Train Your Brain

Learning something new keeps your brain size intact. Your brain actually starts shrinking sometime after you hit your thirties, and just keeps getting smaller after that. But you can keep your brain size, by learning! So take a class, pick up a new language, start playing chess, play a musical instrument, your brain will thank you.

Keep your brain busy: Challenge your brain to keep it sharp. Mental activity of all kinds powers up your brain. They say that having conversations with children help their brain to develop faster, and that is true for adults as well. Engage in stimulating conversations and talk to new people to boost your brain. Other activities such as riddles, Sudoku and other brain teasers keep your brain in shape. Lumosity is an amazing free brain training app that you can use everyday to challenge and grow your brain - and people of all generations can play Lumosity games.

Yoga: A double whammy in the brain game. Yoga, as we Indians have always known and the world has recently discovered, is brilliant. It doesn't just stretch our bodies, it stretches our brains as well, helping in two ways - the physical exercise can help to generate new brain cells; and its stress-relieving effects can prevent loss of brain cells. Pranayama, or yogic breathing, is particularly effective for the latter.

Sleep enough: That's when your brain works best. Our brains don't sleep when we sleep - they work to assimilate everything that's happening in our lives, without the distractions of our lives. Adults need at least seven hours of sleep each night to perform at their cognitive best.

Big improvements don't take as much time or effort as we think.