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Why Mental Gymnastics Can Help You More Than Relaxation
Psychology
Mental exercises, like hobbies, are essential for maintaining cognitive health
Much emphasis is placed on the importance of exercising our body always, more since the coronavirus crisis began and we spend much more time without leaving home than before. But, it is just as important exercise our mind, more so now that we have less external stimuli.
Pedro López, director of «Liceum, Gyms for the mind», explains that the mental gymnastics They are exercise routines with which to train cognitive skills. “They are challenges, exercises and problems that stimulate our brain, in order to develop it and stop its deterioration”, he says. The professional equates mental gymnastics routines with sports routines and draws a parallel: «If in sport there are exercises for speed, strength, agility or
flexibility, with cognitive gymnastics it is the same: we focus on train calculation, memory, attention or concentration».
When creating a routine, from Liceum they propose an «app» or mobile application in which there are daily exercises. «The ideal is to have a daily training, therefore we recommend doing it between 15 minutes and half an hour a day“Says Pedro López, who advises against binge eating and doing a lot of exercises one day, but not the rest of the week.
“Traditional” hobbies
One option for training the mind may be “traditional” hobbies. “The word searches, “find the differences”, crossword puzzles …. All these exercises are still very good for our mental ability, and we must find what helps us the most, ”says the professional. From Liceum they recommend activities such as chess, reading, or for example, for the oldest in the house, simply talking on the phone or making video calls. “What you have to avoid is spending many hours doing the same thing, for example watching television. We have to have a more varied life, “he argues.
It may be curious that, at a time when constant advice is given to relax the mind, its activation is recommended. Pedro López emphasizes that both options are not contradictory, but complementary. «Relaxation is essential in times of stress: there are people who have memory loss due to stress, or difficulties to focus the mind on one thing only, “says the professional, who in turn, recalls that now that we go to many fewer places, and we talk to fewer people, we have less cognitive activity. Therefore, it is essential to train the mind, although also doing relaxation exercises.
The virtues, and disadvantages, of technology
Finally, the professional speaks of another contradiction: in a time when techno-stress reigns, training our mind with an app or application, or an electronic program. “Technology itself is neutral, and our relationship with it depends on how we use it,” says Pedro López, who says that, for example, video games, used in a moderate way, can be good for him. development of our cognitive abilities. “On the other hand, since many people work, a multitasking environment has been imposed that causes levels of stress that we did not have before,” he says and comments that we must coordinate technology with everything else: by standing in front of a computer we are not doing nothing, we need planning. “You also have to disconnect from seeing from time to time, this is essential, especially in the late hours of the day,” he concludes.