Jan 12, 2008
Brain Exercises for the Weekend
By: Alvaro Fernandez
Harriet Vines, Ph.D., an experienced author and retired college professor, sends us a few fun brain exercises to train our attention and working memory (the ability to keep information current for a short period while using this information). Given them a try! They are not as easy as they may sound…
1. Say the days of the week backwards, then in alphabetical order.
2. Say the months of the year in alphabetical order. Easy? well, why don’t you try doing so backwards, in reverse alphabetical order.
3. Find the sum of your date of birth, mm/dd/yyyy. Want more exercise? Do the same with friends’ and relatives’ date of birth.
4. Name two objects for every letter in your complete name. Work up to five objects, trying to use different items each time.
5. Wherever you are, look around and within two minutes, try to find 5 red things that will fit in your pocket, and 5 blue objects that are too big to fit.
– Harriet Vines, Ph.D. is the Author of Age Smart-How to Age Well, Stay Fit and Be Happy, where she shares results from 15 years of consultation, workshops and lectures at Leisure World, Canyon Ranch, Independent Retirement Communities, and Adult Education Programs.
Note: if you have brain teasers, news, or articles you’d like to share, please email us at info@ sharpbrains.com. Looking forward hearing from you!
keep the brain working is always a good thing!
Linda: glad you liked them!
thanks
Aghhh! Since so many of the questions included “part 2“s, I thought the letters of my name bit was part one…I have 21 letters in my name, so I thought of 46 objects!
Just stumbled accross this site. Sounds cool. Brain exercises, i like that. How many exercises can you come up with for the brain? I am very impressed with your ability to create a site on such a narrowed down topic. Great site!
Hello Ryan, thank you for the kind words. There are many things going on in our field, and in fact we can’t always cover it all!
these exercises are really good …I really like it.… thank you
I am so glad to have found this site, went looking after watching pbs show, sending it down to my sister in NOva Scotia, we will do this together as a challenge.
Noora and Beatrice: glad to hear you are enjoying them! will let Harriet know how popular her exercises are becoming.
So glad to discover this site. My maternal Grandfather died of Alzheimer’s, and my father of multiple small strokes, so I have dementia on both sides of my family. Now that I’m in my sixties, I’m so glad to learn that heredity doesn’t control, and that there are FUN exercises I can do to help. Thanks! You’ve given me hope.
Don: yes, genes only predispose, don’t determine.
Most important of all: stress itself can be of worst enemy, so please, do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle and anything you can do to lower the probability of developing problems, but don’t say or write or think again something like “I have dementia on both sides of my family”. It doesn’t help anyone.
Enjoy the Exercises!
I have been looking for this site for a long time… I love this stuff and have been studying it at an amateur level for some time.
Thanks!
Daniel: thank you for your nice comment! glad that you found us, and welcome!
I found your website after the PBS special and loved it. This is exciting, and I shared it with a girlfriend. We are both active 63 y/o’s and love to keep outselves active. I enjoy the mind teasers and will do them daily. thanks again, marion
Welcome, Marion!
I am a well educated, highly intellectual person who suffered a traumatic brain injury six months ago, and that is without doubt the worst thing and most life challenging event ever. My rehab plugged me into looking for “brain exercises” like what you offer but I am not able to work yet so the better the deal, like “free”, the more likely I am to get involved
Sorry to hear about your TBI. Working on these games actually can encourage new connex and celles in the brain. And there are a lot of “freebies” out there.
Check out:
braingle.com
gamesforthebrain.com
There are others, too. Alvaro may have other ideas. Free is good. Best wishes to you from another Marilyn who goes by Lynn.
Hi, this is great. I am so thrilled that there are big breakthroughs in “Brain Science” I’ve conducted many non scientific brain tests on myself and can tell you that, each time I do a test right after strenuous physical exercise, I score very well…astounding myself! Fun to test yourself and watch your brain respond…it really does!…and quicker than you might suspect! So thanks for the fun teasers!
Hello Marilyn, the key is to ensure a constant flow of novelty, variety and challenge, either by learning new skills, attempting new activities, playing some games, or doing some more structured programs (which are not usually free). Some good websites to try (they offer free trials, so you can test them), are
lumosity.com
happy-neuron.com
Lynn: thanks for your suggestions.
Brenda: that makes a lot of sense. Physical exercise is a very important part of the brain health equation.
I graduated with a 3.87 GPA in a BS program but these exercises make my head feel like it is going to explode! I guess I haven’t used my brain much since college — many years ago. It is nearly midnight — maybe I will do better after sleeping. This is a great site. Thank you!
welcome on board Wayne…practice matters
i had a brain injury from a bad car accident. and while i graduated phi beta kappa with a 3.8 gpa, my brain still isn’t back to what it used to be. but this website is helping a lot. and it’s completely addicting so thanks a lot.
Hello Alvaro. I sort of bumped into this page while I was trying to deepen my understanding of neuroplasticity. I admire your commitment and passion. I will use some of the exercises you suggest with my students and me.
Keep it up!!
Excellent, this website is just as fun and mentally stimulating as a good game of chess! GREAT WORK GUYS!!
I am really glad I have found this site. I felt I needed to really challenge my brain, see how things are working up there nowadays and I tell you, this has definitely opened my eyes to new understandings. As a Psych major, I find this very stimulating, not just as another challenge or brain teaser, but becoming aware of how my brain interprets different concepts
By the way, Thank you!
Jacy, Mauricio, Bill, April, thank you for your words — glad to see you enjoy it!