 "Use it or lose it” is even more applicable to mental “muscle” than it is to physical muscle. It is important to continue to challenge yourself with cognitive problems and new learning opportunities. Puzzles and brain teasers, reading, playing games that require planning or strategy, studying or learning new material, and similar pastimes are all great ways to keep active and strong mentally and encourage continual flexibility and growth. Whatever the focus of your mental workout, you will see improvement in related areas. For example, if you do crossword puzzles, you will be able to better remember people’s names and the exact word you want to describe a particular situation. Math teasers will help you remember basic facts and be able to quickly and accurately balance your checkbook. New learning is one of the best tools to stave off the cognitive decline associated with aging. We all gradually lose neurons as we age; learning new things will develop more synapses and encourage denser branching and more connections between neurons to compensate. Linguistics is a particularly promising area. Studies have found that people who learn a second language experience mental decline at least several years later than others who are otherwise similar to themselves. The best strategy is to combine many different types of mental challenges on an ongoing basis. When they can be incorporated with some of our other methods of staying mentally fit, for example, taking a class and being able to socially interact with others in the process, the benefit is even richer. There is a rich source of puzzles, learning, and more to be found online. Here are a few puzzle links to get you started: PuzzleChoice Jigzone Jigsaw Puzzles Puzzles.com The Grey Labyrinth
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