neurons that die when you get older can never be replaced.
- The loss of neurons means the brain keeps getting smaller with age.
- Messages between the neurons are now sent at a slower speed.
Growing older doesn’t mean your mental abilities will be reduced. There is a lot that can be done to improve it.
The Importance of Mental Fitness
You are constantly fed with advice and information on how to keep your body healthy-your heart, your liver, your digestion system.
But how many times have you thought about keeping your brain healthy?
Think this way. Your brain is the dictatorial leader of your body. It tells you, how to do, what to do and what not to.
So, make sure your brain remains healthy as it is much more important than you can actually think of.
Keep Your Brain In Shape 
You all have to agree to the fact that physical fitness and for the good reason of course.
A healthy body prevents conditions like heart disease and diabetes, helping you to maintain independence as you get older.
But you must have heard of the age-old adage, a healthy mind resides in a healthy body.
This is true. Mental fitness is equally important as physical fitness and it shouldn’t be ignored.
Make mental dexterity exercise a part of your daily routine as it will help you reap the benefits of a sharp mind and healthy body for the future years.
Mental fitness clearly means keeping your brain and emotional health in the best shape.
It doesn’t mean you have to train your mind for an “Olympiad” or acing in the “IQ Test”. It basically refers to performing a few activities that help you:
- Slow down
- Decompress
- Boost a flagging memory
The Mind-Body Connection
The more you help your body, the more your mind gets helped. Physical activity increases the flow of oxygen to the brain.
Plus, the number of endorphins, which is a feel-good chemical in the brain. This is the reason why people who are in good shape tend to enjoy a good level of mental agility.
Engaging your mind in a vigorous physical workout helps you to battle depression and gain a more positive outlook on life.
This is also the best way to beat stress that can harm you mentally and physically.
Mental exercise is also very beneficial. According to the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences Study, certain memory training exercises like playing crosswords can improve “fluid intelligence,” having the ability to reason thereby solving new problems.
Brain exercises are good for your brain and body, so is meditation.
Meditation in conjunction with other methods is an alternative way to treat depression. Calm your mind as it will help you to solve in a relaxed manner.
Visualization
When you go to bed after a hectic day, your body begins to relax. But the mind doesn’t follow.
In this particular case, visualization can help. You can often achieve a sense of peacefulness via imagery.
As the process of picturing a tranquil scene or location. This practice reduces tension in the body and mind by challenging neurons in the less-dominant area of your brain.
The less-dominant side of the brain is the area that controls the feeling of self-confidence and optimism.
When you think about something other than daily worries, you enhance the activity in the neural structures of the area of your mind.
Ultimately, visualization can enhance your emotional well-being and calm down mentally.
Becoming Mentally Fit
Becoming mentally fit is not as challenging as getting ready for a marathon, but it is a good analogy.
Mental exercises like reading, trying mind puzzle games are a few mental activities that can take place.
Stop Multitasking
Multitasking enables you to get more things done at once, but it creates more problems than it solves.
The focus on a task improves your concentration while helping you to become productive.
Be Positive
Positive affirmation is an avenue to enhance mental proficiency.
Affirmation or talking in a positive way involves strengthening the neural pathway to bring self-confidence, well-being, and satisfaction to a higher level.
You have to start by making a list of your good qualities. Keep reminding yourself that you don’t have to be perfect. Aim for what you want to improve and start small to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
Try Something Different
New experiences can set you on the path to mental fitness, you can try new approaches in daily life in different ways:
- Try new cuisines
- Try new ways to accomplish routine tasks
- Travel to various places
- Take a new route to the grocery store
As per the Alzheimer’s Association, the research depicts that you should keep your brain activity that increases vitality.
Doing routine and new things the new way helps in retaining brain cells as well as connections.
In essence, breaking out of the routine can help keep the brain healthy.
Play Mind Games
Online puzzle games test reasoning and other portions of your brain are fun ways to keep your mind sharp.
Consider:
- Online quiz games
- Board games
- Sudoku
Brain games online are the best way to build your brain muscle. Fast-paced action video games boost your ability to learn new tasks, according to a study in the journal Current Biology.
The study has found tentative evidence that games may increase your attention span, reaction time, and task switching ability. In addition to online games, try any game that employs the use of:
- Logic
- Reasoning
- Trivia
Read More
Reading is very good for your brain. Even when you are trying to read this sentence, your brain is trying to process every word while recalling the meaning while making sense out of it.
Beyond mechanics, reading helps you to visualize the subject matter on the pages before you, and imagine what voice sounds like in the written dialogue. This is also a great relaxation technique.
Reading is an amazing activity because it stokes the imagination and ignites many different parts of the brain.
There are endless genres of books so you can read what you like. It is unlikely that you run out of interesting things to read.
Take Out Time
Mental fitness shouldn’t take a lot of time. Spending a few minutes on brain activity can help you feel better and think clearly.
Remember that relaxation and visualization are important in the mental workout as they are more energetic activities.
Try to add one of two activities like an online quiz puzzle game in your daily routine and have a good time.
These games help you to:
- Relax
- Visualize
- Affirm
How to Keep the Brain Active?
There is a host of different things that can be done. Here are the most effective ones:
a) Keep Learning
You can pursue a hobby, learn a new skill or learn a new language.
For example, if you are trying to solve a new daily puzzle, there are many new words you will learn and this way improve your vocabulary. Plus, you will find out new techniques to solve the complete grid.
Continuously keep challenging your brain as it will make the mind active and stimulate individual brain cells.
b) Believe in Yourself
Researchers have proved that older people perform worse on memory tasks when exposed to negative ideas regarding memory and age.
Believe in yourself, stay positive and remember that age is only a number.
It is not good to give too early.
c) Stay Organized
It is important to keep your daily life organized and in order. Never waste your mental energy on unnecessary things. Make a list of priority, routine tasks and concentrate on important things.
d) Use all Your Senses
Your brain will work best when you use your senses. You are likely to learn something quickly and remember something for the better. Always challenge and notice the use of your senses while you live in the present.
f) Space it out
Repetition is the most potent as a learning tool as it is properly timed. It is good not to repeat something multiple times in less period like you are cramming for an exam.
Instead, re-study the essentials after increasingly longer periods of time. This could be once an hour or every day.
Spacing out the study period helps to boost memory and is valuable as you are trying to master complicated information.
Key Takeaway
Mental fitness is very important to maintain a balance between your brain and body, especially as you start becoming old.
There are plenty of mental dexterity exercises but online crosswords have helped many in mental retention.
So, schedule a mental fitness activity and add it to your calendar with your workout schedule. Your mind and health are worth it.
No matter how old you are, whether you are still your teens or in your fifties, the aforementioned applies to all of you.
It is never too early to prioritize maintaining a healthy brain. Start playing online quiz games and feel the difference for yourself. Have a good mental memory and have fun.
