My Favorite Mental Fitness Exercises

As the year draws to a close, I thought Mental Fitness would be a good topic.
Many people lost their mental capabilities as they aged. This is however is not inevitable, it is simply as people say, "use it or lose it".
As in the case of muscle atrophy, loss of brain capacity is often caused by disuse.
Recent medical research indicates that people with inactive minds are more prone to contracting devastating brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The other reason for bringing up this topic, is because it is one of the hacks to be included in the list for LifeHack 2.0, see Life Hack 2.0 How-to's

There are many ways for mental exercise, books, articles, seminars, and training centers abound.

These exercises range from cross word puzzles, Sudoku, memorizing phone numbers to visualization, meditation, and Yoga.

Here are some of my favorite mental exercises:

• I have never learned music, but I find memorizing and playing melodies on keyboard very useful. It combines tactile and brain memories, and can at the same time express feelings.

• Recently I received a DVD gift, titled "Wu Dang Qi Gong" and I started to learn and practice the graceful movements. Of course I am not suggesting that Qi Gong is only for mental exercises, but it has a very beneficial side effect. Memorizing movements and bodily coordination, together with posture, balancing and peace of mind is priceless.

• I tried some Origami when I was a kid, now looking at some of the Origami sites on the net, I am surprised to see so many beautiful things one can create from paper. Learning to fold is a rewarding practice involving spatial memory.
  

• Another of my favorite memorizing exercises is to recite poems or suttas for Buddhist. One popular such is the Karaniya Metta Sutta, or The Hymn of Universal Love. You can memorize in English or Pali. It is not too short and not too long (see Karaniya Metta Sutta The Buddha's Words on Loving-kindness )
  

• Meditation has a special place for keeping the brain sharp. Apart from concentration, it helps us to be mindful, and to be alert and relaxed at the same time.

Other exercises may include Writing/blogging, Chess and other games, Sharing good stories, jokes, Discussions, Listening to lectures and podcasts, Reading books, Teaching, and Learning new things.

Finally, although not a mental exercise, physical exercise, good nutrition, and good sleep have effects on the mental faculty.

Happy New Year 2008!