Brains need exercise too. Mental stimulation keeps them healthy – and may even help reduce the chance of major health problems (such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease) later in life.

Brains that don’t get regular exercise aren’t healthy. And unhealthy brains generally have unhealthy, unhappy owners.

Exercise isn’t the only thing that keeps your brain shiny and healthy though. Research shows that people who have close relationships with others and strong social networks generally live happier, healthier and longer lives, with a lower incidence of dementia and other diseases of ageing.

So this BrainWeek, don’t just challenge your brain, get your friends to challenge theirs too. And get bondin’ for your noggin’!

Read more about why friendship’s good for your brain

Get your brain off its butt.

For your brain to stay healthy, it needs to be exercised and challenged regularly. Learning a new language is very good for it. But so is something as simple as taking a different route to work in the morning, doing a crossword or listening to music.

What’s more, it’s never too early to start exercising your brain. And it’s never too late, either.

In fact, why not start right now? Take the BrainWeek challenge and join the rest of NZ in growing a bigger, healthier brain in just seven days!

Okay, how do you exercise your brain?

Make it think. This builds new connections to different parts of the brain – and may even grow new brain cells.

Here are a few things you can do to give your brain some exercise.

Try a brain workout now.

Other things that are good for your brain:

A healthy diet, physical exercise, reduced alcohol intake, regular relaxation and deep sleep can all work wonders for your brain too. More stuff that’s good for your brain…

• A few things you can do to give your brain a workout:

  • Avoid using calculators – mental arithmetic is a great mental workout. Can you still recite your times tables?

  • Swap TV for things like Sudoku, crosswords or reading a book

  • Play games that involve memory (bridge) or thinking ahead (chess)

  • Take up a new hobby, or restart an old one

  • Learn a musical instrument or play one

  • Learn a new language, even if it is only saying hello in two different languages: bonjour, hola, bula!

  • Listen to baroque music (brains like it)

  • Walk over uneven ground – it challenges our brain’s balance system

  It’s no accident that most phone numbers are seven digits long. That’s roughly the maximum number of digits our working memory (a type of short term memory) can hold. Why blokes struggle to remember their partners’ birthdays then, is still a complete mystery...

• Other things that are good for your brain:

  A healthy diet.

  Like the rest of your body, your brain needs a well-balanced, low cholesterol, low saturated fat diet. But it also helps if you...

  • Eat at the right times: timing is significant in nutrition; studies keep demonstrating the importance of a good breakfast.

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  • Include protein and unsaturated fat: they’re especially important for developing brains. That’s why fish, a rich source of both, is sometimes called brain food. It’s also a rich source of Omega-3, which can improve brain function.

  • Get your Es and Cs: anti-oxidant vitamins E (found in raw almonds, avocado and spinach) and C (in red peppers, kiwifruit and parsley) protect the brain.

  • Don’t eat all the pies: reducing calories may help slow age-related brain changes. Obesity has been linked to a higher risk of developing dementia.

  • Enjoy your vices in moderation: things like caffeine and alcohol.

  • Tired? Eat a healthy snack. When your concentration wanes in the late morning or afternoon, eating a healthy snack, such as a banana, can solve the problem.

  Exercising the rest of your body.

  There’s nothing your brain likes more than working up a sweat! As well as being good for your heart, lungs and bones, it also has a protective effect on the brain and its mental processes.

  Regular exercise also boosts levels of brain-protective chemicals, reduces stress – and may even help prevent dementia.

  Ideally, you should get at least 30 minutes exercise a day, three times a week. It doesn’t have to be hard – dancing is exercise. Just get your body moving. Walk the dog, mow the lawn, or play swingball with the kids

  • Regular exercise reduces depression and reduces the risk of heart disease. Even a simple walk helps you think!

  • Some exercise states may produce euphoria, but even 12-minute bouts of exercise (to 85% maximum heart rate) release serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline (a bit like taking Prozac)

  • Exercise in the evening after a stressful day, but not too close to bed-time

  • Take exercise opportunities: take the stairs not the lift, park your car away from the lift so you have to walk further, bike to work. Walk to the dairy instead of driving.

  Do something about anxiety, stress and depression.

  There’s increasing evidence that stress damages the brain. Because we will always have stress in our lives, the key is learning to manage stress.

  • Anxiety increases heart rate and blood pressure which are risk factors for stroke.

  • The steps you take to reduce stress are likely to preserve nerve cells and help maintain mental abilities.

  • One of the toughest stresses on your brain is depression: up to 12% of men and 20% of women are believed to suffer major depression at some stage.

  • Depression affects memory and slows brain metabolism.

  • Tackle problems head-on. Studies show uncertainty and feeling a lack of control are major causes of stress.

  If you're stressed, try...

  • Meditating: it can lower blood pressure, even when you are not actively meditating.

  • Relaxing. Tense then relax individual muscle groups.

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  • Working less, playing more. Getting the right balance between work and recreation in your life.

  • Stop worrying… about the things you can’t change.

  • Getting a little time out for yourself each day.

  • Sleeping well – most of us need between seven and nine hours a night. So avoid caffeine after midday. And avoid too much mental stimulation after 9pm (things like phone calls, watching the late news or scary movies). Dimming the lights helps get our brain into a sleepy mode.

  The brain needs deep sleep to repair itself and boost the immune system. During rapid eye movement (REM) sleep the brain consolidates what it learned the previous day. Poor sleep or sleep loss leads to fatigue, immune suppression, memory, concentration and mood disorders. It’s also makes it hard for your brain to learn.

  Avoid smoking or using illegal drugs

  • All drugs have side effects, and many are bad for the brain.

  • Smoking can lead to mental decline later in life.

  • Regular use of Ecstasy results in deterioration in memory and recall.

  • Ecstasy can cause damage to the brain cells that help control movement as well as emotional and cognitive responses and the ability to feel pleasure.

  • 'P' can cause memory and motor control damage.

  Your brain has around 100 billion brain cells. But not all of them get used all of the time. In fact, millions of them are up there right now, sitting around twiddling their thumbs (well, they haven’t got thumbs to twiddle, but you get the idea...).