You can improve your memory and learning
performance if you improve your overall mental fitness. There are many
likenesses between physical and mental fitness. Let’s explore some:
You can build up your mental fitness over time using various
exercises and activities.
You should not expect immediate results. Good results come with time.
Good mental fitness impacts many other areas of brain performance, not
just those directly involved in the exercises.
Don’t try to do too much at once. Start slowly and find exercises
you enjoy and could do regularly.
Good mental fitness protects the brain and helps it stay healthy for
longer.
As I mentioned, various exercises and activities can increase your mental fitness. I’ve listed some examples below:
Try Neurobics. Neurobics
is a relatively new term for a style of brain exercises. Neurobic exercises
involve at least one of three features: “They involve one or more of your
senses in a novel way, they engage your attention, and they break up a routine
activity in an unexpected, novel way.” Examples from a book called “Keep Your
Brain Alive” (by Lawrence Katz) include:
Changing the hand you write or brush your teeth with.
Taking a different route, or means of transport, to work.
Finding your way around a room with your eyes closed.
Interacting with others without talking.
Turning pictures or a clock on your desk upside-down.
Tasting food with your eyes closed.
…and more - the book contains eighty-three examples!
Learn music or singing. Learning a
musical instrument or learning to sing at any age does not just develop your
aural skills. It also exercises your memory and concentration skills, and
positively influences your visual and spatial reasoning abilities.
Games and puzzles. Many games
and puzzles exercise various mental skills - from the basic “Concentration”
card game through to whole books of puzzles that challenge various parts of the
brain. Many of these are available free on the web. (I talk more about the
Concentration game on page 50).
Try some software. You can
exercise your brain and memory with the help of some specialist software. Some
examples include IQ Builder, Brain Builder and MindGym and various packages
based on the “Concentration” card gameý. Be wary of anything that has an excessive
price or that promotes it can improve mental performance without any effort on
your part. Examples include only listening to sounds or music, or watching
light patterns, or “altering brainwaves.”
Travel. Travel, especially
international travel, exercises a wide range of brain abilities. Finding your
way around with a map, running into unexpected problems, being aware of your
surroundings, planning and getting lost are some examples. More include
currency conversions, breaking your usual routines, developing your
understanding of history and other cultures and trying to communicate with
others without a common language. All these activities are great for exercising
your brain and are the perfect excuse for an overseas holiday!
These are just a start. There are so many
other ways to exercise your brain. Here are some quick thoughts: Learn another
language, develop your social networks, do volunteer work, read more widely, or
try a new hobby. More include: Get creative and learn to write, draw, or paint;
learn photography, change careers, or learn to fly! All of these contribute to
good mental fitness, so long as you keep a positive mental attitude while doing
them.
