Your mind needs to stay active too. From tips on how to improve your everyday performance, to giving your brain a proper workout, try some of our tips.

  • Get puzzling! It's brilliant way for getting the brain working. Games like Soduku , crossword puzzles or word puzzles for the kids.
  • Take a break. Even if you have only a few minutes to yourself, use it to breathe slowly and deeply, think about your last holiday, imagine a sandy beach and the deep blue sea. Feel yourself relax; lovely!
  • Fit things into your day that help you unwind - listening to music, painting, a hobby or meditating - find something you will enjoy and that works for you.
  • Get plenty of sleep! Sleep has both physical and mental benefits. Physically, it is the time when the body can renew its energy store but sleep also helps us to rebuild our mental energy.
  • You're having a laugh! Laughter really does help in making you feel better about yourself. So whatever tickles your ribs - seek it out. Tell your family a joke and get them to tell you one.
  • Take time for a book! It paints pictures in your mind and as the saying goes you can "get lost in a book"
  • Trying new things can make you feel good about yourself too. In particular, creative activities can really help if you are feeling anxious or low. These include playing music, writing, painting, drawing, poetry, cooking and gardening - experiment to find something you enjoy.

Some games for the family:

  • Play cards together. Snap, rummy, whist. There are loads of card games and you'll have great fun learning more.
  • Put 15 objects on a table then cover them up. Let players look at them for 1 minute then cover again. Everyone writes down all the items that they can remember. Most remembered wins
  • Try to identify the ingredients in the dishes you eat during a meal. Concentrate on the subtle flavorings of herbs and spices.
  • Take a sentence from a magazine or newspaper. Try to make another sentence using the same words
  • A to Z. Select a category (like boys and girls names, or animals). Then each player has to name something within the category beginning with A, then B etc. Each player has 3 lives (not getting one) and then they are out.
  • I went into a shop! Each player describes going into a shop and buys an item beginning with a letter from the alphabet and then the next player must remember what is on the list and add an item beginning with the next letter. E.G. a player may say "I went into a shop to buy an albatross". The next player then says "I went into a shop to buy an albatross and a bicycle" and so on until the end of the alphabet.