Don't let your grey matter get flabby

Here’s something you didn’t know. If you don’t work your grey matter, guess what? It gets flabby.

I did a “Say what?” when I read this, but it’s true. Day-to-day chores simply aren’t enough to stimulate the brain and most people have acquired a proverbial spare tire around their noggins.

We’re bombarded with an imperative to get fit physically: crunch abs, flex pecs, do cardio, get pumped. When it comes to the body beautiful, people work to build the perfect beast and do a million exercises designed to tone this, buff that and create a leaner, meaner you.

That’s wonderful, but we’ve missed something along the way. Scientists are telling us now that the brain needs to work out just as much as the body.

Gary W. Small is an MD and director of the Center on Aging at the University of California. He says, “the next big fitness movement is the brain fitness movement,” and he’s not just whistling Dixie. Check out the electronic gaming aisle in your local store. You’ll find plenty of devices designed to push your mental abilities to the max.

For instance, Nintendo DS has just released Brain Age2, a system designed to challenge and kick your brain activity into high gear. The website says, “Inspired by the work of prominent Japanese neuroscientist Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, the Brain Age games feature activities designed to help stimulate your brain and give it the workout it needs like solving simple math problems, counting currency, drawing pictures on the Nintendo DS touch screen, and unscrambling letters.”

Brain function declines as we age, and this degradation commences as soon as we reach maturity. I’ve been through high school, university, tons of training courses and learned plenty of life lessons, but apparently that’s not enough to ensure brain fitness.

If I don’t engage the brain’s ability to problem-solve, be creative, process the written word and manipulate numbers, my grey matter will likely feel underappreciated and won’t work efficiently.

Reading out loud, for example, stimulates a number of regions in the brain at once, and that’s great because I read aloud to the kiddies every night. Perhaps the subject matter – Care Bears Save Christmas! – isn’t so sophisticated, but having neglected my brain for so long, I’ll take what I can get.

Small recommends ‘aerobics of the mind’ and a solid and consistent memory workout. He suggests physical exercise, a healthy diet, learning something new, ample sleep, memory strategies (like underlining key passages to help you recall what you’ve read), social interaction (conversation), getting organized (putting certain things in certain places), turning off the TV, jotting down new information and solving brainteasers (for instance, crossword puzzles, Sudoku or Scrabble) are ways to improve your brain’s fitness.

It doesn’t take long and the benefits can be significant. And if you’re thinking this stuff applies only to senior members of our population, think again. We’re all in the same boat, people.

Work your abs, for sure, but think a little higher too when it comes to overall fitness. Our brain powers the machine and if it’s not at its peak, washboard stomach muscles might look good but are little more than a waste of time.