Keeping our brains active

Well I’m glad I’m not alone with those concerns and I’ll look forward to helpful suggestions too.

Wordle and quordle. I do them each day. (Well I mostly do them, occasionally fail to find the right word.) I also enjoy quiz type crosswords, but just don't get the cryptic ones.

I play on line scrabble and jigsaws , I’m trying crosswords tools
Must be helping cos I mostly win when family play Scrabble 😉

Too not tools , maybe I’m not that smart after all !!

I’m training my boisterous, easily distracted loopy young lab. One of us has to concentrate 🐕

Heaps of online word games like Wordzee!, crossword jam, boggle, scrabble . I edit a newsletter for one of the groups I am in and recently retired as sec for a large organisation which was all a bit much as a voluntary job but did keep me on my toes. We have 2 little loves who need a lot of attention ( rescue kittens ).

I do Codewords daily in the online DT and make a point of never letting it defeat me!

In recent years much has been written about physical exercise being good for brain health, so in addition to the odd quiz/crossword/Wordle etc I'm a firm believer in getting out and about whenever possible.

www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-athletes-way/201409/why-is-physical-activity-so-good-your-brain

Anyone with mobility issues could try static cycling, stretches, sitting exercises etc.

I currently have 'Long Lurgy' and haven't been out half as much as usual, and I can feel the difference - the less I do, the less I want to do!

Wordle and Quordle are my first go to and we post our results on the family group chat.

DH photocopies the Times 2 cryptic and silly one from inside the back page and we do one at lunchtime and one at 4pm with if we are both in.

I think chatting to people and doing lots of things outside the house are a big help too. Obviously, not everyone can do that and I have notice that my brain power and memory have reduced considerably since I have been stuck at home. I just hope it isn't permanent!!

Wordle and plus word for me every morning with varying success.
Daily telegraph cryptic which sometimes lasts me all day and doesn’t always get finished!
Jigsaws and reading, also some knitting and crochet which I hope keeps my fingers supple as well as my brain.

I have studied online for quite a few years now on and off. So many different subjects and really enjoyed them. I have covered courses on history sciences sustainability ecosystems mindfulness the most recent antisemitism. The courses are free I have also tried a few language courses for the basics I don’t take to language courses too well!

I read a lot so my mind is still very active my DH and I play cards and quizzes. I spend a lot of time reading recipes and create menus. I grow what I can weather permitting and cook bake pickle preserve as much as possible.

I do get forgetful losing keys etc incidental things really. I think keeping the mind occupied is most important.

I aim to increase circulation to brain by doing some physical activity. Don’t mean gym necessarily (my pet hate) but even short walks help.
I involve myself in groups of interest, and which need some mental preparation. Even a book groups, where people actually do read a good selection of books and have interesting discussions is stimulating. Not the sort where it is just a social occasion. Social groups of course are good. There is some research from USA that churchgoers live longer. I suspect that this is to do with being part of a common interest group which regularly meets, rather than being religious. I don’t think research done in U.K. along these lines. Not sure that word puzzles etc stave off dementia, but fun and stimulating anyway.

What a wonderful wealth of replies. Methinks I am a tad lazy so need to try out the great suggestions above so thank you for your encouragement everyone.

WORDLE, Rummikub with MrJ, crosswords, reading both books and online articles. Meeting friends, chatting on the phone and voluntary phone work.

Don’t forget Sudoku - you can find it free online with varying levels of difficulty and you can time yourself. But don’t spend too much time doing puzzles. A good walk in fresh air is invigorating especially if you converse with people on the way.

Another suggestion - I belong to a couple of online research networks and do various surveys which keep me alert and I get paid, albeit a small amount.

Interaction with real people, not online, is good for the brain also physical exercise especially walking.
Reading and doing crosswords or any puzzle games as well.
Can’t expect to be like we were 25 again tho.

Much as I hate doing it, online exam marking. When I start, I find it hard to concentrate so deeply for more than 20 minutes. By the time the exam season is over, I'm able to concentrate for up to 2 hours at a time and I'm working much more quickly.

Almost all examiners, probably 80+% are older people, so I'm clearly not the only one who appreciates the benefits, because the pay isn't brilliant.

I play wordle, scrabble, solitaire, etc every single day ,multiple times, and last thing at night. And I read a great deal.
I tell myself it's good for me and hope I'm right. But I enjoy it anyway. I hate being bored.

Physical exercise and social connection have been shown to be important. I do Aquafit twice a week and voluntary shifts at a hospital twice a week but despite also doing crosswords and Wordle I definitely feel that I'm not as mentally fit as I used to be.
I agree about the less I do the less I want to do much. So I have to force myself and tell myself it's for my own good!

I write long rambling emails to folks who probably wish I’d keep them shorter, have a go at Wordle every day, have Codewords on my iPad and buy small books of crossword puzzles that aren’t in any way demanding but are useful for filling the odd five minutes. I gave up with cryptic ones; have to admit I can’t get my head round them at all, or anything involving numbers which puts sudoku on a back burner! When DD was staying with me recently we played a lot of Bananagrams. When I am released from house arrest and can get back in my car I intend to join the book group at our local library.

LRavenscroft
You mentioned mental arithmetic so I thought I’d mention puzzles like Kakuro. For instant practice you might like the new Duolingo Math. Has all sorts of mental arithmetic on there, starting with basics.

I do the codeword and the non cryptic crossword in the paper every day, and the general knowledge ditto when there is one. Yes, OP, I do find words that I know I know (IYSWIM) eluding me - today it was ‘white herons’ (egrets) but it came back to me. I find that if I stop trying hard to remember them, they usually do.
And I do find now with code words, that I remember rather better that e.g. 24 was M, than I did when I started doing them, some years ago now.

One thing that I do think helped ‘ze little grey cells’ was taking up the piano again (from a very low base and after a 50 year gap!) after I retired. Starting from hardly being able to sight read at all, the improvement was slow but eventually substantial - as my brain forged all those new pathways.

So that instead of seeing a simple chord on the page and having to think, Er, that’s a C and an F sharp - I would recognise and play it without having to think at all. New brain short cut from eyes to brain to fingers!

Since the beginning of the pandemic I've been doing maths tuition with my four teenage grandchildren. I always liked maths but some of it is stuff I've not done for sixty years.

I must admit I am struggling a bit now as the oldest is doing A level maths. I have to get her to send me the topic in advance so I can try to get my head round it before doing it with her.

My recipe is much rthe same as Redhead56's. A lot of intellectual activity, being active in organisations that I belong to. My main interest is Archaeology, I am on the committee of our local society, I am also running a project for the local village society - and I read a lot.

I must confess tthat games of any kind, paper, computer or board, hold no attractions for me whatsoever. I would rather read a book and I am never without my KIndle.

I also agree about exercise. I have ADHD, so I am bouncing around all the time, around the house, walking and gardening. DH tells m that even when I sit down, I fidget and jiggle all the time.