10 Easy Ways to Get Your Brain in Shape & Be Smarter

Now it's not in question that exercise is good for you - there are entire magazines devoted to staying in shape (well-read ones, I might add). We focus a lot on our bodies: we shape them, sculpt them, sometimes surgically alter them to be more attractive to the world.

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But what about our most important organ? What about our brain?

Here are some easy ways to keep our brains fit and healthy.

1) Keep up with current events. Watching or reading the news can really make your mind work.

2) Play a stimulating game. Crosswords and Scrabble are two games that make you use your brain to do some problem-solving on a different level. They even have apps for that!

3) Ditch the calculators and other cheats and use your brain for the stuff you learned in school.

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4) Do logic puzzles. Anagrams and other logic puzzles are a great way to pass the time while you're drinking your morning coffee. They use a part of your brain you don't always get to use.

5) Get out into your garden. While gardening is often manual work, the manual labor takes your mind offline to make you to think, really think, about things that are going on in your life.

6) Do some yoga. Yoga has long been touted as being amazing for your body, allowing for tons of relaxation and stretching. Did you know it's also good for your mind? Yoga allows us to relax and engage with our innermost thoughts.

7) Learn something new. If you're terrible at golf, learn to play it. If it's computers that befuddle you, have someone show you how to work one. Learning new skills is an excellent way to make sure your mind keeps active and healthy.

8) Eat fish or take fish-oil supplements if you can't eat fish for some reason. It's one of the best foods for your brain out there.

9) Use olive oil in your cooking. A key component to the Mediterranean diet, olive oil can break down clots and improve blood flow to the brain.

10) Drink green tea. Green tea is full of antioxidants which help the brain to stay strong and fit.

What are some other ways in which you can exercise your brain?



Image via /Flickr


Written by Aunt Becky on CafeMom's blog, The Stir.

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