TV, Chocolate, Fish and Rocky Roads

How TV, Chocolate, Fish and Rocky Roads can make you smarter
24-Jul 11:05

Believe it or not you can help your brain remain healthy even while watching TV – it just means you need to turn the sound down. You might be able to double the benefit if you nibble on a few squares of dark chocolate while watching. (Any problems so far?) And then settle in for a good night’s sleep. Now, we’re confident this is the sort of fitness programme most people can relate to, but we’re wondering just how we can package it up, start classes and retire early.

14 Recommended Brain Fitness Activities 

1 Eat dark chocolate
The task: Add some dark chocolate to your diet.
The reason: When you eat chocolate you activate the systems in your brain that pump out dopamine, an important brain chemical. These systems enable learning and memory, and help keep your brain sharp and fit.

2 Visit a museum
The task: Go on a guided tour of a museum or another site of interest. Pay careful attention to what the guide says. When you get home, try to reconstruct the tour by writing an outline that includes everything you remember.
The reason: Research into brain plasticity (the ability of the brain to change at any age) indicates that memory activities that engage all levels of brain operation – receiving, remembering and thinking – help to improve the function (and hinder the rate of decline) of the brain.

3 Memorise a song
The task: Choose a song with lyrics you enjoy but have not memorised. Listen to the song as many times as necessary to write down all the lyrics. Then learn to sing along. Once you’ve mastered one song, move on to another!
The reason: Developing better habits of careful listening will help you in your understanding, thinking and remembering. Reconstructing the song requires close attentional focus and an active memory. When you focus, you release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, a brain chemical that enables plasticity and vivifies memory.

4 Exercise your peripheral vision
The task: Sit in a place outside your house, such as on a park bench or in a café. Stare straight ahead and don’t move your eyes. Concentrate on everything you can see without moving your eyes, including in your peripheral vision. When you have finished, write a list of everything you saw. Then try again and see if you can add to your list.
The reason: Scientists have shown that the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is crucial to focus and memory, falls off with memory loss and is almost absent in Alzheimer’s patients. This activity should help you reinvigorate the controlled release of acetylcholine in your brain through a useful visual memory task.

5 Learn to play a musical instrument
The task: If you’ve ever thought about learning to play an instrument or take up an old one, now is a great time!
The reason: Playing an instrument helps you exercise many interrelated dimensions of brain function, including listening, control of refined movements, and translation of written notes (sight) to music (movement and sound).

6 Do a jigsaw puzzle
The task: Do a jigsaw puzzle that will be challenging for you – no fewer than 500 pieces.
The reason: Mundane as they may seem, jigsaw puzzles can provide real help for your brain. Completing one requires fine visual judgements about where pieces belong. It entails mentally "rotating" the pieces, manipulating them in your hands, and shifting your attention from the small piece to the "big picture." To top it off, it’s rewarding to find the right pieces.

7 Turn down the TV
The task: Set your television volume down a little from where you normally have it set. See if by concentrating you can follow just as successfully as when the volume was higher. As soon as that setting gets easy, turn it down another notch!
The reason: Think of it this way: you can’t get rid of radio static by turning up the volume. Many people raise the volume because their listening has become ‘detuned’ – a little fuzzy. Matching TV volume to a conversational level can help you catch every word when talking with others.

8 Have a ball
The task: Practice throwing and catching a ball up in the air. If you’re good at it, take up juggling.
The reason: People who master these kinds of sensory-guided movement activities can hone their brains’ visual, tactile and hand-eye coordination responses, with widespread positive impacts for the brain.

9 Step it up a notch
The task: Find an activity you like to do by yourself – such as completing a crossword puzzle or knitting – and take it to the next level. See if by concentrating and giving more effort to the activity you can succeed better or more quickly.
The reason: There is limited value in working at a game or exercise that you can perform without paying close attention. It is important to always strive to take it up a notch to a higher and more demanding level, where you re-engage the brain’s learning machinery.

10 Learn to use the other hand
The task: If you’re right-handed, use your left hand for daily activities (or vice-versa). Start with brushing your teeth left-handed, and practice until you have perfected it. Then try to build your way up to more complex tasks, such as eating.
The reason: This is an exercise in which you know what you’re supposed to achieve, but must do it in a new and demanding learning context. Doing such an activity can drive your brain to make positive changes. Think of millions of neurons learning new tricks as you finally establish better control of that other hand!

11 Eat fish
The task: Add fish – especially fatty fish like salmon – to your diet.
The reason: Studies suggest that a diet rich in fish can improve cognitive function.

12 Start exercising
The task: Brain health is another reason to get on your bicycle, to the swimming pool or wherever else you like to exercise your body.
The reason: New research indicates that exercise has positive benefits for the hippocampus, a brain structure that is important for learning and memory. It can even help your brain create new cells.

13 Take the rocky road
The task: Take a walk on a cobblestone path.
The reason: Scientists believe that walking on uneven surfaces like cobblestones improves the vestibular system of the inner ear, which plays a central role in balance and equilibrium. Cobblestone walking challenges the vestibular system in ways that improve its function, which translates into better balance – the key to preventing serious injuries.

14 Catch some ZZZs
The task: Get a good night’s sleep. If you have trouble falling asleep, make sure your bedroom is quiet and dark, learn some deep relaxation techniques, and avoid alcohol and caffeine after 7pm.
The reason: Scientists believe that our brains consolidate learning and

memories during sleep. Studies have shown that people who don’t sleep enough have more trouble learning new information, while sleeping well after learning something new helps the brain effectively put that information into long-term memory.