Think of your brain as a muscle: It gets stronger with
exercise. Your everyday mental tasks are like walking, but
how about a real workout? Try these simple exercises to
boost your brain power and clear away the fog of forgetfulness.
1. Use your non-dominant hand
Tackling new tasks improves brain capacity in younger people
and has a restorative effect on mental faculties that are
declining. Boost your brain power right now by performing
everyday activities with your non-dominant hand. If you're
right-handed, use your left hand to eat, drink, comb your
hair, and brush your teeth. Try writing your name with your
non-dominant hand or put your mouse pad on the other side
of the keyboard.
Why does this work? The human brain starts declining after
the age of 30 especially in women with each successive pregnancy.
By exercising your brain through the use of non-dominant
hand, you are stimulating the opposite side of the brain
and activating blood flow, which slows down the brain aging
process and improves mental capacity. Evidence from functional
brain imaging shows that the process of neuroplasticity
-- the brain's natural ability to form new connections --
can be enhanced by studying new things, especially hand-eye
coordinated exercises like developing the use of your non-dominant
hand and practicing
visualization meditation.
Stimulating communication between the two hemispheres even
helps physical balance. Mind-body exercises like tai
chi coach people to use the right and left side of the
body equally. Try switching it up in sports. For instance,
in tennis, switch the racquet to your non-dominant side
and play.
2. Work out your brain
You have to use it or lose it! You can work out your mind
just like you work out your body. Mental exercises that
will keep your brain fit include doing crossword puzzles,
playing chess, or memorizing names, shopping lists, and
phone numbers. When I was a young boy, to keep my brain
function strong, my father had me memorize Tang Dynasty
poetry. Every day I had to memorize a new poem and recite
it back. Learn the words to a poem or a new song and repeat
them back from memory. Set aside the calculator and add
manually instead. Keep challenging yourself with tasks that
are new to you.
Whatever mental exercise you choose, the key to success
is to practice every day at the same time; you are developing
and activating new neural pathways, and consistent cycles
will keep the brain on track.
3. Move your fingers to improve your brain
Many people marvel that Asian children seem so intelligent.
It could be because they use their fingers more frequently.
They eat with chopsticks and at one time, they used to compute
with an abacus in school. In fact, some studies have been
done with children who use an abacus daily, and findings
show that engaging the fingers stimulates nerve endings
that go directly to the brain, increasing circulation. Take
advantage of this by practicing motor activities that use
your fingertips, like crocheting, knitting, and other arts
and crafts where you are manipulating small parts. Try playing
the piano or a stringed instrument.
Here is an exercise you can do anywhere, at any time. Put
one finger on top of the one next to it, then try to stack
the next finger on top of that. Or hold a pencil or pen
between your index and middle fingers, roll it over until
it's balanced between the middle and ring fingers, then
again to between the ring finger and pinky. This exercise
has a beneficial impact on brain health for anyone at any
age, but especially for people in their 40s, 50s and beyond
-- when signs of brain aging starts to set in.
Why does this work? A map of the brain shows that the nerve
endings on your fingertips correspond to more areas of the
brain than any other body area, except perhaps the tongue
and lips. Therefore, finger exercise and movements can be
useful in stimulating the neurons in the brain. The National
Institute of Mental Health conducted experiments that showed
finger exercises enlarged the capacity of the participants'
brains, increased connections between neurons, forged new
neural pathways, and increased circulation to the brain
areas. The researchers concluded that finger exercise contributed
significantly to brain plasticity, the ability of the brain
to renew itself. Increased circulation means more oxygen
and nutrients for the brain cells and decreased waste products
that clog up the brain.
4. Stimulate brain acuity with self-massage
To improve concentration and memory try this self-massage
that stimulates two easy-to-find acupressure
points on your neck at the base of the skull. Cross your
hands behind you with the palms cradling the back of your
head, your thumbs in the grooves on each side of your neck,
and your index fingers crossing one another below the skull,
just above the thumbs. Sit in a chair, lean your head back,
and let it rest against the pressure of your thumbs and
index fingers. Slowly inhale deeply through your nose and
exhale through your mouth, letting your whole body relax.
Do this for three to five minutes. You'll increase blood
flow to the brain and at the same time relax the neck muscles,
which often tense up in response to stress, constricting
blood vessels in the area.
