In quarantine, caring for our health is critical. We must stay safe, eat healthy, and maintain regular physical exercise.
It's also equally important to exercise the brain. It is often overlooked, but nonetheless extremely important for one’s well-being. Keeping our brains active can have great benefits. According to Healthline, simple daily brain exercises can improve memory, concentration, focus, and keep our minds strong and sharp.
Below are a few great ways to engage and exercise your brain and body during quarantine:
Learn a new language.
It is a great challenge with a rewarding and impressive result—you never know when the ability to communicate in another language may come in handy!
You can even try sign language! With the many free language-learning apps available—DuoLingo, Busuu, Memrise, to name a few—you can begin learning any time!
Learn an instrument.
Musical training is a great exercise for the brain, and is accompanied with many long-term health benefits as well!
In fact, studies have shown that involvement in musical training can strengthen and increase brain function. On top of that, this activity is a great way to de-stress and surround yourself with the comforting sounds of music.
Work on a puzzle.
Brain-teasing puzzles can be found everywhere! Whether it is a jigsaw puzzle, a Sudoku game, or an online quiz, this can definitely give your brain a challenging exercise. Try out a game of Sudoku here, see how many countries of the world you can name with this quiz, play a game of online chess at this website, or explore hundreds of other games and puzzles online!
Screenshot of Sporcle Trivia Website—Can you name all 197 countries of the world?
Try a new recipe.
This is a stress relieving activity that allows you to enjoy healthy and homemade food, while increasing your knowledge of recipes and cooking/baking as well.
It can also be a family activity which makes for a wonderful bonding experience! With the many cookbooks and online recipes, there is always an opportunity to try something new!
Here are some recipes we've found: Banana bread, vegan brownies, pumpkin squares, pasta, matcha cake, tacos.
Read a book, ebook, or audiobook.
Reading is a great way to engage your brain and strengthen your reading skills, writing skills, vocabulary, and creativity. Whether your interest lies in fantasies, thrillers, non-fictions, or others, it is always a great time to dive into the adventure within a good book!
Get some exercise in.
There's no need to push yourself too hard, but here are some low-intensity exercise actions you can do.
Do some yoga.
Join an online dance class.
Go out on a bike ride with your family.
Go out for a jog.
Walk your dog.
Reflect.
Take 5-10 minutes (or more, if you desire) to reflect on this unprecedented time. Here are some questions to think about. Have you learnt something new? Have you grown? What is motivating you during this time? What are you grateful for?
Stay safe and healthy, and remember to exercise your brain and body during quarantine!
Article Contributors: Risha Shah, Victoria Huang, Olivia Ye