THE BRAIN GAME

As you start your brain training, here are some things to try…

Follow a map

Strengthen your posterior parietal cortex, which plays a role in attention, spatial reasoning and sense of direction, by ditching your navigation tech and trying to find your own way around. Chess also helps strengthen this area as it’s all about making moves and logical thinking.

Get more sleep

With a lack of sleep comes a decrease in cognitive function, and there are long-term problems with that, says Red Seal naturopath Julie Fergusson. “Your immune system weakens, you become at risk of adrenal fatigue, weight gain, and your emotional reactions to life change as well,” she says.

Learn to dance

Dancing not only makes for a fun social activity, but is so beneficial that it’s being used to treat people with Parkinson’s disease. The double whammy of music and movement has shown to stimulate reward centres as well as activate sensory and motor circuits. Jive your way to better coordination and mobility.

Practice mindfulness

Whether it’s yoga, meditation or doodling in a sketch book, these practices all contribute to focus, mood regulation and enhanced levels of serotonin – the ‘happy hormone’.

Take brain training with you anywhere

Make the most of your idle moments with brain training exercises available to download as apps for your smart devices. Our favourites are the BrainHQ and Elevate apps, which offer a huge range of brain challenges.

Explore Enzogenol

A better body begins with a better brain. We recommend trying Humanature’s Enzogenol professional strength formula made with an extract of New Zealand pine bark, which supports healthy oxygenation and neural signalling for higher cognitive function and mental energy. See humanature.co for more.

Learn a language

Not only will you become bilingual, but learning a lanaguage can also help you to understand your native lingo better and enhance comprehension skills, strengthening Broca’s area, the part of the brain linked to speech production.