An hour a day, several times a week, is ideal for exercising the mind.
New technologies (mobile phones, computers, tablets …) have made our lives much more comfortable, but they have also made us more intellectually lazy. When we were young, when we used the analog phone, without memory, we memorized the telephone numbers and remembered any of the important ones. Now, how many phone numbers do you remember?
We currently turn to the contact list to consult any phone or to the calculator to make simple accounts. We no longer memorize anything and make less effort to retain. This is counterproductive to mental health.
In addition to this, a large part of the population suffers from stress problems derived from an over excitation of stimuli, obligations, and responsibilities (school, homework, work, concerns of various kinds, etc.), we have a tremendously revolutionized brain but with little performance.
Now learning is rote; our attention span and concentration are reduced, and we cannot direct all our intellectual capacity towards a task.
Not exercising the mind can have adverse effects on people’s health.
The passage of time and the bad habits of the day to day can work against us. Our brains can suffer consequences such as aging prematurely, the appearance of cognitive deterioration in adulthood, or slower intellectual development in the smallest.
In children
In the case of children, not exercising the mind “can cause delayed intellectual development and even a lack of motivation in school or institute,” the experts consulted.
Parents and teachers have to know that all people have a lot of talent for some activities that can guide their future work or make them immensely happy.
Thus, exercising the mind in children is essential for them to discover those passions that change your life.
To achieve this, they advise guiding a program aimed at promoting and improving cognitive abilities and processes. For example, “workshops such as recreational mathematics can be held, where they can enhance spatial intelligence, understanding, perception or reasoning.”
Also, “creative writing to promote linguistic or intrapersonal intelligence and intelligent games, to have a fun time while stimulating concentration, perception or creativity”, they detail.
In adults
In adults, the fact of not exercising the mind exposes us to problems that generate anxiety and stress, which can cause a worsening of mental health and lead to possible future neurodegenerative diseases.
In this age group, the most recommended activities are those aimed at promoting the mind’s concentration and relaxation. In this way, the improvement of health and well-being is achieved through a state of the calm and full level of attention to counteract the effects of stress and anxiety.
In older
Finally, in the case of the elderly, “not training the brain can cause an acceleration in the onset of cognitive decline or neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, “both experts warn.
Science has shown that it can help prevent these problems from appearing, maintain active and healthy aging, and keep the brain functioning effectively.