These Brain Exercises will Help to Keep your Brain Mentally Sharp

April 3, 2020 Leave a Comment

The brain is involved in absolutely everything you do. It needs to be cared for as well. If you exercise your brain, then this will improve your memory and you will also find that it can improve your daily functionality as well. If you want to find out more about how you could help yourself then simply take a look below to find out more.

Brain Exercises

Research has shown time and time again that there are so many ways that you can improve your mental sharpness, and it all starts with brain exercises. If you are able to do brain exercise then this will help you to boost your memory, your concentration and more. It will also make daily tasks much faster, and this is always a good thing. If you want some puzzles that will help you to achieve this then check out: Pennydellpuzzles.com.

Jigsaws

It doesn’t matter whether you are assembling a 100-piece Mickey Mouse puzzle or whether you are trying to construct a 1000-piece image of the Eiffel Tower because a jigsaw puzzle really is the best way for you to try and strengthen your brain. Studies have demonstrated that if you do a jigsaw puzzle, this can improve your cognitive abilities and this can help you to both challenge and exercise your brain.

Cards

Think about it, when was the last time you played with a deck of cards? Studies have shown that a quick card game can easily increase your brain capacity and it can also help you to improve several regions of the brain too. Playing with a deck of cards can also improve your memory and your thinking skills. If you don’t know which games you should be playing then think about looking into solitaire, bridge, hearts, poker and crazy eights. Want to step things up? Why not try your hand at chess?

Source: Pexels (CC0 License)

Build your Vocabulary

A rich vocabulary really does have a way of making you appear smarter than you are. A quick vocabulary lesson can also help you to stimulate your brain too. If you want to do this then you simply need to try and take a notebook with you whenever you read. Write down any unfamiliar words that you come across and then make the effort to look up the definition. When you have come across the word and you understand the meaning, you then need to try and use that word 5 times the very next day.

Learn a New Language

Another thing that you can do is try and learn a new language. When you do, you will be able to really push the boundaries of your knowledge and you can also exercise your brain too. There are so many great apps out there that you can download and when you do, you will soon be able to expand your skills. If you have never tried to learn a language before then now is the time for you to change that because it is a very rewarding experience and it can also help you to feel more confident when you go abroad.

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3 Puzzle Games That Make Commuting Fun

February 25, 2020 Leave a Comment

Do you commute to and fro from work a lot? Do you travel around the world many times in the year? Perhaps you’re someone that needs to catch a flight every other week for business purposes. Out of all the things you can do on your phone, playing games is still one of the most popular. However, we tend to become fixated on social media these days, because while we’re on the move we want to stay close to things we find familiar. Following certain people, online that are relevant to our interests is normal and can occupy a lot of our attention when we’re bored. But puzzle games are still the number one category of games that keep us happy, healthy and captivated while we’re surrounded by strangers, trying to get to work on the bus, train or taxi.

 

Testing your brain

 

Not all puzzle games are dull and dreary. Many of them are quite humorous, such as Brain Test. This is a fun puzzle game that is not your average test of smarts. It frequently breaks the fourth wall and acknowledges your methodology of thinking. It happily plays tricks on you to see if you can think outside the box. It’s a free game on Google Play and the Apple Store app. It has a fantastic rating of 4.6-stars with 618K reviews. It’s been downloaded 10-plus million times and it’s given a PEGI 3 rating. Made by Unico Studios, it’s a tricky puzzle game that presents many different scenarios. Sometimes you have to shake the phone to make a car go faster. Sometimes you need to find things by moving objects out of the way. It’s a great game that will keep you preoccupied until you arrive at your destination.

 

Challenging wordsmith strangers 

 

Sometimes, it’s the old games that are the best. Words with friends are available on both Android and iOS platforms. It’s very much like scrabble with a few key differences. Since you can play online, you’re challenging people from all over the world to a game of wordsmith. However, you can invite your friends to play and enjoy a private game. The arrangement of the bonus tiles is different but so is the value of each letter. Unlike scrabble which only uses UK English, WWF offers an enhanced North American lexicon. You can also submit words for review if they’re unrecognized so you could end up winning a game due to a word being reinstated in your game that was rejected in the beginning.

 

The classic still lives

 

The classics are often the best to keep your eyes glued to your smartphone screen. Check out Jigsaw Puzzles by EasyBrain on the Android and iPhone platforms. There are countless different jigsaws to complete, all of which are in HD. It’s been downloaded well over 10 million times and has a great 4.5-star rating from over 300,000 reviews. 

 

When you’re on the train and it’s a slow day, take out your phone and play a few puzzle games. Your brain will get exercise and you will see how time flies by. 

 

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What Are The Dangers Of Sitting Down All Day?

September 17, 2019 Leave a Comment

Pixabay. CCO Licensed.

It’s believed that more than 25% of us live a sedentary lifestyle. This involves sitting down for most of the day whether it’s watching the TV, working at a desk or driving.

Most of us are regularly told that sitting down for long periods is unhealthy, but what exactly are the health dangers. Here are just a few of the possible negative health consequences of sitting down all day.

You’ll gain weight

The most obvious health risk is weight gain. Without being active, the body is unable to burn off excess calories. Sitting down also weakens muscles – these often end up converting into fat. The thighs and stomach are common places for fat to store up as these muscles are rarely used at all when sitting down.

It’s bad for your joints

Sitting down all day is also bad on the joints. Because a sedentary lifestyle can cause weight gain, this extra weight can then put pressure on the joints such as the knees and hips. This increased pressure can then cause cartilage to wear away, which can eventually lead to bones rubbing against one another – a well-known condition known as osteoarthritis.

It can cause sciatica

A sedentary lifestyle can also increase the risk of sciatica. This is a condition that usually results in pain leading from the lower back all the way down the leg. Sciatic nerve pain is believed to be caused by discs from the spine irritating the sciatic nerve root, which itself is linked to spending too much time sitting down. Such pain can be chronic and can seriously affect day-to-day life.

It can cause DVT

DVT (deep vein thrombosis) is the formation of a blood clot within a deep vein, usually in the legs. It is sympathized by reddening and swelling. A common cause of DVT is sitting down for long periods – restricted movement stops blood from flowing freely, which can then cause it to clot. DVT is dangerous if not treated and has been linked to heart attacks.

It’s bad for your heart

Sitting down all day can negatively affect the heart is various ways. The heart, like any muscle, needs to be exercises to keep it healthy – this can only be done through physical exercise. As stated already, sitting down all day also increases the risk of clots through restricted movement.

It’s bad for your back

A sedentary lifestyle can also be bad for your back. The back becomes stiff and weak when sat down for long periods as it’s not been used to support your body. Craning over a desk can be particularly bad for the back – if you spend all day at a desk, you should try to get into a habit of sitting up straight.

It’s bad for your mental health

Staying sedentary could also have a negative impact on your mental health. There have been many links that show exercise to be good for the mind – it pumps the body full of feelgood endorphins, which help to fight stress. Exercise also helps to get a fresh supply of oxygen to the brain, helping to improve concentration. All this can help to improve mental health. By being sedentary all day, you won’t be getting these benefits of exercise.

You’re more susceptible to diabetes

Sitting down for long periods also increases the risk of diabetes. This is because a sedentary lifestyle can result in changes to the body’s metabolism including insulin resistance. This can lead to type 2 diabetes. Diabetes can result in multiple organ failure if it isn’t treated properly.

There’s a greater risk of dementia

There’s also a strong correlation between people that live a sedentary lifestyle and people that develop dementia. While scientists aren’t entirely sure as to why this is, it’s another good reason to not spend all day sitting around.

There’s a greater risk of cancer

To top it all off, a sedentary lifestyle has also been linked to an increase in the risk of cancer. Lung, head and neck cancers are some of the most common types associated with sitting down for long periods

How To Take A Stand…

With so many possible negative health consequences, it should be easy to see why we should all be spending more time on our feet and less time sitting. Of course, taking a stand isn’t easy, as many activities are more practical to perform while sitting (you can’t drive a lorry while standing).

If your job requires you to spend long periods sat down, you may be able to compensate for this by exercising a lot out of work hours. If you usually commute to work by car, consider whether walking might be an option. If this isn’t possible, you could always go to a gym in your spare time or go jogging or simply exercise from home. This could help to give the mind and body the physical activity that it needs.

There are some commonly sedentary activities can be done whilst standing up or exercising. For instance, you don’t have to be sat down to watch the TV and could add in workouts such as squats and push ups as you watch certain shows. Standing desks meanwhile are becoming an option in some offices, allowing workers to use computers whilst standing.

You don’t have to be on your feet all the time to make a positive impact to your lifestyle. In fact, simply going on a five minute walk on your lunch break instead of sitting at your desk the whole time could make a difference.

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