It’s quite obvious that we are living on hard times or even stressful times. Most people say that the holidays don’t feel Chrismas-sy anymore and it’s totally understandable. Several obvious reasons is that we are still living in a pandemic and people we know or people close to us have relatives who passed away this year because of the deadly COVID-19 Delta variant. A lot of people are still unemployed , but the good news is that the tourism and transportation industries are slowly getting back on track . Restaurants are slowly opening up, but I still prefer take-outs or home deliveries because the COVID scare is still there.
So while we stay at home, I thought of some activities that might help “exercise” the brain. It would be nice to help the brain stay active while on vacation and while being homebound. Aside from doing chores and physical exercises, we can do the following:
- Jigsaw puzzles. You know the ones that have 1,000 pieces of jigsaw puzzles? Yup, that’s it. It could also be fun for the kids (ages 10 and up). We tried doing this once and we were able to finish it the puzzle in 3 days. That was a long time ago. You just need a dedicated table or just a safe floor space where you can leave the puzzle whenever you need to take a break. Make sure it’s not accessible to your pets or they might take a piece or two.
- Learn to play a musical instrument. This is what my kids’ teachers always say to them - learn to play a new musical instrument. Apparently there are good reasons for it. According to ClassicFM.com, playing an instrument makes you smarter. Learning to play an instrument stimulates the brain, improving functions like memory and abstract reasoning skills, which are essential for maths and science.
Aside from that, playing an instrument can also relieve stress and music players can also improve their social skills and help expand your social circle (e.g. music clubs, etc.). Now I know why my children’s teachers really encourage their students to learn to play a musical instrument and I’m convinced it’s more beneficial to the kid indeed.Kid playing an instrument - Try some brain training games. During my kid’s first online classes, their school would also provide word games for the kids. It was fun and educational, too. There are also some free online games I did try and I find very much entertaining. There's this very simple coffee shop game I found in Culinary Schools website, a free online kids cooking games resource site, that was kind of cool. I started playing it every lunch break because the game only takes a few minutes and it gives me results of my earnings and what needs to be improved. It's enough to keep me entertained during the few minutes of idle time.
Coffee Shop Aside from being entertained, it also gives me an abstract idea on how to run a small coffee shop by handling inventory and how to make a profit. Kind of brings out my entrepreneurship side that I never got to practice in real life.
I also let my kid choose if she'd like to try out a game and she chose this Milk for Cat game. It's very simple: all you need to do is just feed the cat with milk and make sure the milk goes to him. Here's a picture of it :Milk for Cat - Meditate. Meditation has been used for thousands of years and it has been proven to be effective in stimulating brain power. There are also some professional meditation techniques available online if you'd like to learn something deeper.
- Socialize. Yes, even if you're at home, do try to socialize with your friends or relatives online. We are indeed humans and we're created to socialize. According to Science Daily, socially active 50s to 60-year-olds predicts a lower risk of developing dementia later on. So do talk even to your neighbors or to anyone because it also enhances your brain activity.
Thank you for sharing this is a very helful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the nice comment! Happy New Year!
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