Most of us take physical exercises seriously but often ignore exercises that improve our brain’s plasticity (link to wiki) i.e. its capacity to become more adept, change with time, learn and accommodate new situations and things, and so on. Mental fitness is as important as physically fitness. The fact is that no matter how fit you are physically, you are mentally not well, nothing will help. An individual who knows this and works on mental faculties with seriousness will remain mentally fit all through his/her life.
Relax your mind: The first rule is to rest your mind on and off. And sleep is not all that your mind demands. Besides sound sleep, you also need to practice deep breathing (what better than Pranaayam), meditation, visualization, rhythmic exercise, and not to forget yoga. All these will make your mind fit & alert; help you to think fast; positively; a fit mind is less likely to fall prey to anxiety & depression.
Include Cardiovascular Exercises as Part of Your Fitness Routine: It’s a science backed fact that including cardio in your fitness plan boosts your mental fitness. It not only impacts your mental health, but also prevents brain cells from ageing at a fast pace. By including the right exercises you will also be able to steer clear of age-related memory problems such as Alzheimer’s disease etc.
Solve Puzzles & Play Logic games: Science has proved that brain has the capacity to grow at any age, and new brain cells can grow at any age provided it gets the required stimulation. Age-related memory loss and problems like stress and depression etc occur because brain lacks adequate mental stimulation. So it is advised that to keep brain active and functional, solve Sudoku, Crossword and other puzzles. They are known to enhance our left brain’s functioning which uses logic and facts thereby preventing brain’s cognitive decline.
Similarly play board, card and logic games as they stimulate brain functioning and prepare you to think logically. Games that you can play on your computer and mobiles offer a great opportunity to challenge its various cognitive functioning but it should be ensures that the same games are not played over and again. You should frequently alter the kind of games you play to give exposure to your brain at strategic and other levels.
Neurobic Exercises: All your senses, viz. vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch have separate sections in your brain and to enhance each of these senses independently as well as in connection with each other helps you to perform various activities in your day to day life. To exercise these senses is what neurobic exercising is all about.
It’s a brain gym as they call it, where you don’t require sitting in a corner, in quiet with pen and paper in hand. You can do it anytime, anywhere that an opportunity presents itself. In this kind of exercise you involve two senses and perform tasks. Neurobic Exercises enable the brain to create its own brain food molecules which strengthen, preserve and grow neuron cells. Some examples of this exercise are, to find your room or kitchen as you enter your home with your eyes closed, using sense of touch, smell etc; find your way to the closet and reach to pick up phone with eyes closed etc.
Wake up and become mentally fit!
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