7 games that make you smarter

Games aren’t just for kids – the older the player, the more their brain benefits from the game! The finding came from game developers who studied the link between fun and flexible minds. They prove that games have a very good effect on people over 75 years old by preventing forgetfulness and other memory problems. 

When you spend a few hours playing Man, Don’t Get Angry, Monopoly, and Game of Thrones, cognitive skills improve. Scrabble, “Mafia” and checkmate develop brain potential and logical thinking. That’s why we put together a collection of children’s entertainment that helps manage our emotions: 

Dilligently assembling castles and houses, machines and cars, even rooms using a roombox and any mini version of an object or building, as well as arranging a puzzle with complex pictures and ornaments is extremely suitable not only for relaxing after a tiring day , but also to sharpen concentration. 

Toy manufacturers have realized that stacking construction sets and puzzles appeal to adults and they offer a variety of sets, including those with lights. 

Stamps, coins, paintings, books, dry plants, strollers, napkins, comics, shoes, household items, jewelry, magnets, shells and rapans… Just think of what interests you and get started! 

Collecting original items is a pleasure that easily turns into a passion, and it also has an educational character, because each thing hides a history and even a philosophy. It attracts children and adults to learn about it, to systematize what they have learned and to share and exchange with other people. 

For example, creating a home herbarium – it requires searching for specific flowers, saving them, composing them in a special album, describing the details and the history of the flower. All this is an extremely fascinating activity, it develops the mind and looks beautiful. 

Making simple decorations and jewelry from various beads is one of the most commonly gifted play sets for little girls. But beading is also a popular trend among ladies over 40 recently for several reasons: 

– because it evokes nostalgic memories of the happy times in the 70s and 80s, when they themselves were children; 

– because no one will have a necklace as original as the one they created; 

– because it is modern; 

– because the selection and composition of the elements and the making of these accessories develop precision, the sense of color and fine motor skills. 

When you get tired of stringing beads and your dresser is cluttered with necklaces, you can go to the next level: jewelry boxes – just as exciting. 

The virtuosos of ancient Asian art can make absolutely anything out of paper, including a skyscraper, but you don’t have to go all the way to such heights in craftsmanship. It is enough to learn to make complex decorated envelopes for letters, bouquets of paper flowers, figurines of animals. A papercraft set is a great gift for toddlers and older kids as it teaches how to model with paper, and folding and gluing stimulates tactile skills and brain activity. 

Tricks with cards, coins and other objects take time to learn, require physical knowledge, albeit basic, that develop thinking and, of course, are fun for everyone you show them to. Doing tricks is not a waste of time, but a good way to relieve tension. 

If you had favorite tunes as a kid and had your parents play them over and over and over so you could dance to them, you know the feeling. Kids have been dancing to nursery rhymes since childhood without realizing that dance moves are good for the body, soul and…intellect. 

Columbia University neuroscientist John Krakauer explains that dancing activates the sensory and motor cortex of the brain—the areas responsible for planning and executing body and limb movements. These areas work in sync with the cerebellum and thus strengthen important neural connections that control movements, but they also do much more: they have a positive effect on overall brain function. 

More evidence: scientists from the University of North Dakota prove that Latin dancing, and Zumba in particular, improves the ability to recognize images and make decisions. And, of course, they also improve the mood. So you have no excuse to say, “I can’t dance.” Just do it spontaneously, like little children. 

It’s true that drawing is not a game – even small children take seriously the coloring of figurines and the drawing of roosters, mushrooms, bunnies, princesses and wizards. We decided to add it to the fun because it helps keep our minds sharp. 

Even if you think that artists create abstract paintings, doodles, try it – aimless drawing, involuntary strokes and unconscious sketches of various objects from the environment are very valuable therapy for the brain. The Wall Street Journal devotes an article to new studies in the fields of neuroscience, psychology and design that prove unequivocally: drawing helps people focus, make sense of new information and to remember it. 

Many men known for their intelligence: Bill Gates, Anthony Hopkins, Jim Carrey, Ronald Reagan draw while considering something and claim that this process allows them to visualize their thoughts and generate new ideas.