Sure you may work out your body but do you work out your brain? Keeping this organ functioning properly is not only important, it’s essential. Even though the human brain only weighs about 3 pounds, it is the most important organ in our body and it needs to be exercised as much as the rest of our bodies do. Think about it-you go to the gym and devote ten minutes of your time to ab work. You do crunches and sit ups in order to maintain and strengthen your stomach. If you stopped doing ab exercises for a year, chances are you will lose some of your muscles and perhaps even gain a little weight in that area. It’s the same thing for the brain. If you do not work it out how do you expect to keep it functioning properly?
Our brains need stimulation and they need to be challenged. Although it sounds fairly easy it can be easier said than done. You can start by doing little things which challenge your brain every day. For example if you are on the computer surfing the net, try using your opposite hand from what you normally use to guide the mouse. This will feel strange and for most people this works the brain. You can also try doing other things with your opposite hand-play sports, clean, cooking, and even brushing your teeth. You can also try closing your eyes while you do certain tasks such as shower or eat in order to stimulate your tactile senses. Also try doing something out of your ordinary routine such as driving an alternate route to work or getting yourself ready in the morning in a different order than you usually do. All of these little things can add up and will challenge your brain on a daily basis.
Shockingly, these small brain exercises can have even more impact than most other “brain exercises”. Rubin Manning who is the creator of neurobics (basically exercises which train the brain) claims that “each of our senses has its own separate areas of real estate in the brain, and neurobics is designed to exercise these areas by using all of your senses. In this way, the entire brain is being exercised, and the growth of neurotrophins is possible, which can strengthen synapses and dendrites."
