Training Your Brain for Dummies

Learn to:

• Improve both your long-term and short-term memory
• Increase your creativity and develop a positive mindset
• Make brain-friendly diet and lifestyle choices
• Maximise your mental fitness with puzzles and exercises

Put your brain through its paces and achieve first-rate mental agility The brain is your body's most important muscle and, with regular exercise, you can improve its performance and strengthen it against age-related deterioration. This guide offers everything you need to know to keep your brain and memory in tip-top shape, whether it's by choosing the right foods or playing the piano. From puzzles and exercises to the best day-to-day habits and long-term mental fitness techniques, this book enables you to boost your mental agility and reduce memory loss. So shake off those cobwebs and get your brain fighting-fit in no time!

• Start as you mean to go on ? get to grips with the basics of brain training and discover how to make it work for you
• Keep your mind razor sharp ? improve your memory and banish that pesky 'tip-of-the-tongue' phenomenon
• Have happy thoughts ? follow expert advice on how to keep your mind happy and healthy
• Start afresh ? adapt to new brain-friendly diet and lifestyle choices
• Let the games begin ? get stuck into a compendium of brain games, exercises and puzzles

Open the book and find:

• The facts behind the fiction
• Mental fitness exercises for children and the over-50s
• Ways to memorise your shopping list, put names to faces, and remember directions
• How to visualise your success
• Why socialising is important
• Techniques for managing stress and anxiety
• Advice on nutrition and 'brain food'
• Word searches, sudoku puzzles, and more

Introduction 1
Part I: Brain Training Basics 7
Chapter 1: Introducing Brain Training 9
Chapter 2: Getting to Know Your Brain 15
Chapter 3: Brain Training for Your Needs 29
Part II: Remember, Remember Keeping Your Memory Sharp 39
Chapter 4: Honing Your Long-Term Memory 41
Chapter 5: Improving Your Short-Term Memory 53
Chapter 6: Improving Your Language Skills 67
Chapter 7: Recognising Faces and Remembering Directions 75
Part III: Fostering a Happy, Healthy Mind 87
Chapter 8: Improving Your Creativity 89
Chapter 9: Developing a Positive Mindset 101
Chapter 10: Reaping the Rewards of Peace and Quiet 113
Chapter 11: Keeping Your Brain Sociable 123
Part IV: Getting Physical: Looking at Brain-Friendly Diet and Lifestyle 133
Chapter 12: Feeding the Brain 135
Chapter 13: Looking at Stimulants: Drugs and Caffeine 147
Chapter 14: Building Up Mind/Body Fitness 157
Part V: Game On! Brain Training Games to Play at Home 171
Chapter 15: Verbal Brain Games 173
Chapter 16: Numerical Brain Games 183
Chapter 17: Logic Games 203
Part VI: The Part of Tens 215
Chapter 18: Ten New Habits to Train Your Brain 217
Chapter 19: Ten Brain Games to Play on the Move 225
Appendix: The Payoff: Checking Your Answers 231
Index 247