Pro Athletes still lift weights, run, do cardio, etc. They do more than just practicing their sport. Do you do any type of mental drills or do anything outside of the market to keep yourself sharp?
Chess, but I guess more like a meter of my sharpness than a trainer. If my plays are bad, I know I am not 100%. I guess good sleep, good healthy habits and relax are best once past 40, where preventing deterioration might be more important than increasing activity. And always aiming to learn something new, everyday.
in a word... CURIOSITY As an answer to your question... BE CURIOUS. Last week I was dealing with vehicle VIN numbers. Curiosity led to me learn the phonetic alphabet. Simple as that! IMO, It's a cool thing to know.
Interesting. Games to train your brain. Does it help you out and is it as enjoyable as playing an X Box?
I used to play. But now I can't because my headspace just reverts back to thinking about options trading.
Yes. I read alot of technical literature in my day job. I used to play guitar. Paul Gilbert and Yngwie style shredder. But now my left hand has too many injuries and broken fingers from MMA training. But I do find studying music theory and chord structure interesting.
Many people could pretty much get a phd in a subject of their interest just by taking exactly the same amount of time they put into facebook or monitoring their smartphone everyday. Think I am kidding? Nein. I am saying this in regard to the general population. Many/most here are already up to their eyeballs in processing information everyday. But say, as advice to a student.
Respectfully, I disagree on both. Reading is easy, it's like watching TV. Sure you can read books geared to higher intellect, but you're still getting spoon-fed. And as to an instrument.... you're doing something wrong. At your age at least. Put something on and just try to play along. That's the only way you're gonna get good. That said, if your attempt to learn that instrument is based on the mechanics of music theory etc... absolutely... but even a deep understanding of that won't burn the required synapses that connect the brain to your fingers. BUT.... teaching your kid classical piano.... hands down will unlock things in their brain that even if they never have a public performance and they suck at it.... will still pay off in spades. I don't know what it is, but there is definitely something there. I know I say I'm right about a lot of things.... but I am 100% right about this.