If you want to stay mentally fit throughout your life, you have to do something about it. Like physical fitness, mental health depends on regular training. However, this does not have to be dry memory training, but can be done quite playfully. This article presents five games that can effectively train and keep the memory cells healthy.
A big advantage of these games is that they exist both online and in the real world. Most of them take up very little time and can therefore be easily integrated into everyday life. Often it is enough to play for only a few minutes every day in order to achieve lasting positive effects.
Crossword puzzles and sudokus
Crossword puzzles and sudokus are among the most popular and efficient ways to train your mental fitness. By using words and numbers, other brain areas are addressed and trained. The vocabulary is called up and gets enlarged and the understanding of numbers also improves. Regular arithmetic tasks can keep mental activity going and ensure that the brain functions efficiently. It’s a myth that that Sudoku can be used against Alzheimer’s, but Sudoku indeed helps your recalling ability.
In addition to the crossword puzzles, there are many other word games that have a positive effect on the brain. For example, when playing bridges, bridge words must be found that connect a word in front of it and a word behind it. There are also many other number puzzles that can be used as an alternative to sudokus. For example, kakuros are very popular, where numbers have to be placed in a row in such a way that the sum of which gives a predetermined value.
Packing suitcases
If the crossword puzzles and sudokus are primarily about vocabulary and the understanding of numbers, packing suitcases game train the memory. In this way it is possible, among other things, to act actively against forgetfulness . When packing suitcases, certain items have to be rearranged in a predetermined order. In this game, it makes sense to use optical aids. The words are not only spoken when packing suitcases, but also visually perceived.
With these games it is easily possible to continuously increase the level of difficulty. When packing suitcases, the number of items that players have to remember can be increased and more and more pairs can be added to memory. The level of difficulty in memorizing can also be increased. For example, the games can be played with loud music or while running. This means that the brain has to concentrate on different tasks at the same time, which is even more demanding and asking more from your brain.
Chess
Chess is a popular and efficient game that helps train the brain cells. In contrast to other games, chess not only has to consider the current state of the game, but many moves have to be thought out in advance. This requires a lot of creativity and strategy, which help to address and strengthen different brain areas.
Chess can be played against real players as well as against computers. To play a round of chess online, platforms like lichess.org are available . Care should be taken that the level of difficulty increases continuously. This means that the opponents have to get better and better. The game may be fun for easy opponents, but brain training is most efficient when players have to make an effort to win.
Escape the room games
Escape the room games have won a lot of fans in recent years. In these games you are actually or virtually locked up in a room and have to find a way out. For this purpose, different types of puzzles have to be solved, locks opened and treasures found. Players have a limited amount of time to do this, so they need to hurry to find the answers to the puzzles.
Escape the room games bring a particularly large variety and thus most people find it interesting. There are variants that rely on number puzzles, while others dominate letter puzzles or symbol puzzles. The settings are sometimes extraordinary, so that the players get into an underwater world, a pyramid or a prison, from which they have to break out. This variety of puzzles ensures that the memory cells are challenged again and again and the games are always fun because of the different settings.