The Best Activities for Your Brain

Keeping your brain sharp is essential. Why does exercising your brain matter? Working out your brain helps increase focus, memory, and concentration, and it may even help slow age-related cognitive decline. Not sure where to begin? Here are a few great brain games to try.

Sudoku

Sudoku — a numbers puzzle that requires you to fill the grid with numbers between 1 and 9, with every number only showing up once in a box, column, or row — uses critical thinking skills. It also helps you develop concentration skills, exercising your brain. Both mobile options and pen-and-paper options are available.

KenKen

KenKen specifically refers to a type of logical and arithmetic type of puzzle that was invented by a Japanese math teacher back in 2004. The goal of these games is to help train the brain, and just like with Sudoku, you’re required to fill a grid with digits. You’d use the numbers 1-3 for a 3x3 grid, 1-5 for a 5x5 grid, or 1-9 for a 9x9 grid. Grids vary in sizes from 3x3 all the way to 9x9.

Cryptograms

Another activity that’ll challenge your brain is doing a cryptogram. Cryptograms are word puzzles that are made up of encrypted text. The goal is to decrypt the text to reveal some type of message. Usually, cryptograms are based upon simple substitution ciphers, typically replacing one letter in the alphabet with another, and multiple methods may be used to decrypt messages.

Nonograms

Nonograms, sometimes called Picross, Pic-a-Px, Paint by Numbers, or Hanjie – are a type of picture logic puzzle in which the cells of a grid are left blank or colored based upon the numbers on the side of the grid. When done correctly, this reveals a hidden picture. While the puzzles are often done in black and white, they may also be colored. For colored options, the number clues are colored to let you know the color to use in the squares.

Brain games offer a fun way to boost brain health. Before you start your game, don’t forget to take your Prevagen supplement. It boosts memory and overall brain health, and it’s pharmacist recommended.