Train the gray matter
Sport is used to tone the body and keep healthy. But the brain can also train by performing simple exercises that stimulate the mind, improving concentration, cognitive skills, and memory.
Brain jogging consists of a series of mental exercises that help preserve and improve intellectual performance over the long term. Regular training allows targeted stimulation of certain brain regions, enhancing synapse formation. This means that new connections are created in the brain that facilitates thought processing and strengthen memory.
It is possible to perform numerous mental training exercises without having to procure particular materials and with a limited amount of time. The idea is to integrate these exercises into daily activities, for example by using waiting times in a useful way. Here are some practical examples.
• Take a newspaper or magazine and equip yourself with a pen or highlighter; on an entire page you have to scroll all the words and mark, each time you find it, a letter previously established. To increase the degree of difficulty you can time the time taken and try to improve it at the next attempt. This exercise is very useful for training concentration.
• Think of any phrase and try to repeat it on the contrary. In this way, you will go to stimulate the language center. You can time the time and try to perform the exercise with a higher speed. To increase the degree of difficulty, repeat not only the sentence but also every single word. It does not matter what words are spoken aloud or only mentally.
• Train concentration and creativity by thinking of a sentence consisting of five words, all with the same initial. For example, with the letter "S": "Stefanie was lying on the beach". To increase the degree of difficulty, try to compose the sentence as soon as possible and choose difficult letters, such as the "Y".
• Bend the thumb, forefinger and middle finger of the left hand inward, towards the palm. On the right, instead, fold the little finger, the thumb, and the ring finger. Now try to reverse this combination by moving the fingers of both hands at the same time, or fold the fingers that were previously stretched and vice versa. This exercise is a real challenge of concentration and coordination. The higher the speed, the more difficult it becomes.
• To perform this exercise you need a stopwatch and a text that you have not read yet, such as a newspaper article, a book or a booklet. Set a time limit of two minutes with the stopwatch and try to read as many phrases as possible. Then repeat the content word by word, to the extent that you can remember it. The degree of difficulty increases a lot if at the same time you try to count how many times a word (eg "but") occurs within the text. This exercise is great for training concentration and memory