APU Careers & Learning

Give Your Mind a Workout

With the traditional summer vacation months fast-approaching, many of you will be taking a well-deserved break from your online studies. Although we’re huge advocates for vegging out by the pool or on the beach the entire time you’re off, we also know that it’s important to keep your mind engaged and stimulated so it isn’t such a struggle to get back into concentration mode.

Brain teasers, games and tests are a fun and (surprisingly) relaxing way to improve your concentration, memory and overall mental development. While working on your tan, try some of these brain games from PoeticResearch via AssociatedContent.com:

1. Visualization – This is a simple mind workout that allows you to use your imagination to visualize a positive outcome to a goal, or simply use as a stress reducer. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and use your imagination to think of a calming place that you have been, or think of the feelings you will have when you attain a goal.

2. Counting– Simple counting exercises can help keep your brain firing and even help short term memory. An example is to start at 500 and count backward by 7 (500, 493, 486, etc). Or find the sum of your date of birth (dd/mm/yyyy). Counting exercises wont make you a math genius, but it will help your brain process numbers and help with short term memory.

3. Rearranged lists – At any time you can try to rearrange a list. For instance, try reciting the alphabet backwards, or listing the months by alphabetical order. How about reverse alphabetical order? These easy mind games can keep your brain sharp.

4. Crosswords/Sudoku – Word and number puzzles are good mind tests that keep your brain thinking. But be careful of getting into routine with these games. The more frequently you perform a Sudoku puzzle, for instance, the more routine and efficient your brain gets to solving them, and you could lose the benefit of actually improving mental function.

5. 3-D Puzzles – Trying to solve a physical 3-D puzzle like a Rubik’s Cube can be useful for your brain to improve special ability as well as memory.

6. Riddles – Find a book of riddles. Riddles are a good way to help your brain think abstractly to resolve problems.

7. Fill in the Blank – Brain games that require you to discover a pattern and fill in missing numbers, letters or shapes are also good for helping with mental imagery and problem solving.

Keeping your brain in shape requires actual work on your part. Take the time each day to solve a puzzle or do memory techniques that can improve your memory and help train your brain to stay alert and healthy.

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