Exercise: It's Good for Your Brain Too!

Most of my adult life exercise has been a part of my daily routine, whether it was an hour or so at the gym or out walking around the lake near my house or doing some laps in my pool...I've had to cut down during the last few years due to a few surgeries I've had to have but I always tried to do something for my body's best interest. And still do.

But what about our brains? As I've gotten older I've noticed my memory isn't what it used to be...I would have a mental list of what I had to do during the day or a mental shopping list when at the grocery store..Inevitably I would forget something. Or I would walk into a room and forget what I went in there for.

So one day I read an article about mental exercise, how important it was for our well being. One of the suggestions in the article was to do puzzles, any kind of puzzle that would engage your brain and keep it active. So I bought a crossword puzzle book and really enjoyed doing them...I would do the crossword puzzle in TV guides and wherever I would find them... I also discovered I loved the puzzles that appeared in magazines and newspapers where you have to find the differences in two pictures. That still is my favorite.

Then I read another article that said anything that engages your brain in activity is an important part of our well-being...what about writing I wondered.

I love writing articles for this site and a few others that I've discovered. I think this is one of the best exercises we can do for our brains...We have to think about every word we put down ...we have to think of titles and all the extras involved in putting an article together..pictures, for instance, take some thought before they are actually added to our articles. And what will others think about what we write? I try not to dwell too much on that.

Being consistent about what we do is essential, a daily challenge can do for your brain what any exercise routine will do for your body. It can increase the speed and reasoning ability of our brains...if this can become a permanent challenge then it might be easier to remember all those little things that we tend to forget and to perform daily tasks or to solve any problems that may come our way..

We also have to remember to eat a balanced healthy diet... There are certain foods that will increase brain power. Proteins are essential and supplementing our diets with vitamins is important..One such supplement, I swear by is Ginkgo Biloba, but you have to remember to take it!

As for me, I do notice a difference since increasing my brains activities.....Just think about it! You just might find those thoughts will improve your memory.