Brain Games To Keep You Young

Your brain is constantly changing in response to everything you do and think. The brain retains this ability well into old age. This is known as “plasticity.” The aging brain is very resilient, adaptable and capable.  Keep it functional and keep it young. With the proper care and lifestyle choices you can anti-age.

Brain cells do die off as we age, but the process does not accelerate. The areas of the brain that do lose cells are not necessarily the ones that are related to memory. The structure called the hippocampus shrinks in some people. These physical changes in the brain vary from person to person. Many people reach a ripe old age and are as sharp as ever.

It is known now that aging isn’t just about our outward appearance. Mental health and well-being are also major factors. Physical, mental, spiritual and social processes affect each person differently during this complex process called aging. Dementia, senility Alzheimer’s Disease and depression are very real and unpleasant realities that many seniors face as they age. We know there is no magic potion to stop this process of aging. It is up to each individual to take control of their mental health, make smart lifestyle changes about diet and exercise and maintain a healthy, positive attitude in order to maintain their youth and mental potential as long as possible.

Old age puts more wrinkles in our minds than on our faces.  ~Michel
de Montaigne

Studies indicate that 50% of brain power is genetic and the other 50% is attributed to the environment. The activity a brain receives and the experiences it encounters all help the brain to develop and achieve. Like a muscle the more we exercise it the better it becomes.  The best thing you can do to increase your brain’s thinking power is to exercise it through lots of activity. Constant exposure to new ideas, learning and activities will help work your brain, improve it and protect it from mental decline.  With mental exercise you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Defying your chronological age (maintain your youth)can be achieved by keeping your mind active and your brain sharp.

You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.
George Burns
1896-1996, American Comedy Actor

There are dozens of books out there that are full of activities that will help you keep your mind sharp. Sodoku puzzles, brain teasers, word finders and crossword puzzles, even the internet has games you can play and challenge yourself to reach new levels of mastery. Simply memorizing a song or poem or perhaps a verse from the Bible will help you with thinking and remembering. The following are a few activities I found to be fun and are excellent examples of ways to sharpen your brain.

These were excerpted from Women’s Health
magazine, January /February 2008.

Brain-Boosting Puzzles

(1) Find a six-letter male name from which you can drop either the
first or the last letter to spell out a five-letter food. (Hint: The name
starts with a vowel.)
(2) Find the last name of a famous actress hidden in each of these
sentences. Each name will be seven consecutive letters long and part
of two or more words.

After jumping a crevasse, the cougar landed safely on the other side.

Marian drew sketches in the park all afternoon.

(3) Think of the name of a well-known sport. Change its first letter to
another letter, and you get a word for a participant in a different sport.
What are the two words?

(4) Put three letters in each set of blanks to complete a word on the
left and start a word on the right.
Example: TO _ _ _ TURE
Answer: PIC (topic/picture)

UNI _ _ _ STION
MINI _ _ _ MY
M _ _ _ MERATE
PL _ _ _LEA

(5) What three consecutive numbers, when spelled out, use a single
vowel over and over?

ANSWERS
ANSWER to (1): Oliver — olive and liver
ANSWER to (2): Judy Garland (cougar landed), Julie Andrews
ANSWER to (3): hockey/jockey
ANSWER (4): QUE (unique/question); MUM (minimum/mummy);
ENU (menu/enumerate); AZA (plaza/azalea)
ANSWER (5): ten, eleven, twelve

Check out more puzzles at this website:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/puzzle?

Here are two additional sites to check out for more games to try.

Best Memory boosting Games

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/emotional/memory-brain-

power-games

Brain games can Boost IQ – Here’s 5 new brain games to play
now.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/91581

Last but not least, I found this memory boosting trick in Prevention
magazine, August 2007;

“If you want to be sure to recall something you read, warm up your memory first by moving your eyes from side to side for 30 seconds.Horizontal eye movements are thought to bolster interaction between the two hemispheres of the brain, and communication between them is key to retrieving certain types of memories. “–AM

The aging brain is very resilient, adaptable and capable.  Keep it functional and keep it young. With the proper care and lifestyle choices you can anti-age. Go play some games and have fun!!

Happy Anti-aging everyone!

Chuck’n'Gayle