7 ways to keep your mind as young as your body
This exercise will strengthen existing neural connections and create new ones: Switch the hand you use to control the mouse for your computer.
Don’t worry about feeling uncomfortable or awkward. Your brain is learning a new skill.
Other neural strengthening exercises you should try include using your off hand to:
Establishing new routines will help improve your attention and strengthen your concentration.
One simply way to change your routine: Reorganize your desk. This will force your brain to wake up and pay attention to its surroundings again.
taking a new route to work
rearranging the furniture in your home or apartment
reading a different magazine when you’re on the bus or in bed, or
teaching yourself to cook a new meal and skipping the take-out.
Of course, nobody likes change. So you’ve got to fight the urge to keep things status quo.
Think of your brain as a muscle, and perform activities that flex it.
These activities can include reading, putting together puzzles, playing games, starting a new hobby, learning another language (which actually becomes much harder as you age, so do it now) or even performing home repairs.
A cognitive psychologist in the U.K. found that when elderly people played bingo regularly, it minimized memory loss and improved their hand-eye coordination.
Now no one’s suggesting you join your grandmother’s bingo group, but you get the idea.
Try to learn new things and connect those things to what you already know.
Example: A builder may want to read a magazine about dogs in an attempt to learn about new home requirements of pet owners that he might’ve never considered otherwise.
By looking for connections between the things you know and the things don’t, you learn to think creatively. And the connections you make during this process improve your memory and recall ability.
When you’re alone (or when you’re not, your call), try singing to solve problems you’re working on.
Reason: This taps into and exercises the right side of your brain.
Ever notice how it’s easier to rhyme words when you sing them rather than speak them? It’s because you’ve tapped into the pattern recognition power of the right side of the brain. This will make you a more effective problem-solver.
Once you’re in the singing mood (and you’re done problem-solving), why not tune into a new radio station (or Pandora channel) and try to memorize and belt out some new lyrics?
By choosing to learn a song you don’t know, you boost the level of acetylcholine in your brain – a chemical that helps build your brain and improve memory.
7. Expand your dictionary
Language activities will improve your ability to recognize, remember and understand new words.
One easy activity that will improve your grammatical skills: Read a different section of the newspaper. If you only read the business section, jump over to the sports or entertainment page.
It’ll expose you to new words. And taking the time to understand those words in context will help build your language skills.
 This article was contributed by Christian Schappel, veteran editor at Progressive Business Publications (PBP). Christian writes PBP’s HR Benefits Alert, providing HR executives with news, research and ideas to help them improve their organizations & Under30ceo.com
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