Our brains mature over the years. By observing young children “going through” the various developmental stages, we see the evolution of cognitive skills. This is achieved thanks to our brain’s plasticity. However, growing up, we need to feed our brain with new stimuli. In this way, we will be able to maintain the acquired skills and stop their decline with the passing of time.
According to John N. Morris, director of the aging institute working in research contexts with Harvard University, exercising the brain can be achieved by engaging in an activity. In addition, he suggests a series of prerequisites that seem to maximize the desired results:
- Demanding. This means that we can either start a new activity that will activate areas of the brain, or set higher goals, in case we are already working on something.
- Complex. According to recent research data, the more complex the new activity, the more likely it is to trigger the brain to develop skills such as problem solving.
- Repetitive. According to the researcher, consistency is the key to sustaining the benefits of brain activation, with research finding significant long-term benefits to memory and concentration skills.
PSYCHOLOGY - TODAY Team