Since completing my education, I’ve noticed a decrease in mentally stimulating activities in my daily life. For this reason I’ve been experiencing a sense of cognitive decline, feeling like my mind isn’t being challenged or engaged as much as it used to be. I’m looking for ways to stimulate my brain back. I’m interested in exploring activities that can help, such as reading, puzzles, games, and other intellectually stimulating stuff. Could you recommend some engaging and challenging options to help me get started? Thanks a lot

  • Dessalines@lemmy.ml
    16·
    2 days ago

    Doing any nature related activities away from screens, whether it be daily walks, gardening, hiking, kayaking, mountain climbing, swimming, camping is really good for both mental and physical health.

    In that blue zones documentary, it’s said that daily walks and daily gardening help your mind and longevity more than any other activity.

    Learning a musical instrument is always good, and is something you can show off. Knitting, crocheting, or any kind of ravelry works your mind, and you can also listen to audiobooks while doing it. Woodworking (you can start small, even doing spoons and things).

    I wouldn’t be too focused on doing mentally challenging activities. Screens wear out our brains enough, and what we really need is time away from them to recharge.

    Outside of that I’d just recommend reading a lot of non-fiction, audiobooks where available.

    • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
      4·
      20 hours ago

      I got into doing nature photography over the pandemic as a way to get out of the house, and it’s been amazing for my mental health. It forced me to get out and just live in the moment really paying attention to the environment around me. I’ve realized how little we notice of the world around us normally. I’ve also found martial arts are a similar experience in a sense that you’re really just focused on the moment and forget about everything else you’ve been thinking about.

      • Dessalines@lemmy.ml
        1·
        9 hours ago

        I’d really love to get into that, especially bird photography as it’s been fun to try to learn bird calls and try to spot them. Nature really recharges the brain in a way nothing else can. Esp for those of us who are goal oriented or always feeling the need to be accomplishing something, being out in nature helps us drop all the expectations and distractions.

      • PanaX@lemmy.ml
        2·
        18 hours ago

        You find a particular part of nature you enjoy photographing? I’m a botany nerd myself so I love to photograph macro flowers. But I’ve got some friends into birding too, much more difficult.

          • Dessalines@lemmy.ml
            1·
            9 hours ago

            Nice, those are some good bird pics. I like the coloration and little red flourishes on the woodpeckers.

            Around me we get a lot of nut hatches, and titmouses which are my fav. They have little mohawks, and are quirky, but brave, as I’ve seen them do david and goliath standoffs with much bigger birds like crows. Not my pic but here’s one

    • OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml
      3·
      1 day ago

      Carbon offsetting. Carbon negative projects. Photobioreactors. Biogas digesters. Do something for the planet health.

  • Thebigguy@lemmy.mlEnglish
    2·
    1 day ago

    I liked the human resource machine games. I’m currently reading Foucault as well I find it pretty stimulating even if I think he could have used simpler language to get his point across clearer.

  • AbidingOhmsLaw@lemmy.mlEnglish
    9·
    2 days ago

    Get into Ham Radio, not just get a license and talk, get into it. make your own radio, antennas, learn the science, learn firmware programming and microcontrollers, everywhere you turn there is something new to learn and puzzle at. And you can help with community service things (only if you want to). It’s great because you can go as deep as you want (or as shallow), keep your mind engaged and have fun doing it.

  • boydster@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    There’s a near-endless supply of great mythology and legend to read and explore from all sorts of cultures dating back as far as the dawn of writing. I’ve had a lot of fun reading and comparing tales from various times and places, taking time to also note where in history the stories were being written down and what else was happening. Strong recommendation for anyone wanting a unique view on the history of societies and the stories they held (or still hold) dear.

  • thesohoriots@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    I am in the same boat. Currently forcing myself to get into D&D even though I’m completely shit at math, creative writing, art, and am not fantasy genre savvy. I want to create a homebrew game for my spouse that they’ll (hopefully) enjoy. It’s been really challenging so far but also a lot of fun.

    • comfy@lemmy.ml
      1·
      1 day ago

      I’ve found that when I’m deciding to try out something creative or artistic, I start to look for techniques in other people’s works when I might otherwise just be enjoying them on a surface level. Anyone can look at a work and say if it’s pretty or not, if it seems well-designed, how it makes you feel, but when you start to ask how an artist does that, you quickly discover techniques that you may be able to apply to your own art, your own writing. You can even look at a list of techniques [1] and then start to identify when creators are using them, and how to use them effectively. The more you experience and the more you think about it, the more understanding and the more tools you have at your fingertips. And by forcing yourself to get into D&D, you’re throwing yourself into a game that will help you develop that variety of skills, and probably into a scene where plenty of people know enough of those skills that you can rapidly learn from them, see what they do brilliantly and see what they could do better.