By Experiencing New Things in your Life your Brain will

By Experiencing New Things in your Life your Brain will be Healthier

Most people feel very comfortable with their daily routine. They know what will be taking place for the most part because it is so similar day after day. While it can feel comfortable to live like that your brain may be on auto pilot for much of it. If you want your brain to be healthier then you need to start experiencing new things. It can be as simple as taking a different route to get to work in the morning than you have for the past 7 years.

If you always read romance novels, pick up a good mystery and see how well you like it. You just might find that you have found a passion for something like this that you didnt even know existed before. Turn your favorite radio station to a channel that plays another type of music for a week. In that span of time you may have a new found appreciation for it. You may have learned the lyrics to some top hits as well that are in heavy rotation on that radio station channel.

A chemical called dopamine is produced in the brain. This is a natural substance that helps with moods. The more dopamine you produce the happier you will be. Research has shown that when the brain is exposed to new images and new experiences that it will begin to make more dopamine. As a result the ability to retain information about such events both in the short term memory and the long term memory are improved upon.

You can offer yourself some new challenges as well. For example instead of renting the newest movie on the top ten list rent a documentary on a subject you arent familiar with. There will likely be a great deal of learning by the time you are done viewing it. You may have some questions as well that trigger your desire to find out more information about the subject.

New social experiences are a good idea too if you want a healthier brain. For example if you usually go to casual restaurants get dressed up and go out to one that is fancy. If you usually drive in the city take a cab or ride the bus. Allow your mind and your eyes to take in everything around you including the people and the scenery. Since you wont have to keep your eyes on the road the brain is going to be more receptive to things you likely overlooked on that same commute before.

As we experience new things our brain is learning and it is processing. This awakens a part of it that may have been dormant for a long time based on your same old routine. You will also find that you look forward to each new day when you have some adventure to look towards. You can experience new things on a small scale at first to get yourself comfortable with it. Then you can move on to larger ones like traveling to a foreign country or learning a new language.

The fact that your brain can continue to change and to build new neurological paths is very interesting. Dont waste the ability you have though to allow it to experience more than it has. Life is really too short to spend it doing the same things day after day. You will find you are happier overall when you add some adventures to your life.

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Reading is Great Exercise for the Mind

When is the last time you took some time for yourself and spent it reading? If it has been too long then you need to treat yourself to some quality time with the reading materials of your choice. When you read you are going to give your mind plenty of exercise. This is a great way to keep it sharp and to reduce the risk of various mental health concerns. Even spending 15 minutes a day reading materials can help you.

It is important for parents to realize that reading is great exercise for the minds of young children as well. Even though they may not be able to read yet, when you read to them they are going to grow mentally. As they learn to read, make sure you share with them the joys of different types of books. You want them to become passionate about reading from a very early age.

Try to select a variety of great reading material as well. This way you can challenge your mind as you go along. Read things that you find to be of interest so that you will stay with it. When you have a passion about a subject you will find it is hard to put that reading material aside for a while. You may be interested in magazines, books about history, romance novels, mysteries, or one of many other categories.

You can join a local book club as well to socialize and to exercise your mind. This involves the entire book club reading the same book. Then you will gather to talk about it and to get an understanding of how other people see the same materials. This is the fun part of any reading group. It exposes your mind to the idea that there could be a whole other meaning to something you just read. It is important to realize that each of us process information differently. Therefore it is only reasonable to expect that to lead to different conclusions.

As you are reading materials, try to exposure yourself to new writing styles. If you come across words that you dont know how to say or understand the meaning, take the time to find out. This way your vocabulary and your knowledge can continue to grow. Sometimes you can figure all of that through the context in which is used but if not that is fine too.

When you are reading, your mind is creating wonderful images in your mind. A well written story can place you at the scene. You can see the characters based upon the details that were given about them. The entire book comes to life as the scenes are played out in your mind. What is fascinating is to read a book and then to watch the movie of it if one exists. Did you come close in your mental description of the characters compared to those used in the movie? If your mind is very well developed then you will likely be very close!

Keep yourself informed of current events too when you read. This way you can exercise your mind by evaluating what your own personal opinion is on a given topic. Make sure you do your research to get both sides of the story though. You want your opinions to be based on all the factual information out there. Great resources including newspapers and an online news site.

Being able to discuss these current issues with other people is also going to help your mind get some exercise. When you bring up such topics there is sure to be plenty of debate about them as well. Dont get into an argument with people over them but instead listen carefully to their decisions. As you open up your ears to their point of view, you will also be opening up your mind to other aspects that you didnt consider before. This type of personal growth is hard to describe but it will take your breath away.

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