You can take up playing chess, learning a new language, or juggling. And playing boardgames can stimulate your thinking, as well as your hand-eye coordination. You can even do something simple like learn a new direction to drive to work, type or scroll with the opposite hand, or combine your senses by eating while listening to music with your eyes closed. Walk outdoors where the terrain isn’t predictable so that you’re perfecting your balance and working your foot-eye coordination at the same time. Yoga and tai chi also enable you to practice coordination, flow of movement, balance, and the engagement of different muscle groups. And don’t forget to fit in some aerobic exercise as well, getting your heart rate up for at least 15 minutes a few times a week. Just like a meditation practice can lower the activation of the stress response and therefore quiet the mind, you want to get into the practice of regularly quieting the mind so that the neurons can do their job of communicating. I call this practice “deep listening,” where you allow yourself to take a pause and a deep breath. This provides you with the space you need to fully hear words and take in the nuances. The tenets of this practice are: If you don’t feel well rested, see if you need more hours of sleep or if it’s a question of improving the quality of sleep. Consider getting a Fitbit or other gadget that monitors how restfully you’re sleeping, or have a sleep study done by your doctor. You may find that you simply have to wake up too early to get the right number of hours in. If this is the case, consider taking naps, which can help you catch up on those zzz’s.
