by Jenni Nolan

Created on: July 07, 2011   Last Updated: July 08, 2011

Your brain is the supercomputer that organises your whole body. Without it, we would not live. We go to the gym, run, play and exercise to keep our bodies fit and healthy, so why not exercise your brain to keep it healthy? We need to keep our brain in shape through regular exercise.

 Here are seven ways to keep your brain healthy:

•  Learn something new – It could be a language, a new sport, how to drive or even a skill like sewing or calligraphy. This also includes trying new things, like tastes, smells and textures.

•  Do a puzzle – Doing a crossword or sudoku puzzle will exercise your brain, and improve your mind. Try doing a small puzzle every day for a week, and notice the difference.

•  Improve your memory – Practise memorising things, like your grocery list or five new telephone numbers. Repetition of the items you want to memorise will help you to remember them long-term.

•  Try a new way of doing something – Have a go at writing with your left hand if you're naturally right-handed, or do something that demands you to think outside the box.

•  Be curious – Get into the habit of asking yourself 'why?' when going about your daily routine – and make sure you answer yourself.

•  Laugh – We all know laughing feels good, but according to research it's also good for our body and mind. When you laugh, you're releasing 'feel-good' endorphins into your body, so have a good belly laugh when your brain is feeling tired.

•  Eat lots of fish – The Omega-3 oils found in some fish and nuts is good for our brain, helping it to grow and be healthy. Have a fish supper one night a week, and substitute your normal daily snacks for nuts instead.

So why is it important to keep our brains healthy? Recent studies show that people who keep their minds active have a longer and healthier life. You'd be less likely to get dementia and other brain-related illnesses, including keeping your short-term and long-term memory for longer. Doing puzzles and many of the suggestions above will keep the brain growing and will spur on the development of new nerve connections and cells.

Create a mind-gym in a notebook – write down all of the things you can do to exercise your brain, and improve your mind. Try to do at least one thing a day from your mind-gym and see how much your mind improves.

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