Just as our body needs to exercise regularly, the brain does too. Not in the same way, of course, but it does need to practice as much as possible in order to stay fit. Just as the body can lose a little tone as we age, the brain loses some of it’s agility as we get older.

The good news is that it relatively simple to exercise those little grey cells – phew.

Here are some tips:-

Reading – This is the best “mind sport” for cognitive training. If it were in the Olympics it would be the 100m. If it were Tennis it’d be Wimbledon. If it were cheesy TV presenting – it’d be Noel Edmonds! Clearly the levels of difficulty vary significantly, but challenging reading material can extend our vocabulary and help form new neural pathways as we explore new concepts.

Using your creativity: be it a piece of design, a DIY project, a spot of gardening or creating an art piece, exercising your imagination and creativity, and drawing upon your short term “working memory” to work towards an envisaged goal, is shown to physically change the brain. (To be specific, Olesen et al showed it to increase dopamine receptor binding potential. After publishing his findings Dr Olesen went on to put up some shelving and painted a nice picture for Mrs Olesen)

Eating wisely- a diet rich in antioxidants- will help protect your brain cells. Physical activities maintain a good blood flow to the brain, along with oxygen and water molecules.

The social dimension is also important. Throughout our evolution, intelligence has been shown to be linked to the quality and quantity of human interactions. Consequently, relations with other people are helping you to maintain healthy connections among brain cells! – How poetic.

Cheerio.