Our Brains Need Exercise as Well as Our Muscles
Your brain is similar to a muscle — you need to use it or you lose it. There are many things that you can do to keep your brain in shape, such as doing crossword puzzles or Sudoku, reading, playing cards or putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Consider it cross-training your brain. So incorporate different activities to increase the effectiveness.
I don’t recommend any of the paid brain-training programs available today. These programs often make promises that they can’t keep or focus on memorization skills that aren’t useful in everyday life. Your brain can get just as good of a workout through reading or challenging yourself with puzzles. Finally, don’t watch too much television, as that is a passive activity and does little to stimulate your brain.