Quick Brain Exercises

Want some simple brain exercises for a quick "tune up?" The brain, like a muscle, gets stronger with use, particularly if it is used in certain ways. These exercises are designed to take very little of your time.


Learning Exercises The Brain:


Learn something new. Pick up a magazine on dogs, for example, while you are waiting for the dentist. Scan the articles and relate what you learn to what you already know. If you are a builder you may discover how the home requirements of dog owners are different from others. You might expand your knowledge, but the purpose of this brain exercise is to train yourself to automatically look for connections between things. This helps you think more creatively. It also helps your memory, because having more connections makes it easier to recall things.



A good way to learn something new, and at the same time use your driving time efficiently, is to listen to audio books. You can find books on tape or compact disc at many public libraries. You can also access a wide selection of titles, both fiction and non-fiction, at several online suppliers.



Sing To Solve Problems:

When you are alone in your car, try singing about something you are working on. This taps into and exercises your right brain. Have you ever noticed how it is easier to rhyme when you sing than when you just speak or write? This is because the right brain is better at pattern recognition. By doing this brain exercise regularly you can train yourself to tap into the power of the right brain. This will make you a more effective problem-solver. If you doubt the distinction between the hemispheres of the brain, look at how stutterers can stop stuttering as soon as they start singing. Try it.


More Brain Exercises:

Here's a brain exercise you can use to help you concentrate better. You simply pay attention to what is going on in your head, and you resolve any little "mind irritations" you find there. If you feel stressed, there is a reason. Perhaps you never figured out where that book was that you were looking for this morning, and it has been quietly bothering you all day, just below consciousness. If you can become aware of all these stressors, small and large, and deal with them, you will feel more relaxed and have greater concentration and brain power in general.

Dealing with them doesn't mean you can resolve all these issues now. You can, however, do something with them so you can let them go for the moment. Write "find book" on your to-do list, and your mind will let go of the concern for now. Just bringing a problem to full consciousness and telling yourself something like, "There is nothing I can do about this until Friday," will often stop the unconscious worrying. After doing these brain exercises a few times, you'll find it becomes easier to recognize what is just below the surface, irritating you and sapping your brain power.

Try breathing deeply also. This shouldn't be classified with "brain exercises," but it can help. Get that oxygen into your blood, and into your brain. You can exercise your brain with hard riddles as well.