8 Simple Gaming Activities to Boost Your Memory and Brain Cells Functionality
The brain is made of nerve cells known as Neurons and other cells like Glial cells. These cells give structure to the brain and enable it perform its functions such as keeping memory and sending and receiving electrical impulses around our body thereby helping us respond to stimuli and perform other functions.
Although every human has very complex brain, it is obvious that some people have better memory, high IQ and carryout more complex tasks over others.
The functionality of the brain is influenced by many factors including genetics: Gene mutation, and the presence of certain genes in the brain which can affect cognitive processes (memory and learning). Additionally, medical scientists have confirmed that the environment can interact with genes to influence brain development and functionality.
Environmental interference arise from what one is exposed to, what one consumes , activities one undertakes or how he/she trains his brain. In simple sentence, the more you give your brain complex tasks, the more your brain cells are likely to develop and perform their memory and learning functions effectively.
There are several ways to boost the functionality of your brain cells and improve your memory and learning capacity, however, this blog article will explore 8 simplest gaming activities and exercises to help you accomplish this great feat.
These are 8 Simple Games and Activities to Boost Your Memory and Brain Cells Functionality
1. Crossword Puzzles:
Crossword puzzles are a fun way to exercise your brain and improve your memory. They are very popular games that come in different formats and available in both physical board and digital forms.
Reading does not only improve your memory cells but it also makes you smarter and healthier. Several researches have shown that people who read have higher life expectancy over those who do not read.
The ability to identify matching letters and align them together to create needed outcome make crossword puzzles the top notch gaming activity to improve memory and boost brain functions.
A Harvard research shows that cross-words are very beneficial to the brain cells and help improve memories of those who have cognitive impairment.
The effectiveness of cross-word puzzles in cognitive improvement is attributed to the fact that different regions of the brain are required to successfully identify and link matching letters together during the game.
It is also one of the most difficult cognitive tasks, and several studies show that difficult cognitive activities are good steps to revitalize the brain cells and prevent cognitive impairments like dementia.
2. Memory Games:
Memory games such as 'Concentration', 'Draw a word on my back', 'Easter memory or Simon Says' etc., can help train your brain to remember facts and information.There are several memory games out there. The ability to practice those games and get them right help renew the brain cells and boost memory and learning.
Games in this category challenge the brain to think in different ways and force it to remember items or concepts. This helps strengthen the neural pathways in the brain, leading to improved memory and the ability to recall information more quickly.
Memory games also help increase concentration, focus, and problem-solving skills. One of the most popular memory games is Simon. This game requires players to remember and repeat a sequence of colors, tones, and sounds.
Players must remember and repeat a sequence that gets longer and longer, and the game ends when the player makes a mistake. Other examples of memory games include matching games, concentration games, and memory card games as already listed.
3. Word Association:
This gaming activity involves linking words together in a way that helps you remember them. If you want to remember the word ‘house’, you could link it to the word ‘roof’. Word association has been applied in several registries and fields such as English vocabulary and comprehension.For instance, "Okon is a pilot. He works in a/an _. The options can include (a) hospital (b) church (c) airport. This form of association has become a very useful game, enabling participants to mention associated words to a noun or any subject of discuss. It is the basics of objective questions in examinations.
Another example is picking words that associate with the moon. Such words may include shine, night, sky, yellow, etc.
Engaging in activities like word association and related games can help improve your brain cells functionality and enable you to have good memory.
4. Mnemonic Devices:
Mnemonic devices are memory aids used to help one remember facts or information. For example, using the phrase ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Favor’ to remember the notes on the lines of a musical staff treble clef. BODMAS is an acronym used to remember the rules of arithmetic oppressions in mathematics.Mnemonic devices are one of the most highly applied gaming activities in the academic sector and educational institutions and can help students remember formulas or sequence very well.
In Chemistry, for instance, to remember the atomic numbers of elements on the periodic table, mnemonics like "He Has Light Brain But Could Not Offer Full Nine Subjects", can represent the first eleven elements on the periodic table:
He=H (Hydrogen)
Has= He (Helium)
Light=Li (Lithium)
Brain=Be (Beryllium)
But=B (But)
Could=C (Carbon)
Not=N (Nitrogen)
Offer=O (Oxygen)
Full=F (Fluorine)
Nine=Ne (Neon)
Subjects=Sodium (Na)
Other mnemonic related activities like writing rhyming games, rapping, creating stories to make a lesson, and acronyms are great gaming activities to boost memory and improve our brain.
5. Reading Books and Study Materials:
Reading books and other brain storming resources is well known activity to improve the memory cells of the brain. This can help to increase your knowledge and vocabulary, as well as the functionality of the brain. The more you read, the more your brain becomes capable of retaining memories and boosting your understanding.Reading does not only improve your memory cells but it also makes you smarter and healthier. Several researches have shown that people who read have higher life expectancy over those who do not read.
The surprise is that reading books and study articles like this gives better advantage over fun reading. This is because study materials requires different parts of the brain for interpretation, retention and contemplation.
Reading may not be a game to many people, but for those who love reading, such activity can be turned into a game that brings fun. Consider those in book clubs who engage in reading competitions.
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6. Brain Teasers:
Brain teasers are collections of different words, sentences or activities that help improve the brain cells and boost our memory.
Brain teasing games come in different forms but mostly in form of riddles often involving two or more people. A question is given and the respondent answers based on the relativity of the question to the realistic subject.
An example of brain teaser is:
Question: I am something full of holes, yet I can hold water for some time. Can you try to answer this? Click below to see the answer:
7. Playing Chess Game:
Chess is an incredibly beneficial game and playing it is one of the simple activities that can sharpen the mind and boost brain cells functionality in a number of ways. It increases memory and learning capacities through its requirement of quick recall and strategic planning.
Chess players must consider multiple possibilities and identify the optimal path forward, which promotes problem-solving skills. It can also stimulate the production of new brain cells, leading to overall improvement of brain health, learning capacity and memory boosting.
8. Learning or Writing Music:
Music is a wonderful scheme of life. Listening to music alone is known to control blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and improve mood, sleep quality, memory and mental alertness.
Meanwhile, it was discovered that learning music or engaging in writing songs, especially, the notes is a great way to boost the brain functions (memory and learning capacity).
A research published on Sage (a Journal of Psychological Science) and reviewed later by the American Psychological Association has claimed that while many parents introduce tasks like computer coding and complex mathematical problems to their children at tender age in order to make them smart, children who are taught music early in life perform better in mathematics and complex problem-solving tasks. This makes studying music one of the best simplest activities in this list.
There are several debates over this research as Neuroscientists do not have electroencephalogramic (brain scanning) evidence to back up this psychological claim which according to critics only focus on correlation not causation.
Other researchers concluded that such correlation only resulted from the fact that students who are skilled in musical activities such as playing piano or guitar early in life do so because they are already intelligent, not because the music learning make them smarter.
Whatever the case, learning complex skills like music is arguably a great way to improve brain cells functionality and boost memory and learning capacity.
In conclusion, it is important for you keep to training your brain and boost its performance by engaging in some activities that can regenerate the brain cells such as playing chess, word puzzles, brain teasers, among others, as listed in this article. A functioning brain is also important for improving ones mental health status. Failure to practice simple or complex tasks that can keep your brain active may result in the death of the neurons (brain cells) which can lead to several brain related medical conditions like Alzheimer's syndrome and stroke.
Abas Obot
Abasiama Akpan (pen name: Abas Obot) is a creative writer who aims to inspire, inform and educate his audience. His major focus is on human capital development, forged by his educational background, passion, experience, and personal objectives. Interested in writing, coding and biotechnology. Co-founder: Inspired Scoop. Social handles @Abasdgreat , facebook twitter instagram linkedin email
