7 Essential Paths to Brain Fitness During the Summer

Chances are, now that summer’s here, you aren’t thinking much aboutbrain fitness (if you think about it at all). No, you’re thinkingabout playing tag, eating watermelon, or lying on the beach in the sundoing absolutely nothing, and I don’t blame you. But activities thatboost physical and brain fitness during the summer can help you (and yourfamily) enjoy the long summer days even more, and be ready for next fall- when cooler weather and challenging classes will require more of boththe brain and the body.

Brain Fitness: It’s About Your Health

Silly as it sounds, it’s easy to forget that the brain is a part ofthe body. We can’t see it, so we don’t think about its health- until it starts to malfunction… Just like the heart, or liver,or other organs; just like the skin, bones and muscles, our brains areaffected by simply taking better care of ourselves. There are things thatonly specific training can help, like weak muscles, or cognitive skills.But overall health goes a long way to making the most of the body andbrain – even before training is applied.

Brain Fitness: Summer Activities for Brain Health

Consider a few things that will boost overall fitness this summer, andhow brain fitness can also be affected.

• Exercise – Physical activity affects the body in many helpful ways, including increasedblood flow and the release of serotonin into the bloodstream. Probablymost interesting is that exercise promotes neurogenesis (the creationof new neurons). Take advantage of the summer months by combining lotsof team sports with a brain training program (which also stimulates thegrowth of new neurons).
• Drink water – The human body would be lost without H20. We’re practically madeof the stuff (roughly 60 percent of body weight is water). We have toconsume lots of the stuff we’re made of to keep our bodies functioning.The brain is no exception. Keep all your tissues hydrated by drinkingat least 64 fluid oz. of water per day and you’ll be amazed how muchbetter everything will work.
• Take a class – Acquiring a skill is different from learning in a classroom and usesdifferent parts of our cognition. Take an art class, guitar lessons, orlearn to play a new sport to give your brain a chance to stretch in anew direction.
• Read a book – Specifically, read a book on a subject with which you are not familiar.It will be hard at first, but just like practicing to play a song on thepiano, your brain will get used to the subject matter and the author’sstyle, and by the end of the book you’ll find it’s easier to readthan it was at the beginning – if you persevere. This is a way to trainyour own brain! And the best part is, you can sit outside in the parkor on the beach and read during the summer, which leads us to…
• Go outside – One of the best things about summer is the longer, hotter days, and thefact that you can spend more time outside. If you go long enough without,you’ll feel depressed and fatigued. It’s not just the sunlight,it’s also the fact that sunlight generates vitamin D, and if you’redeficient in vitamin D (as most people are), you’ll feel pretty crummy.The brain needs sunlight because the body needs sunlight. It’s likewater. Everything just works better when you get lots of it.
• Get a partner – Any exercise or healthy endeavor is taxing and takes a certain amountof discipline and mental toughness to be consistent, even when the benefitsare good and the activity is enjoyable. Getting a partner, a coach, atrainer, or a friend to do healthy things with makes the tough parts somuch easier, and you’ll have more fun along the way too. This is onereason why LearningRx’s programs are so successful. All of our studentshave a trainer who works with them one-on-one to help them all the waythrough, challenging them and encouraging them through the difficult parts,and in many cases, becoming a friend and mentor.
• Do the right kind of brain training – Brain fitness has gotten a lot of press lately, so learn to distinguishbetween the helpful and not-so-helpful types of brain training, and thensign up for a (good) brain training program. Summer is the ideal timeto do this because training won’t conflict with school.Many parents agree that brain training was the best thing they could have done for theirchild and summer is a great time to start…just in time to prepare fortheir next school year.

To learn more about our programs, please visit ourLearningRx brain training website.