13 games and strategies to exercise your mind

Looking for ways to get your brain in top shape?

The mind. This concept, whose exact meaning and functioning are still to this day a matter of speculation and debate on both scientific and philosophical levels, refers to the set of cognitive abilities available to a subject, refers to the set of cognitive abilities available to a subject..

This set of abilities is what allows us, among other things, to have our own identity, solve simple or complex problems, detect and process different information and adapt to the environment.

However, these abilities do not remain stable from birth to death.. For this reason, it is of great importance to help develop them as much as possible. For this reason, this article is dedicated to visualizing a series of strategies and games to exercise the mind.

A question of brain plasticity

As we have already mentioned, intellectual capacities are not an invariable element throughout life, but are modified according to our life experiences, the environment that surrounds us and the level of environmental stimulation to which we have access.

This modification is mainly given by brain plasticitythe brain's capacity to change its structure according to the needs of the organism and its pattern of functioning, allowing the restructuring of the thinking organ through the creation of neuronal synapses. It is this creation of new neuronal networks and strengthening of the old ones that allows learning and consolidating new knowledge, from acquiring a new skill to overcoming and recovering normal functioning after a brain injury.

Although plasticity is much greater during the stages of growth such as infancy and subsequently declines, it is a property that continues to exist at all ages, being especially important to maintain it and apply it in later stages of life in order to maintain well-being and the correct functioning of intellectual capacities.

Neurogenesis: the ability to renew neurons

However, in order to promote neurogenesis (the birth of new neurons) and/or a strengthening or expansion of synaptic or neuronal networks, it is not enough to perform a specific exercise on a single occasion; rather, the modification of one's own skills and behaviors requires habitual practice that allows the automation of new behavioral sequences and strategies, becoming part of our habitual repertoire.

In other words, regular practice is necessary in order to improve or maintain our mental abilities, along with a proper diet and a healthy lifestyle.This is accompanied by a proper diet and a healthy lifestyle. And, of course, an excellent way to make the networks of neurons that populate our brain become flexible and easily adaptable to the new challenges of everyday life is to use games to exercise the mind: these will make our brain get used to create a rich and varied network of interconnections, which will allow us to have greater mental flexibility.

Thirteen games to exercise the mind

Let us now look at a series of games to exercise the mind.

1. Mathematical training

The use of mathematics as a strategy for exercising the mind is known to many people.The use of mathematics as a strategy to exercise the mind is known to many, including activities such as Sudoku and other traditional games. However, on this occasion the game is based on choosing a completely random number (e.g. 12,345) and from other numbers (e.g. 6, 7, 8 and 9) elaborate a series of mathematical strategies in order to reach the initial number. This can be done by addition, subtraction, multiplication, division... It can be complicated by requiring the use of specific elements, for example by requiring the use of square roots or more complex elements.

2. Find the pairs

Another game to exercise the mind, especially the visuospatial memory, is the card matching game.. It is based on displaying on a table or flat surface a set of pairs of identical cards after shuffling them (the type of deck or even images in case of having them is indifferent, although it is recommended to use images easy to remember). The game consists of visualizing the set of cards face up, visualizing the location of each pair of cards and after ten seconds of memorization, turning them all over.

Then one of the cards must be turned over and then remember where its pair was located and turn it over as well. The game continues until all the pairs of cards are found. This strategy to exercise the mind can be made more difficult by making the images to remember or recognize more complex, or by increasing the number of cards as the game ends and begins again.

3. Word list

This is intended to train the memory by adding a creative component.. The game or strategy consists of the initial creation of a list of simple words, with a maximum of seven items. This list will be read by all the participants, and can be read aloud by one of them, or each participant can be given ten seconds to memorize it. The game in question consists of each participant repeating the list of words in the same order in which they were uttered on the list, adding at the end of the list one more word of his/her own.

The next individual has to remember and say aloud the list plus the word added by the previous one and in turn add another, and so on. The strategy for exercising the mind is based on the retention of information, with a component of distraction by having to imagine one more word and needing to pay attention to incorporate the new words. Specifically, the working memory is exercised, especially the auditory memory..

4. Find your symbol

This memory training game is based on the sustained maintenance of attention.. It can be used with symbols, words, letters or numbers. To carry it out, you simply have to use a varied set of symbols and signs, in which you have to search carefully for one or more specific items. Technically, the operation is almost identical to that of the classic word search. In addition to attention, the processing speed of the subjects can be observed in this game by measuring the time they take to complete the task.

5. Word game: word association

This game requires several participants. In it, the first of the subjects says a word, and the next participant has to answer another word that begins with the same syllable as the one that ended the word said by the previous individual. It can be complicated by adding rules such as belonging to the same lexical family or subject area, or even by trying to give the whole the form of a story. It improves processing speed and mental agility, as well as creativity..

6. Finding the differences

In order to reinforce concentration, capacity of discrimination of stimuli and capacity of focalization in details, the game of finding the differences turns out to be of great utility to exercise the mind. Its operation is based on the location of a certain number of differences between two images that appear to be the same.

7. Puzzles and similarities

The realization of a game or activity as well known as a puzzle is also a more than valid strategy to exercise the mind. Concretely, serves to exercise manipulative and visuospatial skills by having to operate with the situation of the pieces and place them correctly so that the pieces fit together.It is also useful to exercise manipulative and visuospatial skills by having to operate with the location of the pieces and place them correctly so that the pieces fit together. To increase the complexity you can increase the number of pieces needed, or move on to three-dimensional puzzles such as Rubik's cubes.

8. Elaboration of a story

This strategy for exercising the mind is simple but very useful**. It tries to stimulate creativity through the elaboration of a short story**, in which a series of specific words chosen beforehand must appear. These words may be known by the person performing the exercise or they may be unknown, in which case the challenge is greater whether he/she does not resort to external aids (a dictionary for example) or if he/she does, allowing the development of strategies to compensate for difficulties.

9. Riddles and dilemmas

This type of strategy to exercise the mind is enjoyable and entertaining for both adults and children. It is based on the resolution of riddles and dilemmas through the use of logic and creativity of the participants. Lateral thinking is also stimulated is also stimulated if questions are used that do not have a simple solution or are not entirely correct or incorrect, seeking the generation of new strategies.

10. Debate

Although it may not seem like it, debate is one of the best games for exercising the mind. Participating in one on a regular basis allows you to train yourself in argumentation and the creation of coherent speeches.. For example, it forces us to think of the best replies to the opponent's arguments, to prioritize some of our own arguments over others, to detect fallacies in the other's explanations and avoid them in ourselves, etc.

11. Chess

Chess is the paradigm of a game in which the foresight of possible future scenarios is of fundamental importance. It is a game in which you have to follow very specific rules, which makes chance lose prominence, and therefore we must try to think of a series of possible moves both of the opponent and ourselves.

12. Exquisite corpse

A group game in which each person, in turns, makes the part of a drawing from what he/she has drawn. from what the person of the previous turn has drawn.. It can also be done by writing parts of a story instead of drawing. An excellent way to work on creativity.

13. Memoristic counting

This game is very simple and can be done almost anywhere. When you stress in an area where there are a lot of objects or people, close your eyes and try to count from memory the number of some of these elements.

Bibliographic references:

• Kolb, B.; Mohamed, A. & Gibb, R. (2010), The search for factors underlying brain plasticity in normal and damaged brains. Journal of Communication Disorders.

• Maroto, M.A. (2003). Memory, cognitive stimulation and maintenance program for the elderly. Institute of Public Health. Madrid.

• Martí, P.; Mercadal, M.; Cardona, J.; Ruiz, I.; Sagristá, M. and Mañós, Q. (2004). Nonpharmacological intervention in dementias and Alzheimer's disease: miscellaneous. In J, Deví, J, Deus, Dementias and Alzheimer's disease: a practical and interdisciplinary approach (559-587). Barcelona: Instituto Superior de Estudios Psicológicos.