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This morning I read in "Strategies for keeping your brain in the game" (Mail Tribune - Southern Oregon), that blogging can be good for brain fitness. Good and unsurprising piece of advice. So can learning and then teaching others what you have learned.
It's well known that, to keep all our marbles, we have to keep stimulating the mind with new learning experiences, such as chess, crossword puzzles, or learning a craft, language or musical instrument. But, says [Lorraine] Jarvi, studies are now showing that you can't just learn these things, you have to take them out in the world, talk about them, share them and put them to use in some meaningful way.
Simplest is to engage in a lot of reading, but then be sure to discuss it with others, so you're thinking about it, building on it and using it, says Rawland Glass, director of Relationships First. The corollary to this is to cut way down on TV, "which is a state of not using your brain. You're letting someone else tell you what to think. It kills creativity and doesn't stimulate brain cells."
When reading, don't treat the book like a paper TV, but rather challenge yourself by making a guess at what's going to happen next, write a review of it for publication on some Internet blog or start a book-discussion group, says Jarvi. If the book is nonfiction, put it to work by teaching a class on it or, if it's history, go study the actual site in person.
Another way to "keep all our marbles"? Write your memoirs.
If reading is stimulating, writing is stimulation tenfold. Jarvi says keep a journal, challenging yourself to explore complex topics or current events. Also, write your memoirs, which stimulates the vital part of your brain used for memory — and it's guaranteed to have interested readers at some point down the road.
Read the rest of the article for more brain fitness tips.
And for even more tips, take a look at this idealawg post on cognitive fitness.
Here's a fine article on brain fitness: "Pump up those little grey cells" (Times Online - UK). The article includes many links to related Web sites. Be sure to click on over but grab a cup of coffee first; you may be there a while. Hat tip to SharpBrains.
Image credit: lightfoot at morguefile
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