Jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, chess and other problem-solving and memory games that stimulate your brain aren't just fun—they may produce lasting benefits.
Exercise Regularly
Thus, regular exercise can help you think faster, stay focused and improve your long and short-term memory. All types of exercise are essential for supporting fast thinking skills. Still, a daily aerobic exercise routine is one of the best ways to improve brain health and processing speed.
Doing crossword puzzles, Sudoku games, jigsaw puzzles and other games that rely on logic, math, word and visuospatial skills are great ways to increase brainpower. These types of games require multiple cognitive abilities, which challenges your brain and improves processing speed and memory.
It might be related to other physical problems such as lack of adequate sleep or reaction to medications. It might also be part of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disorders, and/or emotional factors.
Brain games alone won't improve cognitive function
“The best things you can do is to get enough sleep, be physically active, eat nutrient-rich foods and find stimulating activities that interest and challenge you,” Dr. Langbaum said. [Read “5 Simple Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp as You Age” for more helpful tips.]
Some people may have a genetic predisposition to age-related white matter decay, a poorly understood but actively studied hypothesis. In other individuals, slowed processing speed could be the first sign of a neurodegenerative illness, such as Alzheimer's disease. Head trauma, including concussions, may play a role.
Engaging in mentally challenging activities helps build a reserve of brainpower you can draw on for years. The key, of course, is choosing unfamiliar activities that you enjoy. Play chess, take up gardening or learn to play a musical instrument. It doesn't matter what you choose, provided the activity is new to you.
The researchers found that the children who reported playing video games for three or more hours per day were faster and more accurate on both cognitive tasks than those who never played.
You may think playing video games is just a frivolous pastime, but it could strengthen your brain if it's a new activity for you. Both younger and older participants in a research study improved their scores on a memory test after they started playing a video game every day.
Increases brain matter
Much research has been done to show that video games impact brain plasticity (your brain's ability to change in response to learning) through the use of attentional control and reward processing.
Another study involving 67 ten-year-olds found no evidence to support claims that Brain Age improves cognitive function better than other means of training one's brain. However, the game states that the best indications of brain age are when the user is at least twenty years of age.
Unfortunately, there was no evidence to support that claim. Other studies showed that people who do a mere hour of brain training have a slight and temporary bump in their IQ by five points, but only if they believe the training will have an effect on their cognition.
Most of us probably doesn't know that table tennis is the world's best brain sport. Table tennis is good exercise for our brain because it gives the brain a workout by coordinating a hand-eye movement, involves concentration, and also fast mental calculation.
White matter: White matter consists of myelinated nerve fibers that are bundled into tracts and carry nerve signals between brain cells. Researchers think that myelin shrinks with age, and, as a result, processing is slower and cognitive function is reduced.