Mental Exercise Sharpens Gray Matter

Whether training on new equipment, studying for an additional certification or sharpening your focus at work, shaking up your everyday routine can help you maintain mental fitness and flexibility to meet your daily challenges. Routine activities like brushing your teeth, getting dressed and driving to work don’t stimulate your brain. If anything, you shift into autopilot when performing these predictable tasks.

According to the Franklin Institute, age-related memory loss often results from a lack of mental exercise and stimulation. A number of studies report that older adults who perform brain exercises exhibit significantly better memory and focus than those who don’t flex their brain’s “muscle power.” Anytime you perform an activity that’s different or engages your emotions, you’re exercising your brain. Doesn’t sound so difficult, does it?

Lawrence Katz, Ph.D., a neurobiology professor at Duke University Medical School in Durham, N.C., created neurobics, a set of brain exercises designed to challenge our cognitive abilities. “Presenting the brain with nonroutine or unexpected experiences using combinations of your physical senses—vision, smell, touch, taste and hearing—keeps your thinking and perception active and growing,” wrote Dr. Katz. “New patterns of neural activity are stimulated that create more connections among the different brain areas.”

Brain activities can be quick and simple. Try reorganizing your desk items. Working harder to locate the item you need activates the spatial learning networks of your brain. Challenge your right brain by turning a picture, calendar or clock upside down or sideways at home or work. Your brain will struggle to interpret the information in its altered orientation. Or stimulate creative thinking by muting the TV volume and making up dialogue based on the actors’ actions and expressions.

Brain exercises might feel awkward and frustrating at first. Ever try to operate a computer mouse with your nondominant hand? Testing your brain in new ways strengthens existing brain cells while stimulating the growth of new ones. New brain cells allow you to learn new skills and potentially stave off mental decline and memory loss.

Try these easy brain exercises to help maintain a fit brain:

• Use your nondominant hand to write, brush your teeth, eat or dial the phone.
• Wear ear plugs when doing simple, routine tasks to strengthen your other senses.
• When using the elevator, learn the Braille numbers.
• Eat lunch with someone you don’t normally spend time with.
• Take a different route to work.
• Learn basic sign language.
• Engage in a brain-challenging game like Sudoku or a crossword puzzle.

Performing brain exercises doesn’t necessarily prevent Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, but a healthful lifestyle that includes mental exercise could help you recall more, think faster and focus better at work and at home. Now, where did you put those keys?