Boost your brain with neurobics

When it comes to creating a life you love, your mind is the most powerful tool you have. Whether it is coming up with a vision, generating ideas, problem-solving, or keeping track of all the balls you have in the air, your brain is command central for building your future.

So it stands to reason that the better shape it's in, the more effective it will be. And just like your body, your brain can get fit or flabby, depending on what you do with it.

If you want to give your brain a workout, try "neurobic" exercises designed to beef up your brain. Here's how this article from the Wall Street Journal describes it...

...what scientists do know now that they didn't just a decade ago is that people generate new brain cells, and new connections between them, throughout life.

...Mental stimulation is one key. The more you challenge your brain, the more new nerve pathways you form. A mini-industry of brain teasers, puzzles and computer games has sprung up to help worried baby boomers do just that. But you can give your brain a good workout with just a few modifications in your daily life.

It goes on to give some simple suggestions for neurobic exercise.

Some of the niftiest are "neurobics" -- a term popularized by the late neurobiologist Lawrence Katz for engaging different parts of the brain to do familiar tasks. Try brushing your teeth or dialing the phone with your non-dominant hand. Theoretically, that can strengthen the pathways in the opposite side of your brain.

Since much of the brain is devoted to processing sensory input, Dr. Katz also suggested involving more of your senses in everyday activities -- such as showering or eating dinner with your eyes closed. "The brain loves novelty," says Dr. Doraiswamy. "It doesn't have to be complicated."

Activities that challenge your brain on many levels, such as learning how to play a musical instrument or speak a new language, provide great stimulation. So do games like chess, bridge and Stratego that require you to strategize and interact socially at the same time.

On the flip side of the coin, bad stress (as opposed to stimulating stress) has the opposite effect.

Stress has the opposite effect. The stress hormone cortisol depresses the growth of nerve cells and the connections between them. Yoga, meditation, exercise and social interaction can all help alleviate it.

What about you? How do you give your brain a workout?

[Hat tip to Dane Carlson for the link.]

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