Could mental exercises be what you do in counseling? Or could it be what you do at the exercise gym? What do you do when you learn something new? What about memory training, is that mental exercise?

What about stomping on all those ants, or automatic negative thoughts, practicing prayer and meditation, or biofeedback skills, or creating art or journaling?

They are all mental exercises, and according to Sharon Begley, author of Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, they change your brain, they can make it bigger, just like working out in the gym for your biceps.

In fact, it turns out that regular physical exercise is an important aspect of mental exercise.

The best kinds of mental exercises, according to brain fitness writers, are the ones we do when we’re learning a new language or learning to play a new instrument.

Learning languages ​​and music involves an increasing level of complexity and the opportunity to get around 80% of our challenges right.

Mental exercises that do not meet those criteria are not the most effective mental exercises, so as a counselor reading another counseling book will not be a mental exercise.

I know for decades we’ve been told that crossword puzzles and vocabulary practice are the keys to lifelong mental sharpness, but new research says not so fast.

If we want to make sure our mental exercise pays off throughout our lives, it might be important to take a look at what brain fitness folks are saying about generating neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, the entrainment capabilities of the human brain. who were unknown not long ago.

I and all of us can grow new neurons daily, which improves mental exercises, if I take care of the pillars of brain fitness, which are physical exercise, nutrition (omega 3 and dark chocolate?), sleep, driving stress, and new learning experiences, which may mean learning a new language, learning to play a new instrument, or even using one of the emerging computerized brain conditioning programs.

So maybe before I worry about memory exercises, for example, I do the necessary work for neurogenesis, I build the platform for the mental exercises, if you will.

So if you’re interested in learning more about the building blocks of brain fitness, check out a very well written ebook called Brainfit for Life by Simon Evans, Ph.D. and Paul Burghardt, Ph.D, neuroscientists at the University of Michigan. His work is written for the layman, however, with a sly sense of humor, so don’t be intimidated by the credentials. Evans and Burghardt go over the pillars of brain fitness in some detail, beginning with the most important pillar, physical exercise.

The good news about the mainstays of mental exercises is that we make the progress necessary for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity without having to go through an Olympic-type training regimen.

After all, our bodies do this for us every day. But if I don’t make some effort to address the pillars, then those new neurons emerge in a brain that isn’t primed to maximize their use, so exercise, eat plenty of antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids, get plenty of sleep, manage your stress. , not just once a day, but perhaps heartbeat by heartbeat, and learning a new language or a new instrument.

And if you don’t have time for an instrument or a language, check out some of the emerging brain conditioning computer tools designed to keep us growing neurons.

There’s a couple that have some very interesting research associated with them.

If you want to double check the marketing claims, read the IMPACT study published in April 2009 and look at the PNAS research regarding the dual n back task, which is very exciting.

It looks like we’re going to be able to do mental exercises of the right kind right on our computer, in between piano or French lessons, and increase our IQ while increasing visual acuity and cognitive reserve.

All of that means his 62-year-old brain will remain sharp.