Brain Fitness
So just what is brain fitness, and how literally should we take the idea?
Well, the analogy is actually fairly good, because the concept of brain fitness does indeed suggest there is a relation between our cognitive prowess and how much we exercise it.
For some, this can actually improve the abilities of our brain, whilst for others it is more important in playing the role of a treadmill that keeps us in the same location, rather than slipping back - in other words helping to maintain the mental status quo and ward off, or reduce the speed of, degradation.
It is worth noting that this concept does not get mentioned an awful lot in the world of science, though it is used a lot more in information and articles that are aimed at the general public, presumably because intuitively it both seems to be a reasonable supposition, and it is quite snappy and therefore comprehensible; a scientific equivalent term with mentions of neuroscience and so on might be a little less penetrable!
Scientifically it is almost impossible to prove anything is the case, however it does seem to be fair to suggest that there is quite suggestive evidence that some parts of the make up of your brain are plastic throughout your life, and therefore the concept applied to them at least would seem to make sense. And also high mental activity has been associated for a fair time with reducing the risk of things that everyone would like to ward off (for instance dementure that is caused predominantly due to advancing years).
If you want 'brain fitness' then it is important to stress that the full range of tasks that make you engage your brain are useful. Trying to learn how to do something, how to put together a piece of flat pack furniture, how to read a map to get from A to B - these are all tasks that make you engage your brain, so don't think the only way is through doing a classical logic puzzle or a crossword for instance.
Read more brain training articles:
- Fractions, Percentages and Decimals
If you don't know your decimal fraction from your percentage, then there is a chance that you will find this article useful... - Remembering Numbers
Need to remember a number but finding it hard? The technique explained here may prove useful to you... - Journey Method Explained
A clear explanation of what the journey method is, and how to use it to help you remember lists of items. - Types of Reasoning
Deductive and inductive reasoning explained - learn the difference between the two types of argument... - Strategy Games
Start to think strategically by answering the question posed in our strategy games article and playing a simple game of strategy with which most of us are familiar from childhood...
