Keeping our brains active

I reckon simply reading lots keeps imagination and thought processes well oiled

Cryptic crosswords (addictive) and other word and numbers puzzles (Codeword, Wordle, Waffle, Sudoku, Kakuro etc). Writing your memoirs/family history. Pilates, walking, fresh air. Sharing interests with others (U3A excellent in this respect). These are all "feel-good" activities for me though I can't claim that they keep my memory super sharp. I often struggle these days to remember a name or a particular word.

I do a lot of physical exercises, Cycling, swimming and weights (at home) as I fine it keeps me more alert. Over the holiday when I wasn't doing any I started to feel really down.My husband and I usually manage to do The Times non cryptic crossword every day plus general knowledge crosswords and like Cazharvey I use the MindPal app.











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Gabrielle56

pascal30

I do life drawing, painting and etching in studios with other people and read loads of scandi type crime and spy books at home. And on-line courses

I used to do virtually the same activities pre COVID but somehow have lost my mojo...... Sad really as I do miss creating. The art's the worst, I've nowhere to put/keep my pictures so have stopped creating them!

I really understand, and have all walls covered but I also think that the doing and being with other artists is what keeps me sane.I hope you feel inspired again soon.X

I forget words. I ask Google questions , and I visit the online Thesaurus quite often and this is quite fun and usually gets me the word I seek and a lot extra.

Obviously there is no time to research online when I'm watching University Challenge, and my replies are slow and I experience the tip -of- the -tongue effect.

I do a daily Wordle and read the Times before doing the crossword. I am also learning Italian, running a small online business, making jewellery and painting. Usually a walk to 'engage with nature' and if time, I would write more poetry. This lot keeps me fairly busy

I take Puzzler compendium every month and do most of Puzzles in that strangely in the late evening. I also watch things like Mastermind (shout out the answers!) and University Challenge and other Quiz shows on TV. My eyes are not really good enough to do things on the IPad
I watch French and Spanish films to keep au fait with those languages.

pascal30

I do life drawing, painting and etching in studios with other people and read loads of scandi type crime and spy books at home. And on-line courses

I used to do virtually the same activities pre COVID but somehow have lost my mojo...... Sad really as I do miss creating. The art's the worst, I've nowhere to put/keep my pictures so have stopped creating them!

Meeting younger people through volunteering for local political party (not saying which) and having to keep up with a cerain amount of tech.
I have a go at the cryptic crossword in the little i paper when I have time.
But I think it's partly luck if your brain goes on working okay into extreme old age i.e. 85+ in my book.

Daisydaisydaisy

Hi there,

Ancestry really keeps My mind active,I'm only in My mid 50s however I don't work and I can spend hours doing it. :-)

It's Ancestry for me too. I have been doing it since I retired though I much preferred the old way of doing your own research and finding records. Now the companies send ideas and records they think will help. I often ignore them and just use the site to record what I find.
I do the Times crossword at weekends.
I am probably too sedentary so when it stops raining I am going to try a quick walk every day after lunch as suggested by the GP.practise.

New York Times Wordle every morning - then share the results on the family chat - interesting that the definite sharpest brain in the family ranging from 13 - 82 years is the 13 yr old grandson who is said to have ADHD, and often gets the answer in 3, followed by myself (70s) and said to be slowing down (sometimes gets it in 3 but usually 4). Solitaire for the numeracy on my desktop.

I do life drawing, painting and etching in studios with other people and read loads of scandi type crime and spy books at home. And on-line courses

I use the MindPal brain training app every morning . It’s free if you just do three of the five games … you can pay if you want to do all five exercises. I also do Wordle and Duolingo to learn languages.

I do wordle, quordle , sudoku, and I started learning spanish on Duolingo during lockdown. I've been doing a little each day for 971 days !
I also like to knit and crochet .
Exercise wise, I like walking and playing carpet bowls.

I get regular outdoor exercise walking my dog which helps physical and mental well-being. I also enjoy a challenging knitting patterns which definitely exercise the grey cells!

I go to the gymn 5 days a week, and am writing my third novel. Not happy at never been published. I am in a choir and attend a writing class every 2 weeks

Online bridge (BBO), solitaire (Freecell) and Sudoku. I must put up the digital keyboard that got tidied away for Christmas. I treated self to one for covid and only played a year as a teenager so lot of wasted years to catch up on. I found it very difficult so not sure if will keep going tho inspired by poster on here to give it another go.

Can I mention U3A again? Groups for a wide range of interests (or start your own group), both physical and mental activity, not forgetting the social side. I belong to walking, table tennis, badminton and scrabble groups and have just joined the committee. Certainly keeps my brain alert (although I still find the odd word goes missing)!!!

Thank you Mamie for Le Mot. I too am a French speaker so will try and keep my hand in.
Another new one is Wordiply from The Guardian. They give you a 3 letter word eg ERA and you have 5 attempts to make the longest words you can in with those letters embedded in that order. Quite fun.

I don't actually understand Sudoku nor any of the multitude of numerical puzzles in the newspapers. Where do people learn about them? I am too idle to do crosswords as I would rather be reading. I am getting through around two to three quality novels or books on history a week. What a treat to read as I did at twelve again, when there was no tv at home, no smartphones,
but there were encyclopaedias. What I do appreciate is wikipedia which leads me down numerous trails of curiosity, some times doubling my reading input. However, my store of words, once recalled at will, often let me down as I spend most days not speaking to anyone. I do worry away at these words until they return. I think our brains will work fine until he end if we are fortunate enough to have daily stimulating conversation. Alas, this is often denied us in old age. I am 85 and a graduate.

I agree, music to learn, lots of reading, suduko , crosswords etc but I also enjoy having a go on bbc2 with the quiz night of Mastermind, University challenge and Only Connect. The mastermind if I know nothing about the subject I learn a bit, if I know a little try to answer, same with the University challenge, have a go at most stuff . Only Connect , I find the most varied and cant decide if it is me having an off day or if there are hard and easy sessions. Sometimes I am way ahead of the teams and doing quite well on weird clues, at other times even when they give the answers I still do not always understand them. Love having a go at missing vowels etc and think it really does keep me on my toes. At present I am also going to play whist once a week. Pretty good players and I havent played for years , but they play seriously and it is good to concentrate. It is also a social gathering and is warm there so you get company, work for the brain and saving on the heating.

I do Wordle every day. Yesterday I managed to get the word at the second attempt, but today I failed to get it! I like cryptic crosswords, jigsaw puzzles and reading too. I’ve also signed up for an Open University certificate in psychology; the module website opens tomorrow. Re: physical exercise, long walks each day with my dog (12 and still very sprightly) keep my body fit and my mind calm.

I do wordle but there is a lot of chance involved in that, not very stretching, but I also do wordiply which gives you three letters eg cow, are and you have to find the 5 longest words you can. I do it and my son and I compare results, obviously there are a lot of possibilities and you are acknowledged for getting uncommon long words and also a score for the letters of the 5 words added together

I’m learning languages on Duolingo. It’s free as long as you don’t mind the adverts.

This time last month I would have said I was feeling really healthy, but then the snow and ice came which put a stop to my daily walks, then there was the preparation for Christmas, so there wasn’t a lot of time for long walks, then I caught some horrible bug that has confined me to my house since Christmas. I am horrified at how quickly I am deteriorating physically and mentally. I normally have a long walk every day and do two sessions of Duolingo. I used to do Wordle but decided to put that time into actually learning something, now I’m on day 213 and have quite a decent Spanish vocabulary. Hopefully next week I will be up to walking again and my brain will get back to its normal bright self again.