Hiking can be as easy as exploring a city park or part of a more elaborate visit to a state or national park. Learn this ancient form of graceful movement and stretching for a super way to start each morning. Practicing yoga is an excellent way to get your body and mind moving any time of the day. A leisurely bike ride through a park or down a dedicated bike trail is not only good for your body, but you will enjoy the scenery too. Jump in the lake or take a swim at your neighborhood pool for a great form of exercise. Getting Fido and yourself outside for a walk improves both your mood and your health - which both lead to a stronger mind. Mowing the lawn, raking leaves, or just picking up the twigs that have fallen on the yard are all great ways to get exercise. Exercise increases blood-flow and oxygenates the brain, so get moving. Whether you want an all-out, five-day-a-week gym workout or you just want to keep from being a couch potato, physical exercise will help keep your mind as well as your body fit. Start a new hobby or take up an old, forgotten one to get your creative juices flowing. Who said video games are a waste of time? Some video game playing can help fight Alzheimer's. You can have fun with these puzzles any time you have a few extra minutes. Solve brainteasers such as anagrams, logic problems, or rebuses. Movies like The Fountain, Jacob's Ladder, and 12 Monkeys can leave your brain pondering what you watched for days afterward. The problem-solving skills of working puzzles help keep your mind sharp. While working jigsaw puzzles, you must think about how the shapes and colors match up. It's definitely a bonus if your reading material has some depth to it, though. Reading keeps your mind pumping, and you learn new things at the same time. Read anythingâ¦books, magazines, the back of cereal boxes. Whether your interest is politics, world news, or your local small-town gossip, staying current with the news stimulates your mind.
Scrabble is a great way to get your brain thinking. Play Scrabble with friends in person or play online.
If you don't get the newspaper, you can find many free crossword puzzles online. They usually get progressively more difficult as the week goes on, culminating in the most challenging puzzle on Sunday. If you get the newspaper, work the crossword puzzles each day. Doing tasks such as thinking through problems or avoiding the calculator for simple arithmetic is one way to exercise your mind. There is a lot of knowledge up there, so put it into action. Take the following suggestions to give your mind a mental workout every day. The brain can atrophy just like a muscle can.