Your brain is like any other muscle; it needs a workout to be at its best. The problem is that, just as the thought of going to the gym to lift heavy weights isn’t always appealing, many people don’t want to spend their free time using one of the serious brain-training apps that you can download for your phone.
Those training apps might be effective, but they’re not always fun. They can make looking after your brain feel like a chore. So, is there an alternative, or are we all doomed to having working out our brains feel like clinical exercises?
If you’ve read the title of this article, then you’ll already know the answer, and that is: yep, there are plenty of fun ways to keep your brain sharp! The tasks we’ve included in this article have all been shown to improve brain functionality, and what’s more, none of them feel like a workout. Indeed, you’ll be so engrossed with the task that you won’t even realize that you’re actually supporting your brain health.
Daily Puzzles
There’s much to love about completing a daily puzzle. They’re often fun little challenges that you can complete in a matter of minutes, yet they offer a nice benefit to your brain — and also function as a convenient way to start the day with a victory. It’s a low-effort, low-stakes way to subtly keep your brain at its best.
There’s also no shortage of puzzles that you can complete each day. The classics are crosswords (the cryptic variety) and Sudoku, both of which come in varying degrees of difficulty. Jigsaw puzzles have also been shown to offer a surprising number of brain benefits.
Strategic Hobbies
Prefer to play games rather than puzzles? Then you’re in luck — there are some games that have been shown to have a positive impact on brain functionality. And let’s be honest, while puzzles can present a nice challenge, they’re rarely as fun as playing games, which have the added benefit of being competitive. Whether you’re playing against a friend or family member, stranger online, or the computer, you’ll always want to win.
Of course, not all games offer a good brain workout. Mostly, it’s the classic, strategic card and board games that offer the best value. Playing hearts, bridge, and chess, for example, have been shown to boost cognitive stimulation, enhance memory and attention, and increase neuroplasticity. Plus, all of those games are freely available to play online, which makes them one of the most accessible ways to keep your brain sharp.
Learn Something New
Learning something new is a fantastic way to keep your brain sharp. The problem is, when we’re adults, we often don’t have as many natural opportunities to learn something new as we did when we were younger. You’re always learning something new in your youth (often against your will, we may add), but those learning days decline significantly when we’re in adulthood.
But they don’t have to — you just have to make them happen. There are a million and one things that you could learn, and just through the process, you’ll find that you’re nudging your brain in the right direction.
Learning a new instrument can be a good option. Not only is it fun and helps to keep your brain sharp, but you’ll also have a skill that other people genuinely enjoy. Other options include painting, drawing, or knitting. All of those have the benefit of helping your brain and being creative, which offers its own benefits.
Start Exercising
Many people don’t think of exercising as being fun, but that’s because they associate it with spending time in the gym. In actual fact, even the gym can be fun once you’re into it — even if you’re not happy when you walk through the front door, you’ll likely have a big smile on your face when you leave thanks to all the feel-good chemicals that your brain has produced while you work up a sweat.
If that still doesn’t convince you, then opt for one of the genuinely fun ways to exercise. Tennis, football, and biking can all be a lot of fun, and they’ll all help to keep your brain sharp. Studies show that exercise helps to increase the size of the hippocampus, improve blood flow to brain tissue, reduce cognitive decline, and increase neuroplasticity.
Socialize
Looking for an excuse to spend as much time with your friends and family as possible? Then keeping your brain sharp might be just the solution. Socializing is actually considered one of the best — and most underrated — ways to keep your brain sharp because of the complexity of the workout it provides. Even simply engaging in conversation can strengthen your brain’s neural pathways, and even more so if you’re talking about deep topics. Just think: when you have a conversation, you never know for sure what the other person is going to say, and that keeps your brain very much on its toes.
Spend Time In Nature
The natural world really is underrated. It offers so much, and asks virtually nothing but a little bit of respect in return! It also functions as almost the perfect antidote to the stresses and strains of modern life, which in themselves can do a number on brain health.
Studies have shown that spending even small amounts of time in nature each week can boost neuroplasticity, lower stress levels, and keep cognitive fatigue at bay. There’s also some data that suggests it can increase memory and cognitive function. All in all, that’s a lot of benefits that can come from what essentially amounts to looking at some trees!
Mix Up Your Routine
They say variety is the spice of life — and it also helps to keep your brain sharp. Even small things, like taking a different route to work, going to a new restaurant, or making a new dish, can help to keep your brain sharp. If you ever feel like you’re living on autopilot, then shake things up a bit; your brain will thank you.