You already know how important it is to keep your brain sharp, and you want to do everything you can to make sure your family does exactly that. However, nobody wants to sit down for a family study session after being at work or school all day. Thankfully, there are loads of ways to keep your brains sharp without it feeling like a homework assignment. In fact, there are loads of fun ways of packing brain exercises into your everyday life. With that in mind, let’s dive into the best ways of keeping your family’s brains sharp!
Play games
One of the best methods of learning (especially for kids), is through play. If you tell your kids, “Hey, let’s sit down and work on our cognitive skills,” you’re going to get strange looks and groans. But, if you suggest a game night, you’re going to pique their interest. Board games are amazing when it comes to keeping your brain active.
This is because they make you think ahead and strategise without even realising it. Games like backgammon are perfect in these kinds of situations because the game is simple enough, but it forces you to plan your moves in advance. Not only that, when things go sideways, it forces you to make quick decisions to get back on track. Essentially, it turns your brain into a strategy machine while at the forefront, you’re having fun and spending time with your family.
It’s not just backgammon that could help with cognitive function either. Think about introducing trivia games or word association games that force the brain to dig deep and pull facts that you’d completely forgotten about. The best part out of all of it is that nobody realises they’re exercising their brain because they’re focusing on winning.
Cook together
Cooking is a great way to bond as a family, and it’s also a great workout for the brain too. Have you ever followed a new recipe? It’s almost like trying to solve a puzzle. You’ve got to focus on measuring ingredients, following steps in the right order, and even keeping track of time as you go along. And, there’s always the challenge of substituting items that you’d forgotten to add to your shopping list – we’ve all been there, don’t worry.
That’s why cooking together is a brilliant activity for the whole family. Not only are you making something delicious together (whether that be a batch of your favourite cookies or the family evening meal,) you’re spending valuable time bonding as a family while also giving your brain a wicked workout. And, cooking is an essential skill for later in life, so you’re giving your kids new skills at the same time.
Make up stories on the spot
Improvisation is one of the best ways of getting your brains ticking. We all know that kids have wild imaginations, and when adults really try, so do they too. So, why not create stories together? We don’t mean just reading out of books and trying to piece them together (although that’s not a bad idea,) we mean coming up with characters, plots, twists, endings and emotions and building stories as a family. You could take turns by saying one sentence at a time and carrying on the story from there. A nice keepsake for these activities would be to record yourselves as you make up the stories. Another alternative would be to type up the stories as you go along.
This might sound like an easy activity, but it actually forces everyone to think fast, build ideas, and make connections between each person’s ideas. Think how manic it could get if you’ve got a story about mythical creatures from one person and soccer from the next person. The great thing about making up stories on the spot is that you can turn it into a friendly competition too. Things like who can come up with the most unexpected plot twist or who can create the most complex character are great ways to feel even more rewarded from the whole experience.
Go for mini walking adventures
As a parent, you want your children to be as healthy as possible, and that involves making sure they get as much fresh air and exercise as possible. Why not kill two birds with one stone and turn a walking adventure into a mental game too. Challenge your kids (and the adults) to spot certain things like a particular breed of bird or the largest tree. Or you could turn your walk into a memory game and have each person list five things they saw on their walk on the way home.
You could even turn it into a creative challenge too. Get everyone to take pictures during your walk and once you’re home, work on your editing skills. Those photos can then be stored in an album as a keepsake, and you can name winners for the best photos taken. Turn it into something you do on a regular basis, and everyone will be gunning to win best photo – all without realising they’ve had a physical and mental workout.
Listen to music
Music is incredible for cognitive function. Think about it, when a song comes on that you haven’t heard in years, and you still remember the lyrics, right? That’s essentially your brain flexing its muscles. That’s why playing music or learning an instrument is amazing for keeping your brain engaged.
So, if you’ve got an instrument at home like a piano or a guitar, why not have regular jam sessions? Even if you can’t play the instrument, there are loads of YouTube tutorials these days that can help you learn basic melodies. You and your family could write songs together, try out new pitches, and generally have fun all while working your brain out and learning a new skill.
You can also use music to help remember important information. Think about the alphabet – there’s not many people that don’t remember it. That’s because we sing the alphabet when we’re young to help us learn it. The same can go for anything! That means if you’ve got some information to absorb for a presentation or your kids are studying for exams, you can use music to help you remember key bits of information.
Another fun way to use music to help your cognitive function is by testing each other on your music knowledge. For example, if there’s a song on the radio, ask each other who the artist is, what the song name is, and what year it came out. You can use apps like Shazam to listen and give correct answers. You’ll find that over time your knowledge of artists, albums and songs will grow!
Puzzles
We live in a world where if you mention puzzles, you’re likely to be greeted with eye rolls and sighs. Not everyone likes traditional puzzles, but if you make it a group challenge it suddenly doesn’t seem as boring. And there are so many of them too! Puzzles like crosswords, Sudoku and other logic puzzles are all incredible for your brain function. And, when there is friendly competition thrown in the mix, there’s more excitement around taking part and working your brain out.
Even if you don’t have paper versions or physical puzzles, so many of them are available online these days. There are loads of apps that you can download free to your phone or tablet that will help keep your mind sharp without feeling like you’re actually solving anything. Plus, the kids will love the extra screen time!
Learn a new fact each day
Have you ever heard a random fact and thought “that can’t be true,” and then have to Google it because you can’t stop thinking about it? We’ve all been there, and it’s actually your brain’s way of showing you that it’s craving new information. And, it’s not a bad habit to get into either. Why not strive to learn a new fact each day? It could be about something you’re interested in, or you could put a twist on things and pick a topic nobody knows much about.
You can then carve out some time each day (perhaps at the dinner table,) to share the facts you’ve learned each day. It could be about anything like space travel, ancient civilisations, animal facts, or even something like how chocolate is made. You’ll find that you’re all learning multiple – albeit strange – facts every day! Again, you could document this activity by writing down each fact you share. Before you know it, you’ll have your very own book full of random facts that you probably didn’t know about!
The whole goal is to make sure that your loved one’s brains are constantly learning, thinking and asking questions to keep their brains active. Nobody likes doing boring brain exercises, but these activities are all fantastic ways of sneaking it in without anyone feeling like they’re being forced to think. And at the end of it all, it’s much needed family time too!