Every year, around 350,000 people are admitted to the hospital with brain injuries, stemming from issues like strokes, falls, road accidents, tumors, and more. Brain injuries are surprisingly common and affect each person differently.
If you or someone close has experienced a brain injury, you know how tough the recovery journey can be. The brain controls how we think, feel, remember, learn, and process information, so even minor injuries can disrupt these cognitive functions. Once you’ve consulted a specialist brain injury solicitor to guide you back to normalcy, the focus should shift to rehabilitation for recovery.
Exercise plays a crucial role in rehabilitation, and there are plenty of free, do-it-yourself exercises you can do at home to boost your cognitive abilities. From motor exercises to brain puzzles, this post shares some of the best exercises to speed up recovery after a brain injury.
Cognitive ability helps us understand and interact with the world around us. It includes various components like memory, attention, language, problem-solving, and more. High cognitive ability allows us to manage daily tasks seamlessly, but someone recovering from a brain injury may struggle with these functions. These challenges, depending on the severity and duration of the injury, can affect work, driving, and day-to-day activities, often requiring extra support from loved ones or carers.
Each part of the brain controls different cognitive skills, so issues vary based on which parts are injured. These challenges can affect many aspects of life, including employment, education, and relationships. But there’s no need to simply accept these difficulties. There are numerous physical and mental exercises that can enhance your cognitive function and overall lifestyle.
Just as physical exercise benefits the body, cognitive exercises stimulate the brain, improving its health and promoting neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to rewire itself and form new neural pathways. Engaging in enjoyable activities can also boost mental health.
So, what exercises are most beneficial? Luckily, it’s not all about number and pattern recognition tests. Many enjoyable activities can aid cognitive skills and accelerate brain injury recovery. Below are some of the top activities and exercises to consider:
**Journaling**: Writing down your thoughts and feelings helps enhance motor skills, planning, organization, memory, and concentration. Journaling is versatile and therapeutic, allowing you to write about anything, whether it’s to improve cognitive abilities, keep track of your daily schedule, or express your feelings. You can even share your journal online as a blog to connect with others on a similar recovery journey.
**Games**: Sudoku and crossword puzzles offer significant benefits. Sudoku enhances cognitive organization skills and can be adapted for individual needs. Crossword puzzles improve language recall, valuable if you experience language loss (aphasia) due to your injury. Simple mathematical challenges, like the ‘add 3, subtract 7’ game, are fantastic for organizing and processing information.
**Motor Skill Exercises**: Activities like painting, model building, knitting, or even coloring can maintain and improve fine motor skills, crucial for cognitive function.
**Sensing Exercises**: Take a few minutes to focus on your current senses. For example, while sitting in your garden, notice the wind rustling leaves, a bird’s activities, the scent of flowers, the feel of a warm mug, and the taste of your coffee. Engaging with your senses helps stimulate your brain and encourages new neural pathways, serving as a grounding technique for anxiety.
**Puzzles**: Jigsaw puzzles not only provide entertainment but also enhance memory, perception, and fine motor skills. Choose the complexity based on your preference.
**Switch Hands**: Try using your non-dominant hand for daily tasks like writing. For instance, if you’re left-handed, use your right hand to write. This will prompt your brain to think differently about familiar activities, creating new neural pathways.
In conclusion, various exercises can help improve cognitive abilities after a brain injury. Whether it’s engaging in enjoyable activities, number games, or mindfulness exercises, there’s a range of options to explore. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for cognitive improvement. It’s important not to get discouraged if progress seems slow. Always reach out to your doctor and healthcare team for support and stay close to your friends and family for a solid support network.
If you’ve tried a beneficial exercise not mentioned here, share your experience. Your insights could help others on their recovery journey.