Rita Carter - The Brain Fitness Book: Activities and puzzles to keep your mind active and healthy

Activities and puzzles to ke ep your mind active and healthy THE BOOK RIT A CARTER

Foreword Parts of the brain The active brain Connecting the parts Learning Memory The ageing brain Unhealthy ageing Genes versus lifestyle HOW T HE BRAIN W ORKS Good brain health Enemies of the brain Rest and sleep Physical activity Reading and writing Digital technology Diet and the brain Supplements and drugs Keeping your senses Testing your senses Social connections BRAIN WORKOUT DK INDIA Senior Managing Editor Rohan Sinha Jacket Designer Priyanka Bansal Picture Researcher Surya Sarangi Picture Research Manager Taiyaba Khatoon Production Manager Pankaj Sharma Editorial head Glenda Fernandes Managing A rt Ed itor Sudaksh ina Ba su Project Art Editor Rupanki A rora K aushik Art E ditors Rabia Ahmad , Debj yoti Mukher jee Assistant Art Editor Aarushi Dh awan DTP Des igners Anita Y ad av, Nan d Ki shor Ac harya Pre-pro duction Manager Balwant Singh Design head Malavika T al ukder Senior Editor Rob Houston Project Editor Miezan van Zyl Editors Claire Gell, Wendy Horobin, Victoria Pyke Jacket Design Development Manager Sophia MTT Managing Editor Angeles Gavira Guerrero Associate Publishing Director Liz Wheeler Publishing Director Jonathan Metcalf Project Art Editor Francis Wong Designers Sunita Gahir , Sh ahid Mahmo od Illustrato rs Mark Clift on, Sunita Gahir , Phil Gamb le, E dwood B urn Jacket De signer Stephanie Cheng Hui T an Production editor Kavita Va rma Senior Pr oduction Controller Meskerem Berhane Managing A rt Ed itor Michael Du ffy Art D irecto r Karen Se lf DK LONDON

TRY N EW THINGS THINKING SKILLS Mental processes Am I normal? Ability to recall Ability with words Ability with numbers Problem solving Decision- making Attention and focus Thinking speed and reaction time Spatial visualization The benets of learning new things Social activities Memory challenges Memory tips Story construction The memory palace Number puzzles Word puzzles Non-verbal reasoning Logic puzzles Creative reasoning puzzles Making music Piano Guitar Drawing Chess Bridge Pottery Knots Needlecrafts Origami and papercraft Gardening Wildowers Trees Birdwatching Stargazing Tennis Golf Swimming Yoga Tai chi Dancing Strength training and Pilates A new language Taking up the challenge Answers Index First published in Great Britain in 2021 by Dorling Kindersley Limited DK, One Embassy Gardens, 8 Viaduct Gardens, London, SW11 7BW Imported into the EEA by Dorling Kindersley Verlag GmbH. Arnulfstr. 124, 80636 Munich, Germany Copyright 2021 Dorling Kindersley Limited A Penguin Random House Company 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 001322043Apr/2021 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in anyform, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-0-2414-7098-5 Printed and bound in China www.dk.com Rita Carter writes, broadcasts, and lectures about the human brain. She is the author of the globally successful Mapping the Mind , Exploring Consciousness, and Dorling Kinderleys The Brain Book , among others. Rita has won many prizes for her writing and was awarded a PhD from Leuven University for her contribution to brain science. Gareth Moore is the author of many puzzle books for children and adults. He is the creator of www.BrainedUp.com and runs the daily puzzle website www.PuzzleMix.com. He gained his PhD from Cambridge University in the eld of Machine Learning. Author RITA CARTER Puzzle creator DR GARETH MOORE READER NOTICE While the information in this book has been carefully researched, the publisher and author are not engaged in providing health and tness advice for individual readers. The information in this book is therefore not a substitute for expert advice and cannot replace sound judgment and good-decision making in matters relating to personal health and tness. Physical activities are potentially hazardous and the scope of this book does not allow for disclosure of all the risks involved in such activities. If you have any health problems or medical conditions, you are advised always to consult a doctor or other health professional for specic information on such matters. Do not try to self-diagnose or self-treat serious or long-term problems without rst consulting a qualied medical practitioner as appropriate, and always seek professional medical advice if problems persist. If you are pregnant or taking prescribed medicines, seek medical advice before changing, stopping or starting any medical treatment or using any supplements or alternative therapy. Never disregard expert medical advice or delay in seeking advice or treatment due to information obtained from this book. Neither the publisher nor the authors can accept any liability for loss, injury, or damage arising directly or indirectly from any use or misuse of information and advice in this book. This book was made with Forest Stewardship Council certied paper one small step in DKs commitment to a sustainable future. For more information go to www.dk.com/our-green-pledge 50

YOUR MIND IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE BRAIN THAT PRODUCES IT. Your memory of a sunny day in childhood, the smell of jasmine, your ability to find your car keys, read the newspaper, and cook a meal all depend on maintaining a well-functioning brain. It is the most important part of your body, because it generates all your experience and controls everything you do. Despite this, the enormous importance of keeping your brain fit and healthy is generally overlooked. We are bombarded with advice on how to keep our hearts and muscles in order, but information about the best way to preserve our cognitive faculties usually goes no further than the suggestion that we do occasional crosswords. This book is designed to fill that gap. It pulls together some of the latest scientific research on brain health and shows you how best to achieve it in youth, maintain it through mid-life, and preserve and perhaps enhance it in later years. First, it reveals the complex physical processes that produce thoughts, perceptions, and feelings. Then it explains how you can support and perhaps enhance these processes. This includes the exercises and nutrition now shown to be especially good for the brain, and advice on how to help prevent or cope with common brain disorders such as stroke and dementia. The Brain Fitness Book describes the variety of mental skills that work together to produce a fully functioning mind and how each of them can be honed, exercised, and refined to make their best contribution. You can test these skills to explore your own strengths and weaknesses. Finally, The Brain Fitness Book provides a catalogue of activities from which you can pick n mix to find a brain- healthy lifestyle filled with newly discovered interests. It includes practical guidance to help and encourage you to get started on the activities of your choice.