It has long been known that certain mental activities can improve memory and mind power. Just as physical exercise can improve strength, stamina and dexterity, so mental exercises can improve brain power. The brain is a muscle and just like any other muscle in the body, exercise can improve its capabilities.
About a dozen years ago, in my career as a long haul truck driver, I fell out of the back of a trailer and landed on the back of my head on the pavement. I awoke 24 hours later in hospital not knowing how I got there.
What followed was fifteen months of Worker's Compensation and a slow recovery from what turned out to be a severe concussion. At the end of that time I was able to retain my class 1 drivers licence and go back to earning my living as the driver of an 18-wheeler. Most of my recovery can be credited to the fact that just prior to the accident I had acquired a personal computer. Internet was in it's very early stages at that time, but my wife helped me get a dial-up connection and I spent many hours over the ensuing months learning how to use the computer and surfing the internet.
Admittedly much of my computer time was spent in playing games of various kinds, and I especially enjoyed the ones that required me to stretch my memory and creative capabilities. It seems such exercises helped my brain to build new pathways to replace the ones that had been destroyed. I can only think that if such activities can help to rebuild a damaged brain how much more beneficial would they be to help strengthen a healthy brain?
Of course there are thousands of games available nowadays. Facebook is loaded with them, new computers come with some already preloaded, there are numerous gaming platforms with thousands of available titles. The trouble is that many of these games are time wasters. Try to tear your child away from his Wii or PlayStation 2 and you'll realize how addictive they are.
This can be the harmful aspect of games. If they start to replace healthier and more productive aspects of our lives they can present a real problem. However, games that challenge our deductive capacity and the creative side of our brains can really help to exercise the brain muscle and I believe go a long way in prolonging our overall brain health.
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