Brain health is another reason to get on your bicycle, to the swimming pool, or wherever else you like to exercise your body. The reason: Exercise has positive benefits for the hippocampus, important for learning and memory. It can also help create new cells!

Find a solitary activity such as completing a crossword puzzle or knitting, and see if by concentrating, you can succeed better or more quickly. The reason: By making the activity more demanding, you'll re-engage the brain's learning machinery.

Add blueberries to your regular diet. The reason: Studies suggest that a diet rich in blueberries can improve short-term memory, balance and coordination.

If you're right-handed, use your left hand for daily activities (or vice-versa). Start with brushing your teeth, then build up to more complex tasks, such as eating. The reason: Doing a familiar exercise in a new way will help millions of neurons learn new tricks!

Practice throwing and catching a ball up in the air. If you're good at it, take up juggling. The reason: People who master sensory-guided movement activities can hone their brains' visual, tactile and hand-eye coordination responses.

Turn your TV volume down from where you normally have it set. See if by concentrating, you can follow just as successfully as when the volume was higher. The reason: You'll fine-tune your listening skills, enabling you to catch every word when talking to others.

Do a jigsaw puzzle that will be challenging for you -- no fewer than 500 pieces. The reason: Completing a jigsaw entails mentally "rotating" the pieces, manipulating them in your hands, and shifting your attention from the small piece to the "big picture."

Learn to play a new instrument or take up an old one. The reason: Playing an instrument helps you exercise many interrelated dimensions of brain function, including listening, control of refined movements, and translation of written notes to music.

Sit on a park bench or in a café and stare straight ahead without moving your eyes. Without moving, focus on everything you see, including your peripheral vision -- and make a list. The reason: You'll reinvigorate neurotransmitters crucial to focus and memory.

Choose a song with lyrics you enjoy, but don't have memorized. Write down all the lyrics, then learn to sing along. Once you've mastered one song, move on to another! The reason: Developing careful listening habits will sharpen your understanding, thinking and remembering.