By now we should all know that exercising your brain is just as important as exercising your body. But just how do you exercise your cerebral cortex?

Play some Sudoku – There’s a reason this classic logic game, and other puzzle games, are constantly pushed on the elderly. It’s been proven to help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s and helps to improve focus and concentration.

Download a brain training app – Feel like you have no time to start a new hobby or play sodoku? Download the free Lumosity app instead! With short daily exercise meant to work out your brain and daily push notifications, it’ll be hard to procrastinate on this oh-so-important task.  If you prefer things on a bigger screen, they also have a website where you can train your brain.

Start a journal -There’s something about writing something down on paper instead of typing it out that forces your brain to work just a little harder. So instead of typing out an email try writing a letter to a friend via snail mail, or better yet, start a journal of your daily musings.

Learn something new – Your brain relies on challenging and complex activities to stay resilient, so take up a new language you’ve always secretly wanted to learn, or learn how to knit – whatever it is, if it’s new, it’ll be activating parts of your brain that may have long remained dormant. Even something as simple as trying out a new recipe or taking a new route to work can stimulate your brain.

Use your non-dominant hand – A 1999 study showed that doing tasks with your non-dominant hand (i.e. your left hand if you’re right-handed and vice versa,) activates that part of your brain that’s responsible for responding to visual stimuli and planning movements. So try brushing your teeth with your left hand this week!