These Brain Gym Techniques Will Help You Stay Active & Sharp

Nutritionist, Educator, Counselor, Life Skills and Wellness Coach, Dr. Shobha G shares with us 7 simple yet useful techniques that will help your brain to work out and stay fit.

  “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young!” 

-Henry Ford  

The human brain is a masterpiece of creation. Of all the objects in the universe, the human brain is the most complex, powerful, and highly evolved structure. Being made up of millions of neurons or brain cells that are densely connected, the neurons store information, and help in memory, cognition, etc. These brain cells function on the principle of “use it or lose it”. While previous research indicated that the brain’s capacity to learn and grow stopped with age, recent research shows that the brain is continually able to learn and adapt through the creation of new neural pathways. It is now known that the human brain is capable of being shaped and reshaped across an entire lifespan. This ability and the process of change and reconnecting of brain cells is called Neuroplasticity.

Rewiring of neurons and the brain’s ability to adapt and develop new connections can be attributed to new experiences and brain-stimulating exercises. Strengthening communication between nerve cells is a way of keeping the brain active and healthy as neglected brain cells tend to stop talking to each other and with age and without external stimulation neurons tend to be less responsive. Just like the muscles that are not energized, moved, or exercised for long periods become weak, the brain does too. . Although neuroplasticity of the brain is a much more complex and multidimensional factor depending on several factors, the fact is that stimulating the brain and keeping it active consciously, certainly helps in the overall health of an individual. It is highly beneficial and recommended to put those efforts in keeping the brain active with exercise and that is where the ‘Brain Gym’ comes in.

We often talk about the importance of exercising the physical body, but exercising the brain and engaging in brain fitness exercises to stimulate the “thinking” part of the brain — the frontal lobe — is necessary for maintaining cognitive skills, memory, judgment, problem solving and motor functioning says recent research on neuroplasticity. Although overall health, diet, pre-conditions of the person, age, and other factors play a major decisive role in one’s brain health and functioning, the planned and deliberate activities of Brain Gym are highly beneficial and easily doable.

Major benefits of Brain Gym

• Makes one smarter and sharper
• Increases confidence level
• Improves self-esteem
• Improves eyesight
• Increases creativity and communication skills
• Improves natural healing mechanisms
• Fosters better health.

Here are seven simple Brain Gym activities and their benefits

  Technique 1 – Think of the alphabet X

Sit in a comfortable position

Close your eyes.

Think of the alphabet X and trace it by moving your eyeballs.

Repeat it 05 times. Rest for 10 seconds and repeat 05 times.

Benefits: Helps with vision, whole-body coordination, planning and scheduling, executive functioning, binaural hearing.  

  Technique 2 – Thinking cap

With one hand at the top of each ear gently unroll the curved parts of the outer edges of both ears at the same time, with your thumb on the inside of the ear. Continue all the way to your earlobes. Repeat three or more times.

Benefits: Said to help tune out distracting noises and increase listening ability  

  Technique 3 – Tracing lazy 8 ( Sleeping position of number 8)

Stretch your arm straight in front of you. It should be at the height of your shoulder. With your thumb pointing toward the ceiling, slowly trace the shape of a large figure 8. While drawing the 8, focus your eyes on the thumb.

Benefits: Thinking more clearly, relaxation, visual tracking, increasing attention span.  

Technique 4- Exercising peripheral vision

Sit in a place outside your house, such as on a park bench. Look straight ahead and do not move your eyes. Concentrate on everything you can see without moving your eyes, including in your peripheral vision. Write a list of everything you saw. Then try again and see if you can add more to your list.

Benefits: Neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is crucial to focus and memory, falls off with memory loss and is almost absent in Alzheimer’s patients. This activity helps revive the controlled release of acetylcholine in the brain through a useful visual memory task.

  Technique 5 – Turn Down the TV

People generally get used to needing a very loud signal. Here is a way of sharpening your senses. Set your television volume down a little from where you normally have it set. See if by concentrating, you can follow just as successfully as when the volume was higher. As soon as that gets easy, turn it down a little more.

Benefits: Helps to re-tune the brain to listen to the information in a more conversational tone.  

  Technique 6 – Switch Hands

A simple technique of learning to use the “other” hand. If you’re right-handed, use your left hand for some of the regular daily activities like brushing, combing, or stirring your coffee, among other things. Start with simple activities, practice until you have perfected them, and try to work on more complex tasks, such as eating, buttoning, etc.

Benefits: Millions of neurons adjust to establish better control of your “other” hand. If you are a left-handed person switch doing the same with the right hand.  

  Technique 6 – Switch Hands

A simple technique of learning to use the “other” hand. If you’re right-handed, use your left hand for some of the regular daily activities like brushing, combing, or stirring your coffee, among other things. Start with simple activities, practice until you have perfected it, and try to work more complex tasks, such as eating, buttoning, etc.

Benefits: Millions of neurons adjust to establish better control of your “other” hand. If you are a left-handed person switch doing the same with the right hand.  

  About the Author

Dr. Shobha G, a nutritionist, educator, counselor, and life skills & wellness coach is a gold medalist in M.Sc from Bangalore University. She has 28 years of teaching experience both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and is the proud recipient of prestigious awards.