Many people believe that the brain, like our muscles, can be improved and kept healthy by doing regular exercise in the same way we play sports or go to the gym to maintain our physical health. Nowadays, there are lots of websites that offer cognitive training games and exercises to achieve these objectives. However, other activities and more traditional games can also offer training for the brain.
1 Match the activities (a–g) with the cognitive skill(s) (1–6) they practise.
a Playing chess
b Doing yoga
c Playing video games
d Orienteering
e Doing sums
f Reading aloud
Cognitive skill 1 Reasoning and problem-solving 2 Visual-spatial skills 3 Hand-eye coordination 4 Language skills 5 Numeracy 6 Concentration