Daily Exercises to Keep Your Brain Healthy

When people think of working out and exercising, they often think about losing weight and building muscle. What many people fail to realize is that exercising the brain is just as important, even if there are no visual results to be seen in the mirror. It’s not always talked about that much, but there are a lot of exercises that help with brain health.

If a person can carve out a few minutes each day, they can start to see some real changes over the course of weeks and months. Below is a look at some great daily exercises to start using to keep a brain healthy. It’s best to be proactive about it now, to help avoid potential brain issues down the road.

Yoga

There are a few activities out there that do as much for the body as yoga. Not only is it a great workout that challenges the body to move in natural, unique ways, but it is a great way for people to focus on brain health as well. During yoga, the focus is on controlled breathing, relaxation and more. This helps a lot of people deal with stress, depression, and even bipolar tendencies they might be struggling with.

It’s a great exercise for people who are currently dealing with any type of brain fog, as it challenges the body just enough to get it thinking in different ways. Yoga is beneficial for exercise beginners, as well as world-class athletes. Everyone should take the time to discover all the benefits that stem from a few yoga workouts a week.

Running

Going on a daily run is one of the easiest exercises a person can fit into any schedule. It’s also a great way to shed some excess weight. For the brain, it is a perfect aerobic exercise that improves brain function, and also helps to repair any damaged brain cells. Plenty of runners also enjoy the fact that when they run, they can escape from anything that might be bothering them during the day. Their mind can wander and focus on something other than work, school or other causes of stress.

Start off by running for a set amount of minutes. Gradually move up and start to see improvement throughout the body. Some love to run and listen to the world around them, while others will listen to music or podcasts. All options help to stimulate the mind and keep it sharp.

Mental Exercises

The brain can get a great amount of daily exercise without breaking a sweat. There are small ways to work out the brain during the day without really changing up the schedule at all. A few suggestions include:

• Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing without a calculator
• Memorizing lists, numbers, and more
• Studying a musical instrument
• Learning a new language
• Reading a new book or article

The key to a great mental exercise is to step out of the normal comfort zone. Challenge the brain to think differently. Too often, people stick to the same routine every single day. While brain power is still used, it can easily go on auto-pilot without a challenge.