As far as real life brain exercises go one of my favorite ways to stretch and challenge my brain is as by getting lost in a foreign city with or without a map and in a city where I do not know the language. If you are on vacation and want to have fun while at the same time learn and exercise your brain try getting lost. Why? Have you ever come back from vacation and felt dumber than when you left? Well often you are. They did test on people coming back from vacations and their mental powers actually atrophied. I usually bring lots of reading and just relax but if you want to take it a step further and make your vacation a brain exercise here is a fun way to pump neurons.
Get lost to exercises your brain on vacation
I have traveled to about all over the world and prefer this method to a guided tour. Try it without a map or guide book. I am an avid walker and do not mind if I get lost. I guess I am also a bit over trusting and have never gotten in serious trouble. But I think it is more often people who live around you hurt you more than complete strangers. So I am pretty fearless when I am walking around a foreign city. In fact getting lost on vacation is very low stress as you do not have a meeting or important things to tend to. Further, the best experiences are those unplanned.
Children experience this type of brain exercise all the time as everything is foreign
I am an American but live in Eastern Europe by the way. Traveling around Europe I experience this brain exercise all the time and yes feel smarter for it, or at least more confident.
When you get lost you need to use all your senses to finger out street signs, directions, foreign words and symbols and do this in a reasonable time before the sun goes down. If you take a wrong turn your have to pay for real estate twice and double back. If you are walking you will get a good workout. If it is the end of the day I take public transport back. This is perhaps the best way to know a city. In one day you could get to know the whole city. Could you ever get this much of a neural brain workout if you are simply doing a one dimensional puzzle with defined rules? Could you ever excises your brain this way sitting in a classroom?
Maybe that is why kids brains are so flexible, because to them they have to live in a world where everything is new and foreign. When I moved to Poland from the USA, for at least one year everything was neural chaos. Everything was different.
Try this brain exercise the next time you are traveling. Let me know if you have ever done this brain excersise and your experiences. And if you are an American, please get a passport and travel to a foreign country not on a package, but rent an apartment or youth hostel I do not care if you are a business professional, start taking real adventures in your life for your brain’s sake. Think of it as an educational investment.
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