Examples of Mentally Stimulating Activities
Although some common examples of mental exercise are doing crossword puzzles and playing chess, stimulation of the brain can occur in a wide variety of ways. Using one’s memory is a form of mental exercise. Attempting to memorize a grocery list before someone goes to the store is easy and beneficial for the brain. A simple way to arouse the brain is by using the opposite, or non-dominant, hand. For tasks such as eating, brushing teeth, dialing the phone, using an iPod, and using the mouse on a computer, most people instinctively use their dominant hand even though using the non-dominant hand would be helpful. Incorporating as many of the five senses as possible into everyday activities can stimulate the brain. Getting dressed with the eyes closed, listening to music while smelling the flowers and the surrounding nature, and watching clouds while playing with modeling clay, are all simple ways to exercise the mind by using many senses at once. Ridding oneself of habits and routines will allow mental stimulation to occur. Driving a different route to work or school on a daily basis are good examples of breaking a comfortable habit. Even shopping at varying pharmacies and grocery stores can help stimulate the brain by breaking habits. Our ancestors are an example of how traveling is another way to exercise the mind. The ancient Homo sapiens were adventurous and constantly on the move. This active lifestyle led to more developed survival skills and a significant amount of brain stimulation that the homebound Neanderthals of the same time did not have, which may have led to their eventual extinction. Even being in an intellectually enriching environment can help compensate for some forms of brain damage. A study done by Jefferson Medical College gave water laced with lead to two groups of rats. One group was in a stimulating environment while the other group was isolated. While lead can potentially cause brain damage, the rats in the stimulating environment showed a better capability to learn than the isolated group. The brain is constantly changing for people of all ages and learning can and should be a continual process. Reading, learning a new language, and playing a musical instrument are all tremendous ways to stimulate the brain. Playing Scrabble and Sudoku are both ways to enhance cognitive ability as well. A study done by Princeton University researchers shows that even playing Bingo is an example of mental exercise for the elderly. On the contrary, watching television sends the brain into a neutral state and is void of thinking; therefore avoiding television is advised for someone wishing to have mental stimulation. Cognitive exercise must occur so that the brain can continue to grow.
Read more about this topic: Mental Exercise
Famous quotes containing the words examples of, examples, mentally, stimulating and/or activities:
“Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“No rules exist, and examples are simply life-savers answering the appeals of rules making vain attempts to exist.”
—André Breton (1896–1966)
“The mastery of one’s phonemes may be compared to the violinist’s mastery of fingering. The violin string lends itself to a continuous gradation of tones, but the musician learns the discrete intervals at which to stop the string in order to play the conventional notes. We sound our phonemes like poor violinists, approximating each time to a fancied norm, and we receive our neighbor’s renderings indulgently, mentally rectifying the more glaring inaccuracies.”
—W.V. Quine (b. 1908)
“An actor must communicate his author’s given message—comedy, tragedy, serio- comedy; then comes his unique moment, as he is confronted by the looked-for, yet at times unexpected, reaction of the audience. This split second is his; he is in command of his medium; the effect vanishes into thin air; but that moment has a power all its own and, like power in any form, is stimulating and alluring.”
—Eleanor Robson Belmont (1878–1979)
“Love and work are viewed and experienced as totally separate activities motivated by separate needs. Yet, when we think about it, our common sense tells us that our most inspired, creative acts are deeply tied to our need to love and that, when we lack love, we find it difficult to work creatively; that work without love is dead, mechanical, sheer competence without vitality, that love without work grows boring, monotonous, lacks depth and passion.”
—Marta Zahaykevich, Ucranian born-U.S. psychitrist. “Critical Perspectives on Adult Women’s Development,” (1980)