Exercise
for the Brain
A
favorite of Gail Frye, owner of
www.QuickWitz.com is a working memory exercise called “2-back.” She
relates, “Anybody can do this at home with a simple deck of cards. Place the deck face down and turn the cards up one at a time. Periodically stop and name the card that is “2-back” from the top card. This is not easy! When concen- tration improves, try a new game, “3-back.”
Another card game is a blast from the past. Use the
deck of cards to play “Memory” the old-fashioned way. Deal all 52 cards face down. Turn the cards over, two at a time, and then return them to the face down position un- less they match. Keep track of the number of cards turned over until you have matched all the pairs. The goal is to continually improve your performance.
Two other ways to improve the brain are “Topsy-
Turvy” and “Spell It – Backwards.” For Topsy-Turvy, turn your book or magazine upside down and read. The brain’s concentration continues to improve until eventually you will be able to read at nearly normal reading speed and you’ll be doing it from right to left. Spell It – Backwards is a visualization activity where you will see yourself getting stronger and stronger with longer and longer words. Try the alphabet – backwards!”
The following are activities to improve
Can you place six X’s on a Tic Tac Toe board without making three-in-a-row in any direc- tion?
Nine dots are arranged in a three by three square. Connect each of the nine dots using only four straight lines and without lifting your pen from the paper.
... ...
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Matchstick Equations
Try to rectify a mistake by moving a single matchstick, to get
Stroop Test
This exercise is called the Stroop Test. Simply switch back and forth as you read: First read the words, not the colors; then read the colors the words are, not the words. This helps improve your ability to concentrate.
the correct equation. (Edit: you can not place any matchstick
diagonally over the equals sign) The answers are on page 19.
The following equation is made of 11 matches: XI - V = IV (more solutions)
The following equation is made of 11 matches: X + V = IV (more solutions)
The following equation is made of 10 matches: L + L = L (more solutions)
The following equation is made of 12 matches: VI = IV - III (more solutions)
The following equation is made of 14 matches: XIV - V = XX
The following equation is made of 11 matches: IX - IX = V
The following equation is made of 12 matches: X = VIII - II
The following equation is made of 7 matches: VII = I
natural awakenings
Annual Guide 2010
11
logic and reasoning:
Half That
Half That is an exercise that many seniors enjoy. It involves what is termed visual discrimination, and helps to improve percep- tion skills. See if you can read the words from the partials given.
The answers are on page 19.
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