6 Surprising Exercises For The Brain

Over the years, stress and worries, the mind comes to work in a different way than we were used to. However, there are some amazing brain exercises that you can put into practice in your day-to-day life.

In fact, a pioneer in this field was the sociologist Paul Dennison, who devised a program with different strategies to promote cognitive stimulation.

If you dare to try this type of ‘gymnastics’, keep reading. We will tell you.

6 surprising exercises for the brain

Although some cognitive functions are more or less lateralized in one cerebral hemisphere or another, the ideas that we propose below are exercises that involve several structures at the same time.

With these simple strategies we will make the mind work from the most diverse stimuli and, thus, prevent it from accommodating itself to repetitive and not very novel occupations.

1. Use your non-dominant hand to perform daily activities

Using the non-dominant hand to do routine tasks such as washing dishes, opening the window, ringing the bell, saying hello, or combing our hair makes us train laterality in a different way.

Since plasticity is a characteristic feature of the human brain, in such situations it will adapt to new demands making other areas participate as well.

2. Cross gait

Body movements are also an important formula to promote stimulation at the neuronal level. For example, touching the right knee with the left elbow and repeating this same routine in reverse is one way to improve coordination and motor skills.

What’s more, as a recent review by Joyce Gomes-Osman et al. Points out, the skills that physical exercise promotes have a direct influence on brain health. For this reason, the possibility of incorporating this type of activity is essential for the prevention of cognitive deterioration.

3. Remember phone numbers

In this case, it is a matter of looking at the phonebook which numbers we use most frequently and trying to remember them. We can start with a couple of them and try to add some more each week.

In this sense, practice based on repetition and dividing the series of digits into smaller units (for example, in groups of two or three figures) are basic steps to retain the material we want to memorize.

If we persevere in this exercise, the brain will gradually become more receptive and we will be expanding the range with which it processes information.

4. Listening to music is also one of the amazing exercises for the brain

In recent years, music-based therapies have received increasing attention due to their effect on the emotional and cognitive state of people.

Thus, an article published in 2018 in the scientific journal Frontiers in Medicine  highlights the role that rhythmic auditory stimulation plays as a rehabilitation tool in some cases of dementia.

Specifically, its benefits in reducing agitation and anxiety, as well as facilitating episodic memory have been proven. For this reason, listening to melodies can be, in turn, one of those surprising exercises for the brain to incorporate between daily tasks.

5. Avoid monotony

As we get used to the same activities, the level of attention and alertness decreases. This is so because we ‘get used to it’. However, nothing better than a certain dose of novelty to activate the nervous system itself.

That is, although routine is necessary to create order and promote learning, it is also true that introducing variations avoids boredom and, of course, ‘comfort’ on the mental plane.

In this way, it is possible to contemplate alternatives such as changing the route when we return home, interacting with other people or taking on more difficult challenges. All of these are options that arouse curiosity and intuition and that help to apply skills that would remain ‘dormant’ if we did not practice them.

6. Store the objects in different places

In the same line with what we have just mentioned, we will recognize that always placing everything in the same place promotes the appearance of automatisms. In such circumstances the degree of attention required is rather low.

However, altering the position of some element of the house will require us to think about the new location, memorize it and remember it. This, without a doubt, is another form of gymnastics for the mind, which is also easy to do in the closest environment such as the home.

Will you try these amazing brain exercises?

As we can see, the human mind is nourished by continuous experiences that make it feel ‘alive’ and eager to improve itself.

The resources we’ve outlined are just some of the amazing brain exercises that you can do at any time.

Do you dare to try it?