9 Everyday Challenges That Keep Your Brain Young

The brain is a dynamic organ made of neurons and other types of cells. With every experience, your brain is changed and reshaped in countless ways, constantly optimizing itself to the environment you put it in.

Similar to a muscle, your brain grows stronger with regular use and frequent challenges, developing what is known as cognitive reserve. A brain that isn’t stimulated will grow smaller, and according to a research article in The Lancet Neurology, may be associated with a greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

If you want to enjoy life as long as possible— maximizing time with your friends and family, enjoying sunrises and sunsets, and going on new adventures— you’ll need a sharp brain that is flexible and adaptive to whatever you throw at it.

I find many lists of brain exercises to be a bit detached from the realities of everyday life. They suggest such challenges as learning a new language or a new instrument, and while I think these are great, the fact is that most people aren’t going to tackle these time intensive projects in their busy adult years. 

That’s why I wanted to create my own list, made up of normal, everyday tasks that are made more challenging by a particular constraint. These tasks will help me to be better at things I already care about, and strengthen my brain without requiring me to pick up an entirely new hobby.

I present my list with the hope that it will encourage you to challenge your own brain, and seek out fresh experiences that keep your brain younger while adding life to your years.

Quiz yourself on what you read. Oftentimes we read something without the expectation of ever having to recall it, which causes us to read lazily. But what if you knew you would be quizzed on what you read— maybe later that day, or the next day? If you read an interesting story in the newspaper or a favorite website, try to see if you can summarize the main points a few hours later.

Travel without the use of a GPS. We’ve become dependent on our phones to help us navigate the physical world we embody, but navigating and orienting correctly activates important parts of your brain, and it would be a shame to lose this opportunity to challenge your brain. Here’s a way to get started: pull up the directions on your phone before you leave, look them over, and then turn off your phone while you try to get yourself there— only turning it back on if you get deeply lost.

Memorize important facts from your everyday life. Not only is it useful to have important facts memorized at the tip of your tongue, it’s a great way to stretch yourself mentally and keep your brain agile. Some useful items to memorize are the names of new people you meet, birthdays of loved ones, credit card numbers, and license plate numbers.

Put yourself in complex, chaotic environments. As humans, we naturally gravitate towards what is easy and comfortable, but with the right attitude, you can learn to see chaos as a game to be played rather than an annoyance. So maybe the next time you’re around young children, don’t run from those loud and rambunctious young ones— put yourself right in their midst and try to keep up. 

Strike up conversations with strangers. The easiest conversations are with those you know well, and if you’re like most people, you’ll naturally gravitate towards those people when put in a new environment. What if instead you tried to have a conversation with a new person every day? The improvisation of small talk is like mental jujitsu for your brain— a great work that is sure to keep your mind fresher than those who only stick with what they know.

Use your non-dominant hand for tasks. Anything you can do to break your normal rhythms and patterns is going to challenge your brain in novel ways. Something I tried recently was to only brush my teeth with my non-dominant hand for a whole month. By the end, it had become much easier, demonstrating how the brain grows and adapts to the changes you throw at it.

Plan your day or shopping trip without using a to-do list. Here’s another memory challenge: see if you can make it through your work day or grocery trip without relying on a list of items. Instead, use whatever memorization strategy you like best, to recall the items you would have written down. You might think that memorizing petty items like this will only push out the important stuff, but I’ve found that it enhances my attention in all areas of life.

Try solving math problems in your own head. The next time you’re approached with a tricky math problem— whether at work, the grocery store, or paying a bill— don’t just reach for the calculator app on your phone, or even a piece of paper. Trying to hold this information in your head, while you work out the math gives your working memory a great workout. Your working memory  is the part of your brain that holds short term information at your easy disposal, helping you to do more complex operations. 

Read for an hour straight to build your focus stamina. Another aspect of brain health is mental stamina. In the same way that an untrained person could only jog for a few minutes before being winded, an untrained brain will tire out after just a few minutes of mental effort. Instead of scrolling on your phone form one short form video to another, try challenging yourself with increasingly long sessions on a single task— reading is just one example, but there are many others that benefit from concentration.