The brain is the most active organ in the body. It processes at least 34 GB of information per day to keep us active and alive. Like your muscles, your brain also needs exercising to keep it fit. The best way to keep the brain active is through regular exercise. Exercises to boost brain functions will keep you engaged.Â
It will also promote better memory and prevent health conditions like dementia. Here are some exercises you can do at home to boost brainpower.
1. Practice Yoga for Brain Power
Yoga is one of the most popular forms of exercise today for many reasons. Yoga is very easy to achieve and doesn’t involve too many physical activities. It’s the perfect kind of exercise for everyone, including kids.
Yoga helps your body relax and releases your brain from excess activities (1). That way, you’re able to offload clogs and think better. Practicing yoga will help you develop better brainpower and speed in memory.
2. Try Out a New Sport
Every sport has its own set of rules that all players must master and understand. Also, you will need to develop particular skills in a sport to have a chance of winning. Requirements to get new knowledge to ensure quality exercises to boost brain functions.Â
Also, humans are predisposed to want to compete and dominate. That alone is enough inspiration to drive you to want to learn the new sport. Some of the top sports to consider learning include golf, tennis, etc. All information you take in and the process will help improve your brainpower.
3. Play Sudoku
Puzzle games expand the mind and force you to think more than anything else. That is why playing Sudoku is one of the best ways for you to boost your brainpower. Sudoku is a game that combines puzzles with numbers. It’s been around for hundreds of years and still remains very popular.
In Sudoku, the aim is to fill 9×9 grids with numbers from 1 to 9. No rows should contain more than one of the numbers 1 to 9. No 3 x 3 grid should contain more than one of the numbers 1 to 9.
4. Learn a New Language
Language plays a major role in our lives. From an evolutionary standpoint, it is the main reason why we’re better than other species. Your mind will benefit a lot from learning a new or foreign language.
Learning a foreign language is one of the best exercises to boost brain functions. You get to learn new sounds and vowels, pronunciations, and expressions.
You’re also encouraged to remember phrases, words, and their meanings. This continuous process helps to enhance the brain and makes it sharper. Learning a new language will also enhance your decision-making skills.
5. Meditation Has Several Benefits for the Mind
A few minutes of meditation has the power to change your brain more than almost anything else. Meditation reduces activities in the brain so you can have a clear mind.Â
It also helps to reduce depression and anxiety. With eight weeks of consistent meditation, key areas of the brain will change in volume. You can also increase concentration and attention by practicing meditation.
6. Learn To Play a Musical Instrument
Children who attend music classes and learn to play instruments become more creative. That’s because the whole process of musical instruments helps to jumpstart the brain. Developing auditory systems will also help grow the brain. That’s why the merits of learning musical instruments go beyond musical abilities.
Every brain will age no matter what you do. But those who’re learning musical instruments will be in better shape [3]. You also enjoy better speech processing and mental stability. Musical instruments encourage happiness and help you bond with other people.
It also promotes reading skills, memory, and multitasking. All these activities are exercises to boost brain functions.
7. Planks and Jumping Jacks
Physical exercises also help boost brain power and cognitive capacity. One such exercise is planks. What makes planks so awesome is the fact that it jumpstarts your entire body. Your brain also benefits from this mechanical action because of your actions.Â
Another type of physical exercise to consider is jumping jacks. It’s already a prominent feature in gyms that are conscious of cognitive development. Both exercises are very easy to achieve at home, and you don’t need equipment for them.
8. Teach Someone about Something You Know Well
Teaching is also a great way to develop your brain and get it working. When you know something, the information is stored. Regular practice allows you to fine-tune and update your brain. But it’s teaching that actually compels your brain to expand.
When you teach, your brain goes through the process that forces it to invent ideas. You want your students to understand what you’re teaching them. So, your brain is always digging up information and bringing them to the surface.
9. Learn a New Skill
Most people have a regular routine at work they repeat every day. It can sometimes be boring when you engage in this. And the reason is that your brain craves new experiences and challenges to grow.
Learning a new skill is one of the best exercises to boost brain functions. Your brain appreciates new knowledge and begins to grow and expand. When you learn new skills, you get better at what you’re already doing well [4].Â
Get the confidence to learn something new that will add so much value to your life. At the same time, it will expand your brain. Some new skills to learn are cooking, sewing, and making crafts.
10. Turn Off Technology for a Day
You can expand your brain and grow your mind by turning off technology. TV, smartphones, laptops, and desktops are good. We learn new things through them every day. But too much information getting into our brain leads to clogs that affect cognitive growth.
Set out a day in a week or month where you won’t look at a screen for at least 24 hours. Instead, go to the beach, hang out with friends, and experience nature. Create time to connect with your environment, and your brain will enjoy it.
