Did you know that you can exercise your brain? Too often people are so focused on body fitness that they fail to recognize the importance of brain fitness. Keeping your brain fit is just as important.
Many people think that your brain stops developing at some point. But the truth is that it continues to adapt and rewire itself, even as you get older. Although mental decline can be caused by disease, if there is a decrease in memory or motor skills, this is usually due to a lack of brain stimulation. If you fail to use your brain, your mind becomes flabby.
When I was 38 years old, I went back to school. I took several online courses over the next few years that resulted in earning about a year’s worth of credits. To be honest, I wasn’t going for a degree. I just reached this point in my life when I wanted to exercise my brain and I figured there was no better way to do that than take a college course. It proved to be very rewarding.
I also read quite a bit, which is very good for the brain. I read constantly, sometimes two or three books at a time. I will keep one book beside my bedside table to read at night, another book next to my recliner when I am sitting and relaxing and sometimes I will have a book that I read when I sit outside. All of this reading is just feeding nourishment into my brain.
Now I don’t claim to be some incredibly brain-fit person. All I am trying to say is that there are things we can do that will literally exercise our brains. I want to stay as sharp as possible, no matter how much I may age.
Taking classes and reading come easily for me. There are other ways you can exercise your brain and make it more fit. The best exercise, no matter what type it is, is something that challenges you. Walking for 20 minutes is not a big deal but a challenge for me would be to walk for an hour. So think of ways that you can challenge your brain and make it more fit. Try learning something new. A new software program, playing chess, take yoga, learn how to sculpture. These are all ways that you can challenge your brain and make it more fit.
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