As we age, our mental capabilities can slow down, and without exercising our minds regularly, we can find that tasks we took for granted become more difficult.
Memory, spatial awareness, and hand-eye coordination can begin to falter, which is why it is important to excise your mind daily. Discover fun creative ways to exercise your mind and enjoy improving and maintaining your mental agility.
Use your non-dominant hand and foot
Most people favour one hand and foot to carry out tasks such as writing, kicking a ball and brushing their teeth. By changing the hand and foot you use you are accessing a different part of your brain and need to concentrate a lot more than if your we re-using your everyday preferences. If you are right-handed, try brushing your teeth using your left hand to hold the brush and vice versa if you are left-handed.
When playing ball games with your kids or with friends; throw and kick the ball with your non-dominant hands and feet. This simple exercise is trickier than it sounds and encourages you to focus and concentrate at the task in hand in a way you wouldn’t usually.
Play games online
Once thought to be nothing more than a juvenile past-time, gaming is now becoming a reputable source of mental exercise.
Playing games online needn’t be restricted to games specifically aimed at challenging you mentally, but can include casino games and other fun, less structured games. Studies show that gaming can help alleviate depression and can also help to keep players alert and mentally active as they focus on different elements of a game.
Casino games are popular with older players as they tend to be more familiar with games such as poker and blackjack. There is no need to spend a lot of money, if any at all, on online gaming as many such as NJ No Deposit games allow you to play initially without transferring any money.
The fun thing about online gaming is that you can do it alone, on your mobile, or with friends on a computer.
Get knitting
Although often associated with old age, knitting is becoming a popular past time with people of all ages.
Knitting requires co-ordination and concentration and will keep your mind active in an enjoyable way. The best thing of all is that you will be able to create all manner of things as you exercise your mind and hands.
If you are a newbie, think about joining a knitting group where you can share ideas, knitting patterns and learn how to do different stitches. By joining a group, you will also enjoy the social aspect of knitting which will contribute to keeping your mind active.
Become a crafter
Crafting is so much fun and learning how to make cards, gifts and accessories for your home, will keep your mind active and exercising in all manner of different ways.
Crafting requires nimble fingers, organisational skills, and imagination – all things that encourage you to exercise different areas of your mind. Like knitting, crafting in a group setting allows for the potential to learn at a quicker pace and to enjoy the social aspects of a crafting group.
