Keeping sharp

The other day I took MA Rte 16 from Route 128 to Chelsea. It's not a trip I'd recommend: it's city traffic, obscured route signs (and sometimes missing all together), constant shifting to avoid "right lane must turn right" and so on. If you don't have a good basic grasp of the geography and the abutting cities and towns, you'd probably get horribly lost and frustrated. Even without getting lost, it's a lousy way to go and easily added an hour to my trip.

So why did I do it? To help keep my mind sharp.

Your brain needs exercise just as much as your body does. You may feel that your ordinary work is mentally challenging, and I'm sure it is, but it is the equivalent of doing only push-ups for your bodily exercise. Sure, push-ups are good, but you need a variety of exercises to stay healthy. The same thing applies to your mind: doing different mental activities exercises your mental facilities and keeps you sharp.

Driving a different route, especially if it's a bit unfamiliar, requires cognitive abilities that are running at idle during most of your daily driving. If I have extra time, I'll often just strike out on a side road that is pointing in the compass direction I want to get to. It's a small thing, but it keeps me alert, and sometimes has the benefit of useful discoveries: good shortcuts I wasn't aware of, unusual stores, or just beautiful scenery. Notice that those things involve learning, which is another brain exercise important for mental health.

Challenge your mind often. Read a book on a subject you know nothing about. I particularly like to pick up technical books or magazines in areas I know very little about - reading them is, of course, very difficult and sends me scurrying to the dictionary or to the web to find more basic explanations of something they discuss. But again I learn things, forging new neural connections. I believe these activities help hold back mental aging and deterioration.

Aside from that, feeling helpless and confused is humbling and good for your psyche. You may be a master of the universe in your chosen field, but all of us are sorry beginners in many other areas. Knowing that tends to keep arrogance in check. But most important is the mental exercise you get from forcing your brain to do something unfamiliar and a little harder than usual.

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