Exercise. It’s not just for our bodies🧠

Hey there!

Here at The MSing Link we talk a lot about the importance of exercise; how it is important to improve balance, strength and even promote neuroplasticity! But, have you ever thought about exercising your brain to keep it nice and strong as well? Don’t worry! It’s not as tedious as it may sound. Believe it not, exercising your brain can actually be fun!

Exercising the brain has been shown to not only boost your mental sharpness, memory, concentration and focus, but it can also help make your daily tasks faster and easier to do. Let’s dive right in! Here are some activities that you can do to exercise your brain 🧠 .

1. A jigsaw puzzle - Putting together a puzzle uses multiple cognitive abilities. Since you need to look at all sorts of shapes, and pieces of images, to create the larger visual goal this serves a protective factor for visuospatial cognitive aging. And a bonus is that the piece count of the puzzle doesn’t matter! 100 - 1,000 pieces will all work your brain in the same way.
   
   
2. Build your vocabulary - If you are a lover of books, or simply language in general, try keeping a notepad with you while reading. When you come across a word that you don’t know, write it down. Look up the word’s definition and then try your best to use it 3-5 times that day, or the next, when in conversation.
   
   
3. Dance it out - Learning new dance moves is shown to improve the brain’s processing speed and memory. Test out the theory for yourself by taking a Zumba or jazz class. You can even pull up a YouTube video of dance moves you’ve been wanting to learn.
   
   
4. Learn a new skill - Crochet? Guitar? Painting? Fixing an appliance? Whatever skill you have been wanting to learn, go for it! It’s not only fun, and interesting, but it can also help strengthen the connections in your brain.
   
   
5. Meditate - Slowing your breathing, and calming your body is known to help reduce stress and anxiety. But, it can also fine-tune your memory and increase your ability to process information. This can be a challenging practice for many; so if you are interested in trying to meditate but don’t know where to start, I recommend the show “Headspace: Guide to Meditation” on Netflix. Not only does it guide you through meditations at the end of each episode, it also speaks about the science behind why it works.

Now, if none of these suggestions have piqued your interest, never fear! There are many other avenues that can be explored. All it takes is a Google search for “fun brain exercises”, or something along those lines, and many, many options will show up for you to try! 

All my best,
Dr. Gretchen, PT

P.S.

Want to work together?!

1. Connect with me on YouTube - Subscribe to my Dr. Gretchen YouTube page where you will be able to find MS specific exercises, research updates, guest speakers, and MORE!

2. Join The MSing Link Community - The MSing Link is my online MS wellness program where you'll find video demonstrations and explanations of MS-specific exercises for strengthening, walking, balance, and flexibility. There are also videos for activity-specific movements such as getting into/out of bed or a car, standing up from the ground, sitting down with more control, stair climbing, etc. Since this program focuses on the whole person and not just exercise, we have monthly live guest speakers (ie: neurologists, podiatrists, nutritionists, etc.) and research updates.

3. Work with me privately - I offer wellness consults via Zoom. This is an opportunity for you to share your story with MS and your goals. I'm able to educate you on MS-specific exercises for walking, general mobility, transfers, and day-to-day activities (ie: getting into/out of a car, stair climbing, etc.). You can schedule a one-time call or you can schedule recurring calls - your choice. Oftentimes, people will schedule one of these calls prior to joining The MSing Link and/or one call every couple of months. Schedule here