Mind Games

My wife’s grandfather kept his mind sharp by doing the New York Times crossword puzzle everyday. Keeping the mind agile is just as important as exercising the body. I remember watching a movie featuring Patrick Stewart that was about a man who was concerned about Alzheimer’s. He went through daily mental exercises like reciting as many prime numbers as he could, naming all of the presidents in order or going through the state capitals in alphabetical order.

Most newspapers include at least one daily crossword puzzle with perhaps a Sudoku puzzle, Word Jumble or other such entertaining mental exercise. There are many other options for those who do not like to support the liberal bias of the printed media. Many websites offer online games such as crossword, scrabble, jumble and more. Then there are the educational video games like Brain Games that has become extremely popular on the Nintendo DS.

Other mental exercises include:

  • Reading (reading anything, including comic books, is better than no reading)
  • Writing (even simple processes such as letters or emails help you order and process)
  • Mathematical problem solving (how many of us in non-math fields can remember our algebra)
  • Memorization (there are tricks to memorizing an entire piano sonata or all of the lines in a One Act play)
  • Trivia (sport facts, politics, movies, music, weather or whatever interests you)
  • Word games (my favorite is Questions Only [every sentence must be in question format], but I also enjoy Last Letter [the first word of your next sentence must begin with the last letter of the other players last word])

Share some of your favorite methods for keeping mentally alert.

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