Play A Board Game
Many of these games require a high level of concentration and focus, forcing your brain to think strategically and solve complex problems in a limited amount of time. They can also exercise your analytical thinking skills by watching your opponents play and learning from their strategies.
Learn A New Skill
A new skill is a great way to keep your mind sharp. Whether you’re taking up knitting or taking a cooking class, learning a new skill helps increase focus and memory. In addition, it challenges the brain to make connections and boosts neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to change and adapt to new situations.
Teach A Friend
According to a 2014 study, brain exercises such as jigsaw puzzles, crosswords and chess aren’t just fun, they can also boost cognition. These activities engage the brain’s problem-solving, memory and speed of processing information. Plus, pleasurable activities like learning to dance to 60-beats-per-minute music stimulate the pleasure center in the brain and make your brain more receptive to new information.
Learn New Words
Adding new words to your vocabulary engages the areas of your brain responsible for learning. It’s also fun to see how people use them in real life, and it can make you a smarter conversationalist.
Try to learn one word a day and actively use it. This will help you to memorize it more efficiently. If possible, find out the meaning of the word, its origin, and any other words it goes with. Say the word out loud to yourself, write it down, and visualize it. If you can, try to use it in a sentence to give the word context and further stimulate your memory.