Have you ever gone online to do something pretty routine, like check your email, only to suddenly realize you have managed to lose a couple of hours reading pointless celebrity news features, and watching video of dancing kittens? If so, you are not alone. The power of the Internet blackhole is well documented, along with the perfectly valid explanation of this behavior triggering the innate response of checking out new stimuli for potential danger. But regardless, it is also a huge time waster and in most cases completely unproductive.
Make Better Use of the Internet
Rather than aimlessly wandering from site to site, why not harness some of the positive, life enhancing opportunities the net offers? Online games are a great example of how free resources can be fun and useful in equal measures.
It’s actually really easy to boost your brain, memory and powers of logic, while having fun, and not even having to leave your comfy chair. Here are three of the many ways you can combine computer time with skill building.
Play Sudoku
This game first swept the country in a paper-based style craze, but has since become available online. Sudoku is a straightforward game, which both tests and strengthens memory, attention to detail, and logic skills. Playing regularly also boosts your ability to separate details from larger, more general, information sources. Games are often leveled so complete beginners can progress as their skills grow.
Do a Jigsaw
Online jigsaws may not offer the tactile pleasures of their boxed cousins, but on the other hand, they are easy to play as and when without fighting for table space. Jigsaws improve brain function by stimulating the sections dealing with categorization, memory, recall, logic and decision making, while also sharpening memory skills.
Some claim that jigsaws help improve brain power by stimulating both the right and left hemispheres at the same time. So, the creative right side gets to enjoy imagining, and then creating the end result, while the left, more logical brain takes on the problem solving element with gusto.
Enjoy Online Casinos
There are various brain boosting benefits to be had from casino games, and these are not diminished at all by playing at new online casinos rather than in a building.
Games like poker and roulette develop logic, strategy, memory and patience, while the former also requires a lot of mental multi-tasking. And, there’s much more to blackjack than simply trying to hit 21 on your cards. Good players rely on their abilities to recall all cards dealt, and make logical predictions and fast decisions based on these, often all at pretty much the same time. This type of concentration and skill is worked for, not just happened across.
Although a lot of attention is given to physical health promotion, through pushing the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise, it’s equally important to allow our brain to flex its muscles and reach its full potential, and online games are an easy and fun way to make this happen.