13 Brain Exercises to Help Keep You Mentally Sharp

Health Line

21-05-2025

Exercising the brain to improve memory, focus, or daily functionality is a top priority for many older adults. But people of all ages can benefit from incorporating a few simple brain exercises into their daily life.

The brain is involved in everything we do, and, like any other part of the body, it needs to be cared for too.
Research has shown that there are many ways you can hone your mental sharpness and help your brain stay healthy, no matter what age you are.
Certain brain exercises can help boost memory, concentration, and focus, making daily tasks quicker and easier and keeping your brain sharp as you age.
Let's take a deeper dive into 13 evidence-based exercises that offer the best brain-boosting benefits.
1. Have fun with a jigsaw puzzle
Whether you're putting together a 1,000-piece image of the Eiffel Tower or joining 100 pieces to make Mickey Mouse, working on a jigsaw puzzle is an excellent way to strengthen your brain.
Research has shown that doing jigsaw puzzles recruits multiple cognitive abilities and is a protective factor for visuospatial cognitive aging.
In other words, when putting together a jigsaw puzzle, you have to look at different pieces and figure out where they fit within the larger picture. This can be a great way to challenge and exercise your brain.
2. Try your hand at cards
Research from 2023 found that playing card games helped improve important thinking skills like self-control and the ability to switch between tasks in children facing social challenges. The study showed that even card games not designed to boost brain function still had positive effects on these skills.
Card games can also be beneficial for older adults. For instance, research from 2020 found that playing modern card games helped older adults improve certain thinking skills, like verbal fluency and self-control. The study suggests that these games can be a fun and effective way to support brain health in seniors.
Try learning one of these tried-and-true card games:
solitaire
bridge
gin rummy
poker
hearts
crazy eights
3. Build your vocabulary
A rich vocabulary has a way of making you sound smart. But did you know you can also turn a quick vocab lesson into a stimulating brain game?
Research shows that many more regions of the brain are involved in vocabulary tasks, particularly in areas that are important for visual and auditory processing. To test this theory, try this cognitive-boosting activity:
Keep a notebook with you when you read.
Write down one unfamiliar word, then look up the definition.
Try to use that word five times the next day.
4. Dance your heart out
The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) notes that learning new dance moves can increase your brain's processing speed and memory. In other words, bust a move on the dance floor and your brain will thank you.
Want to test it out? Give one of these dance activities a try:
Take a salsa, tap, hip-hop, or contemporary dance class.
Try a Zumba or jazz exercise class.
Watch an online video with fun dance moves you've always wanted to learn.
Grab a partner and learn to ballroom dance.
Gather your friends and go line dancing.
5. Use all your senses
Research from 2025 suggests that using all your senses may help strengthen your brain, particularly in older adults.
To give your senses and your brain a workout, try doing activities that simultaneously engage all five of your senses.
You could try baking a batch of cookies, visiting a farmer's market, or trying a new restaurant while you focus on smelling, touching, tasting, seeing, and hearing all at the same time.
6. Learn a new skill
Learning a new skill is not only fun and interesting but may also help strengthen brain connections.
Research from 2023 found that older adults who learned multiple new skills, like a language, drawing, and music, at the same time, improved memory and thinking abilities.
After just a few weeks, their cognitive performance reached levels similar to those of middle-aged adults, showing that it's never too late to boost brain power through real-world learning.
Is there something you've always wanted to learn how to do? Perhaps you'd like to know how to repair your car, use a particular software program, or ride a horse? You now have one more good reason to learn that new skill.
7. Teach a new skill to someone else
One of the best ways to expand your learning is to teach a skill to another person.
After you learn a new skill, you need to practice it. Teaching it to someone else requires you to explain the concept and correct any mistakes you make. For example, learn to swing a golf club, then teach the steps to a friend.
8. Listen to or play music
Do you want an easy way to increase your creative brain power? The answer may lie in turning on some music.
Research from 2024 found that music-based activities, such as singing in a group, playing simple instruments like drums, or dancing to familiar songs, can help improve or maintain thinking skills like memory, verbal fluency, and overall mental function in older adults with early signs of cognitive decline.
The study supports using music as a fun, supportive tool alongside traditional treatments to help keep the brain active and healthy.
And if you want to learn how to play music, now is a great time to start because your brain is capable of learning new skills at any point in your life. That's why you're never too old to start playing an instrument like the piano, guitar, or even the drums.
9. Take a new route
Don't get stuck in a rut when it comes to your daily tasks. Instead, be willing to try new ways to do the same things.
Choose a different route to get to work each week or try a different mode of transport, like biking or using public transport instead of driving.
Your brain can benefit from this simple change, and you might be surprised by how easy it is to change your thinking.
10. Meditate
Daily meditation can calm your body, slow your breathing, and reduce stress and anxiety.
But did you know that it may also help fine-tune your memory and increase your brain's ability to process information?
Find a quiet spot, close your eyes, and spend five minutes meditating each day.
11. Learn a new language
Learning a new language requires a tremendous amount of brain activity, helping you stay mentally sharp as you age. For instance, research from 2023 found that learning a new language can improve cognitive skills like memory and cognitive flexibility in older adults.
While other activities, like music training, also boost cognitive abilities, language learning has a unique benefit of enhancing cognitive flexibility over time.
This research suggests that it's never too late to reap the rewards of learning a new language. In other words, you can boost your memory and improve other mental functions by becoming a student of a new language at any time in your life.
12. Take up tai chi
It's no secret that tai chi can benefit your health in many ways, including your mental health. Plus, it can also help center you when life seems out of balance.
Research from 2023 found that a special form of tai chi, which combines mental exercises with physical movement, helped older adults with mild memory problems improve their thinking skills and walking abilities.
This type of tai chi worked better than regular tai chi or stretching exercises, and the benefits lasted for up to 48 weeks.
Beginners do best by taking a class to learn the different movements. But once you know the basics, you can practice tai chi anywhere, anytime.
13. Focus on another person
The next time you interact with someone, take note of four things about them. Maybe you observe the color of their shirt or pants. Are they wearing glasses? Do they have a hat on, and if so, what kind of hat? What color is their hair?
Once you decide on four things to remember, make a mental note and come back to it later in the day. Write down what you remember about those four details.