How to Strength Train Your Brain

You strength train your body by doing various types of exercises, which in turn wards off the effects of aging, so why not strength train your brain, if that's even possible. Yes, it is possible and easier than it may sound. If you frequently find yourself entering a room and forgetting why you're there, or if an answer or name is 'on the tip of your tongue' more often than not, it's time to strength train your brain. Here's how -

Mix Things Up On Purpose

Sounds counter-productive to intentionally mix things up and send your already sluggish working brain mixed signals, but it actually strengthens the brain. Use it or lose it, as the old adage says, and over the years our brains have become accustomed to receiving outside information from us in a certain manner. Mix some common things up, like hold a book or magazine upside down and read the print from the upside down angle for three minutes.

This minor mix up stimulates the brain to process information differently, and when the brain is stimulated, new connections are formed between brain cells, thus strengthening the brain. Strength train the brain with a daily mix up that lasts for at least three minutes.

Dance a Little Jig

Dancing is an aerobic activity that increases the heart rate and sends more oxygen and blood to the brain. That's great, but it even gets better for your brain when you dance. Complex dance moves that have to be memorized, like for ballet, the tango or even country line dancing, strength the connection between the brain cells. Strength train your brain (and improve overall health) by dancing for 30 minutes, three times per week.

Learn Something New

Join a crafting group, go back to school, learn a new language, learn something, anything, new. Studies have shown people who take a class to learn something new have more active brain cells. Joining a class to learn a new dance covers two of the three ways to strength train your brain. The more active the brain cells, the stronger the brain will be, and the less likely you'll be to develop Alzheimer's. Strength train your brain with this three-fold approach: Mix it up, dance it up and learn something new.