Whether your goal is to get your brain as sharp as it used to be or to keep it at its current strength, exercising your brain is as important as exercising your body. We may believe that we can only lose muscle over time, but the truth is, our minds can also atrophy. As people age, the cognitive reserve of the brain loses its ability to recuperate after any neurological damage. This can cause memory loss and make it difficult to perform previously mastered mental tasks. Following a mind-healthy lifestyle and doing brain exercises on a regular basis can increase the cognitive reserve in the brain. Here are some ways to exercise your mind.

Enhance Your Thinking Skills

Reading is a wonderful basic way to enhance your thinking skills. Reading books, newspapers, or magazines on a regular basis will keep your brain active and let you broaden your vocabulary. In addition to reading, try writing something that someone else may find interesting to read. Both creative writing and writing up reports or articles can give the brain a great work out.

Another great way to open up new pathways in the brain and get it working on overdrive is to learn a new language. This not only lets you exercise the part of your mind that stores information, it also helps you to increase your own language skills.

Turn off the television and post-problem solve. Television puts your brain on autopilot by telling it what to think. Rather than letting the television do the thinking for you, turn it off and start to think of different ways to solve problems that have already been rectified. Be creative and explore the consequences of handling situations in different ways. If you really need to try to relax and watch television, watch educational programs or programs that make you think and interact a bit with the story.

Play Mind Games

Playing games that make you think, such as crosswords or Sodoku, help keep your brain active. Large and complex puzzles are able to give your brain a strong and intense workout. Larger puzzles can take a significant amount of time to complete, but they are worth the effort in brain activity. Finding small puzzles you can do while killing time in line is also a great way to exercise your mind.

Chess is one game that is especially helpful for brain exercising. Its need for strategy, as well as being a tactical game, add benefit to the enjoyment of playing. Video games can also help your brain work to problem solve and think quickly.

Challenge Yourself

Do something simple such as trying to write with your non-dominant hand, or something more complex such as learning how to use an instrument. As long as you are forcing your brain to do something it is not used to, it is creating a great exercise. When your brain is not on auto-pilot and you are challenging it to do something new, it will start to learn new tricks and get stronger. Another challenging thing to do is to mess around with a Rubik’s Cube. This involves both gross motor skills as well as fine motor skills. It also requires the brain to think of sequences and identification, which both help keep your brain in great shape.

Socialize

Talking about challenging topics that you are familiar with is a good brain workout. Being around people who share interests with you will help you bounce ideas off of each other and maybe think about something you are interested in in a different light. It is beneficial to keep your mind on top of your interests, so they do not get stagnant. Keep learning about a certain topic a lifelong activity by taking a class or joining a club in an area of interest.

Supplement Your Diet With Natural Brain Boosters
Taking a natural supplement like Alpha Levo IQ will boost your cognitive ability within a few weeks of starting the regiment. Be sure to monitor your dosage and consult a doctor before changing your diet and exercise or starting any new vitamins or mineral usage. The best brain boosting supplement we’ve found is Alpha Levo IQ from EdgeBioactives. You can read all about it here at Alex’s Alpha-Levo Site. You can also watch the review video here at youtube.com:

Stay Healthy
will help to keep your brain as well as your body healthy. Exercise can keep oxygen flowing to your brain and a healthy diet with protein and omega-3 fatty acids will keep your brain fed. Playing sports is a great way to keep your body healthy while learning coordination.

Get Plenty Of Rest
It is also important to get sufficient sleep. Sleep plays a very important role in brain health and acts as a recuperating time for the mind. Getting a full nights sleep lets the brain restore itself after a long day and flush out any harmful toxins.

Avoid monotonous routines like driving the same route every day to keep your mind guessing. Brain atrophy occurs when you are not using it enough, so make sure to do activities every day that make you think, rather than run on autopilot all week.

As you get older why does your body tend to feel like your youth is drifting away? Does it really have to be that way? Is it possible to wake up and feel the same energy and youth you felt when you were younger? There are ways to feel youthful again even if the years are starting to take a toll on your body.

One way to feel a younger version of you is to get adequate amount of sleep. Believe it or not going to bed earlier can help your body to have more time to restore itself after a long day. A regular sleep schedule can help your mind and body feel younger instead of drained out before the day is even over. First step is for 6 weeks make sure to get in 8 hours of sleep through the night. Once you follow this routine for 6 weeks you should feel the difference throughout the day. Also doing this should increase the likelihood of your mind and body feeling youthful.

Besides adjusting your sleep schedule to feel young you can also alter the food that you are eating throughout the day. When beginning to eat a meal start by eating a vegetable or some type of fruit then proceed with your meal. Also make sure to start the habit of drinking a full glass of water every meal. Adding lots of fruits and vegetables in your daily life should begin to make you feel youthful and refreshed. Now that you’re eating healthy that does not mean you can’t eat some dessert. It is suggested that if you intake at least 90% healthy eating choices throughout the day then a little dessert will not jeopardize your mind, body, and soul feeling youthful. Give yourself a little break and relive that feeling when having dessert as a child was one of the most memorable and enjoyable parts of your day. That childhood feeling and memory will only push forth your inner young self.

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At home or at the gym take on some weight training. You would be surprised how some proper weight training can really make you feel rejuvenated and full of energy. Weight training if done properly can make your mind and body feel younger by several years. This type of training helps to gradually build microtears in your muscles. As a result the buildup of microtears will lead to thicker and stronger fibers in the body’s muscles. Continuing to strengthen the muscles in your body decreases the chances of your body being more susceptible to injuries. Also weight training can help your body to build great stamina. Therefore you can stop feeling worn out and run down because your mind, body, and soul will feel younger at heart.

Having a beneficial sleeping routine, eating health, and building some muscle strength are all great suggestions but don’t forget simplicity. Something simple as pampering yourself a little or mixing up the routine of your day can really keep your mind and body feeling youthful and intrigued. For instance once in a while change your everyday look. Color your hair. Go daring with your makeup. Take a day to really pamper yourself. Sometimes feeling young is just one spa day away. Even taking the time to doll your outer appearance up can build your confidence. You can once again feel youthful and bold rather than feeling your appearance is worn down and hitting its low point at old age. As for mixing up your day it is important sometimes to steer away from your normal routine. Let’s face it doing the same thing day in and day out overtime can be draining and really boring. Combining the feeling of boring and draining is not going to get you any closer to feeling younger. So make sure to once and awhile stimulate the youthful side of your mind, body, and soul by doing little things out of the norm.

Overall, it is very important to radiate feeling young and not let your age define you. So do your body a favor and take the time to follow these suggestions to feel completely youthful and energetic.