Most of us are aware of the importance of maintaining good physical health. But not as many people are aware of the need to keep their minds in good condition, too. It’s easy to assume that the brain will look after itself, but that’s not the case. While your brain isn’t a muscle — it’s an organ — it’s good practice to treat it as if it were a muscle. By giving your brain a regular workout, you can keep your mind sharp and reduce your risk of developing conditions such as depression and Alzheimer’s.

And happily, keeping your brain sharp doesn’t have to be a chore. It can be fun! In this post, we’ll run through a bunch of activities that anyone can do that’ll help to keep their brains in tip-top condition. 

Learn a Second Language

Anything that encourages you to develop new neural pathways is excellent for your brain. And there’s arguably no better method for doing that than by learning a second language. 

Learning a foreign language can be tricky at first, but once you’ve begun forming sentences, you’ll likely get such a buzz that you’re more than happy to continue learning. Learning a second language does more than keep your brain sharp (in fact, that’s just a happy side-effect); it can also open up a world of traveling possibilities. It’s a lot of fun to travel to a foreign country and speak in the local tongue. 

Need some help getting started with a second language? Language Transfer is an effective method for getting to grips with the basics. 

Play Challenging Card Games

Want to give your brain a workout while also having fun? Then take a look at playing a challenging card game such as poker, hearts, or bridge. These card games are great because they force you to dig deep and use your brainpower without being overbearing. More than anything, you’ll be enjoying the playing process — the fact that the game is helping you to improve your brain is just a happy, highly welcome side-effect. It can take a bit of time to learn how to play these slightly more complicated card games, but it’s well worth going through the learning curve. Once you know how to play, you’ll have a game that you’ll be playing for the rest of your life. 

Invest in Sleep

Sleeping might not be the most exciting activity you can do, but it sure is one of the best. There’s a whole boatload of benefits that can come from consistently getting a good night’s sleep. Not only will you enjoy increased energy and improved skin (they call it beauty sleep for a reason!), but you’ll also be helping to support your overall brainpower. No one’s quite sure how sleep benefits the brain, but researchers are adamant that it does. But you probably already know that yourself: just think of how much easier it is to perform brain-dependent tasks when you’ve had a solid night’s sleep compared with when you’re sleep-deprived.

Struggling to consistently reach — and stay in — the land of nod? Try the following:

Read Daily

Reading a good book can feel like an illuminating experience. But it doesn’t just feel that way — it’s actually happening. Researchers used an MRI to see what happens to the brain when a person engages in deep reading and found that it resulted in significantly increased brain activity.

There are other benefits to reading too, such as reducing stress, enhancing creativity, and boosting your memory. Don’t have enough time to spend long days lazily reading a book? Don’t worry, you don’t need them — even 15/30 minutes of reading each day is enough to get the benefits. 

Play Memory Games

Looking for a more intentional way to keep your brain sharp? Then take a look at playing memory games, many of which are available online or on your smartphone device. These games are more challenging than fun, but they can have significant long-term benefits to overall brain health. They’ll help to — of course — boost your memory, but can also improve your problem-solving skills and can even enhance your mood and confidence. That’s a lot of good that can come from spending 15 minutes playing a puzzle game on your phone. 

Try to make playing memory games part of your morning routine. Playing one with your morning coffee is a great way to wake up your brain. 

Stay Social

Love spending time with your friends? Good news — you’ll be supporting your brain while you do so. Researchers are finding that socializing can have a tremendous benefit on brain functionality (and also many other benefits, too). Part of the reason is that engaging in conversation requires you to think on your feet; you never know what’s going to be said next! 

It’s normal for people to socialize a little less as they get older. If you find that you’re spending less time socializing, then look at joining a coffee group or hiking club. Even small amounts of socializing can be hugely beneficial. 

Take a Trip

Have you been looking for an excuse to book a flight and visit a far-flung destination? While ‘it’s to boost my brain’ isn’t the most common reason for traveling that you’ll hear, that is precisely what it does. Finding yourself in a new location forces you to think in new and creative ways. We tend to live a little on autopilot at home since we know exactly how everything works, but when you’re traveling? You’ll be forced to use your problem-solving skills for even the most basic of tasks. Even figuring out how to eat a meal can be a little challenging if you don’t speak the language!

Brain-Boosting Diets

Finally, remember that your diet does more than impact your physical conditioning; it’ll impact your brain, too. You can support your brain by following a diet that’s rich in brain-boosting foods such as salmon, blueberries, broccoli, pumpkin seeds, and dark chocolate.