The human brain is known to start slowing down by the age of 25. Fortunately, at any age, if you use it, you can reverse it. One of the most essential parts of brain fitness and rebuilding your brain is building up your “brain reserve” Brain reserve is the ability for the brain to recognize itself and build new connections. A brain with a strong reserve is one that has formed many cellular connections and is rich in brain cell density. A strong reserve is generally believed to have the ability to postpone the onset of mental deterioration, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. Also, neuro-degenerative diseases must work longer and harder to manifest in a brain that has built up strong reserve. To strengthen brain reserve, you can do things that are both novel and complex to stimulate a variety of areas in the brain. The fastest and easiest way to build brain reserve is to play “brain games.”

Building the connections to improve your brain health can be done with brain games that provide a normal, balanced routine of mental stimulation. Using these brain games is a way to not only stimulate your brain but provide other necessities your brain requires to exercise. To be most effective, brain games should target the following areas:

Memory, Concentration & Attention, Language Skills, Visual & Spatial, Executive Functions (Logic & Reasoning)

Brain games are definitely a wonderful way to work and challenge your brain. Games like Suduko, crosswords and electronic games can work on improving your brain’s speed and memory. These types of games rely on logic, word skills, math and more. These games are also fun. Fifteen minutes a day can seriously impact your brain health and you can find them for free all throughout the Internet.

Different types of brain games have been shown to improve your working memory and increase your fluid intelligence. You can find these types of games at Lumosity. Lumosity is a brain training program with scientifically designed games that aim to improve brain function. $6.00 a month provides you with daily games shown to target brain stimulation. They provide a free trial for you to try it out before committing.

Other benefits of brain games are increasing your mental alertness, and awareness, mood elevation, concentration, and quicker thinking. These are huge rewards for a few minutes of entertainment each day.

If you think about it, Our brain is one of the most extraordinary and complex things in the world, so it is worth nurturing, and challenges. We don’t even realize that our brain is capable of making huge and an “unlimited” number of synaptic connections, each of which is a pattern of thought. Although our brain has such amazing capabilities, it still feels like thinking can be hard work, and because we are human we take the path of least resistance, or try not to think more than we have to. Using brain games is a great way to not fall into a pattern of laziness and to keep your brain in active shape the way it should be. And keep in mind “if you use it, you won’t lose it”

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org, researching areas of online universities. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.