Neurobics are activities or mental (cognitive) exercises that stimulate the brain, improve cognitive impairment, enhance memory, stimulate the production of neurotrophins and induce the formation of synapses.
Just as exercise stimulates the muscles, the brain is stimulated by neurobic exercises. We are all familiar with the benefits of aerobic exercise for the heart and lungs, but we often overlook neurobic exercises which strengthen the neurons and neural networks. The correlation here is so simple, and yet so often overlooked.
We present a series of simple and fun exercises to change the patterns that are fixed in your mind and train your brain to deal with new situations and be more adaptable to change.
- Use the non-dominant hand in some simple, everyday activities (eg brushing your hair).
- Choose a different route to work, home or the supermarket.
- Listen to a foreign language song.
- Try to draw a clock as you look at its reflection in the mirror.
- Try a tongue twister.
- Start a new hobby (eg chess, painting, learning programming).
- Include balance exercises in your fitness program.
- Enrich your taste palette.
- Practice mindfulness by focusing on:
5 things you can see: The color of the wall, the reflection of the sun on a surface, a vase on the table, a plant on the desk.
4 things you can feel: The texture of the chair surface, the temperature of the glass you are holding, the feeling of the shirt on your skin.
3 things you can hear: The sound of cars on the road, the sound of air conditioning, the sound of pigeons.
2 things you can smell: The aroma of coffee, the aroma of a cologne (it does not matter if the smell is pleasant or unpleasant).
1 thing you can taste: the chewing gum, the taste of a juice.