5.Engage in Social Networking
5.参与到社交中去
When you work to make social connections, either online or in real life, you train your brain's ability to understand the web of connections between different people and where they come from. Plus it will help you develop your ability to keep peoples' faces with their names and remember who they are. In fact, recent studies on prisoners kept in solitary confinement show that brain activity had slowed so dramatically as to mirror the brain activity of someone with severe head trauma!
当你去建立社交关系时，不管是在线上还是在真实生活中，都是在对大脑进行训练，增强大脑对人们之间关系网及其形成的理解。另外，这能帮你把别人的脸和名字联系起来，记住别人。实际上，最近的研究显示，那些被单独监禁的犯人，他们的大脑活动急剧下降，这和遭受了严重头部创伤的人的情况差不多。

4.Play Video Games
4.玩玩电子游戏

Several recent scientific studies have shown that playing a certain kind of video game can help you become smarter, because the video games often train your hand-eye coordination, while also forcing you to use your critical decision making skills to traverse the often now extremely complicated worlds in these video games. Researchers in the UK found that children who played a brain training video game daily for 10 weeks actually dramatically improved their math scores.
近来一些科研显示，玩某种电子游戏能让你变得更聪明，因为电子游戏能训练你手和眼的协调能力，同时促使你运用批判性决策技能来研究游戏中非常复杂的任务。英国研究者发现，每天玩益智类游戏的孩子，连续玩10周后，他们数学成绩有了很大提升。

3.Seek Out Educational Content Online
3.利用网上学习资源

The internet can be a great source of distraction, but it also has a wonderful amount of educational resources to choose from. Often, many universities upload videos of lectures from their courses and visiting speakers. There are also many sites that allow you to take free classes, such as MIT's OpenCourseWare programs. These resources can help you supplement your knowledge of certain topics, whether they are related to your career or your personal hobbies.
虽然网络总让人分神，但是也给我们提供了海量教育资源。很多大学会上传他们的课程和演讲人的视频。还有很多网站提供免费课程，比如麻省理工学院的“开放式课程网页”项目。这些资源能扩充你对某一领域的知识，不管对你的职业还是个人爱好都有帮助。

2.Watch Smart Television
2.观看有意义的电视节目

Of course, I don't mean you should watch crazy reality television. No, instead, you should watch educational channels such as The Discovery Channel or the History Channel, as these will often present in-depth documentaries about all manner of interesting subjects. You can also get away with watching intense and complex dramas or other fictional shows, as the often complicated plot lines and relationships between characters will force you to exercise your brain as you track all of the drama. According to the author Steven Johnson, several television shows can increase the viewers “mental acuity.”
我实在不明白有什么理由看真人秀节目。你应该观看教育类节目比如探索频道或历史频道，因为这些节目会播放各个领域内有深度的纪录片。你也可以放弃那些复杂电视剧或科幻节目，因为里面充斥着复杂的情节和人物关系，你追剧时你的大脑也得高速运转。作家史蒂芬·约翰森说过，没几个电视节目能让观众“变得聪明”。

1.Solve Brain Puzzles
1.试试脑筋急转弯

Finally, don't underestimate the importance of brain teasers and other puzzles, like crossword puzzles and numbers puzzles. While some scoff at these kinds of exercises, they really can help you, especially if you are looking for a way to pass the time on a plane flight. It's better to train your brain than to sit in the seat and watch the latest romantic comedy. The Mayo Clinic says that these puzzles will especially keep your brain going through into old age.
可不要小看脑筋急转弯和谜语的威力，比如纵横填字谜和数独。那些小看这种游戏的人，要明白它们真对你有好处，尤其是你想找个事儿打发在飞机上的时间时。让大脑转动可比坐在位子上看喜剧要好。梅约诊所宣称，这些小游戏能让人在步入老年时仍有个灵活的大脑。

翻译：汤文博 来源：前十网