Share on Facebook

7 Morning Brain Exercises to Clear Your Mind

Add these simple brain exercises to your morning routine to complete daily tasks and keep your mind sharp for the rest of the day.

Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.

How can I sharpen my brain?

It can be mentally exhausting to try and resume your “normal” schedule during coronavirus. You may be working remotely, helping your children adapt to hybrid learning, keeping your family safe from coronavirus, or all of the above. Add trying to practice self-care in this mix of endless responsibilities. All this stress can zap your concentration, make you irritable or depressed, and potentially damage your professional and personal relationships.

However, brain exercises, especially before work, can help get you through your day. โ€œWorking out areas of the brain before a full day can set us on a path of increased agility and flexibility in our thinking and enable us to communicate more calmly and effectively with our colleagues,โ€ says Jennifer Wolkin, PhD, a New York City-based clinical neuropsychologist. Fold a mix of these brain exercises into your morning routine and youโ€™ll find yourself working smarter and more efficiently from the get-go. Note that no one should pressure themselves to do more than one of these things every morning. That stress will probably counteract any benefit they may gain from the activity. So only add what you can.

woman readingIstock/BraunS

Relax with a good read

In today’s fast-paced day and age, itโ€™s hard to remember to unplug and take time for the simple things that relax and stimulate the mind. Reading is certainly one of thoseโ€”be it a chapter book, newspaper, or online article. โ€œSome of the best activities to perform are ones that enrich the brain with new information, like reading,โ€ says Jason Liauw, MD, a neurosurgeon at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills, California. โ€œTaking in a good book or the morning paper is not only a calming way to start your day, but it also can help you reorient your priorities, taking you momentarily out of the daily grind from yesterday before todayโ€™s begins.โ€ Most importantly, reading can also cause a frameshift in your mind, so that when youโ€™re in the middle of your day, you may be able to look at your routine and tasks through a different lens. Combine the benefits of reading with those of meditating by curling up with one of these meditation books.

yogaIStock/Robert Ingelhart

Do exercise

You probably know how important of a role exercise plays in your health and mood, but there are some additional brain-boosting reasons to sneak in a workout before work. โ€œExercise actually alters brain chemistry and has even been likened to the effect of taking antidepressants,โ€ says Wolkin. โ€œIt signals the release of several key neurotransmitters, many of which play a vital role in keeping our brain sharp as we age.โ€ Exercise also helps pump blood flow and oxygen to the brain, allowing your grey matter to work to its highest capacity, which translates to better and sharper decision making, judgment, and memory.

meditationIStock/Poike

Practice meditation

โ€œStudies have found that the amygdala, known as the brainโ€™s โ€˜fight or flightโ€™ center and the seat of our fearful and anxious emotions, decreases in brain cell volume after mindfulness practice,โ€ says Wolkin. โ€œThe impact mindfulness exerts on our brain is born from routineโ€”a slow, steady and consistent reckoning of our realities, and the ability to take a step back, become more aware, more accepting, less judgemental and less reactive.โ€ Meditators also show a greater ability to recall information faster, leading researchers to believe that the ability to quickly “screen out” mental noise, allows the working memory to search and find information needed more quickly and efficiently, says Daniel Amen, MD, brain expert, double-board-certified psychiatrist, physician, and author of Time for Bed Sleepyhead.

woman with headphonesRawpixel.com/Shutterstock

Play classical music in the background

The gentle, peaceful sounds of classical music from the likes of Mozart and Beethoven have long been touted as beneficial to the brain and productivity in general. โ€œListening to classical music while getting dressed in the morning or exercising is a one-two punch of neural circuitry thatโ€™s been shown by researchers to significantly improve verbal fluency, cognitive functioning, and overall focus and concentration,โ€ says Dian Griesel, entrepreneur and business and health spokesperson. (Here are some other music health benefits.)

Man solving puzzleIStock/pappamaart

Play a fast logic-based game

Lifelong learners are definitely onto something, as continued educationโ€”not just higher educationโ€”promotes brain health and creates new neural connections. โ€œEven just taking a stab at a crossword puzzle or taking online quizzes that challenge your mind, can help build cognitive reserves,โ€ says Wolkin. The best tasks for the brain are not only challenging, but are varied and novelโ€”think Sudoku, or memory-recall games or apps.

โ€œItโ€™s important to keep brain-boosting activities constantly changing with increasing complexity as well as cross-training brain activities that use different parts of the brain,โ€ says Kristin M. Mascotti, MD, quality medical officer at Millerโ€™s Childrenโ€™s and Womenโ€™s Hospital, in Long Beach, California. โ€œConsistency is key, and many of these techniques can be done in just a few minutes every day with different skills tested on different days.โ€ (These brain facts will blow your mind.)

woman writinIStock/g stockstudio

Make a gratitude list

When you bring your attention to the things in your life for which youโ€™re grateful, your brain actually works better, especially with a gratitude list. โ€œBrain imaging studies show that negative thought patterns change the brain in a negative way, but that conversely, practicing gratitude literally helps you have a brain to be grateful for,โ€ says Dr. Amen. Every day, write down five things youโ€™re grateful forโ€”whether thatโ€™s your dog, your job, or that the NFL season has started back up again.

man sleeping in bedProstock-Studio/Getty Images

Get a good nightโ€™s rest

It sounds obvious, but 70 percent of American adults report they get insufficient sleep at least one night per month, according to the American Sleep Apnea Association. “Sleep is proven in countless studies to help our ability to recallโ€”which directly affects our capability to control both our behavior and learning,โ€ says Griesel. โ€œSleep deficits actually result in performance comparable to intoxication.โ€ The best way to prime your body for a great work performance the following day is to stick to a sleep schedule. Make sure that it doesn’t change much on the weekends. Also, remember to practice a relaxing bedtime ritual, like reading a book. Make sure your room is dark and cool at an ideal temperature of around 65 degrees.

Sources
 
Medically reviewed by Renata Chalfin, MD, on March 08, 2021

Jenn Sinrich
Jenn Sinrich is an experienced digital and social editor in New York City. She's written for several publications including SELF, Women's Health, Fitness, Parents, American Baby, Ladies' Home Journal, and more. She covers topics from health, fitness, and food to pregnancy and parenting. In addition to writing, Jenn volunteers with Ed2010, serving as the deputy director to Ed's Buddy System, a program that pairs recent graduates with young editors to give them a guide to the publishing industry and to navigating New York. When she's not busy writing, editing, or reading, she's enjoying and discovering the city she's always dreamed of living in with her fiancรฉ, Dan, and two feline friends, Janis and Jimi.