Mind-games: How to keep your mind fit

A healthy brain is a happy brain, and in an age when it feels like there’s bad news at every turn, that’s more important than ever. Mind fitness won’t just boost your mood, either: it’ll also just make life easier. It’s much easier to take care of the business side of life when you’re not forgetting appointments or having difficulty focusing.

There are, of course, plenty of things you can do that’ll push your mind in the right direction. But not all of them are fun, and if there’s one thing we know, it’s that we should try to bring as much fun as we can into our lives! Thankfully, there are a host of brain-boosting games that’ll ensure looking after your mind isn’t a chore. In this blog, we’ll run through some of the best options out there.

Wordle

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months, you’ll surely have heard of Wordle, the word puzzle game that took over the world. It’s a simple game to play, and there’s only one game — which takes just a few minutes to complete — each day, meaning everyone can fit it into their schedule. It’s an ideal way to wake your mind up in the morning.

Sudoku

Sudoku has been around for years and has won plenty of avid fans, in large part because the game is the perfect balance of fun and logic. The goal is to fill a grid with nine 3×3 subgrids so that the larger grid and all the subgrids contain all numbers from 1 to 9. This one is harder to get the hang of than Wordle, but once you have, you’ll have the ideal game to play since it’s one that you can play anywhere, including on your smartphone. 

Crosswords

Another classic, crosswords call upon logic, verbal dexterity, and memory, all things that, once sharpened, can greatly enhance your brainpower. As with Sudoku, learning how to do cryptic crosswords can take some time, but once you’ve got it, you’ll have a gift that you use again and again. You can play crosswords online or offline. Virtually every newspaper features a crossword, so pick up a copy and get started.

Braingle

Not sure which brain game is for you? Then head to Braingle, a website that has more than 15,000 brain-boosting games, puzzles, teasers, and more, all for free. If you’re looking to improve one specific area of your mind, such as memory, then you can even create your own game that’ll help you to reach your goal. 

Chess

There are plenty of benefits of playing chess, including improved memory, cognitive abilities, and attention spans. There’s even some research that suggests that chess can help to reduce the likelihood of dementia. You’ll find plenty of chess apps available for download on your smartphone, or you can play on your computer. To get the most value from chess, however, it’s best to play against an opponent face to face. That way, you’ll be training your brain and getting your fill of social goodness, too.