When Do Brain Games Really Work?

It’s definitely the most complex organ in the human body, and we’re yet to understand even 10 percent of it. The human brain can only be described as a miracle, something that is capable of easily doing what the most powerful computers cannot. But just as it develops and grows in maturity after birth, with the passage of time, it starts to atrophy and decline. Some people are unlucky enough to have disease eat away at their brains – Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia make you lose your cognitive sense and reasoning ability even when your body is physically fit. And perhaps the best way to stave off these mental conditions is to keep your brain as fit as possible.

The brain is just like any other muscle in your body – the more you work it, the better and sharper it stays. And because of this wonderful phenomenon called neuroplasticity, the human brain is capable of changing itself by rearranging neuron connections to learn new behavior. So instead of just sitting back and letting your brain waste away, it’s best to challenge it with games that stretch your mental ability and reasoning skills. Such games work best when:

• They continue to challenge your brain: It’s no use taking on the easiest games and telling yourself that you’ve aced them all. The objective of playing the game is to provide your brain with a challenge that it has not encountered before. So when you choose brain games, start with the ones that you find a little difficult and move on to higher levels of difficulty as your brain starts getting accustomed to the challenge.

• You push yourself to do new things: There’s nothing that the human brain is not capable of if you try hard enough. And to keep all parts of your brain active and in good condition, you need to push yourself to do new things. So even if you’re not inclined to learn a new language, go ahead and try your luck. Pick up an instrument and see if you can learn to play it. These activities are games for your brain too because they activate areas that you don’t use in your day-to-day life.

• You feel yourself improving: The objective of brain games is to keep your grey cells robust, alert and active no matter how old you are. And as long as you feel yourself improving, you know that these games are doing you a world of good. If you want to test your memory power and how sharp your brain is, try doing things you could do easily before and that you struggle with now – like remembering phone numbers rather than using your contact list on your mobile phone to dial them and making make mental lists of the things you need to buy at your grocery store and seeing if you remember them the next time you shop. Use shortcuts or mnemonics to help you remember things without having to write them down; remembering through association also helps. Whatever works best for your brain, use it to stay sharp and keep your neurons fit as a fiddle.

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This guest post is contributed by Anna Miller, who writes on the topic of degrees online . She welcomes your comments at her email id: anna.miller009@gmail.com