The Best Exercises for the Brain

I’m Brandon Wilson. I am constantly working toward improving my mind, body, and spirit using various ancient techniques and cutting-edge biohacking tools and devices. I want to be healthy, but not at the expense of being happy. This simple idea is what it means to be wellthy.

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Last year, I was fortunate to attend the 10th Annual Biohacking Conference in Dallas and listen to an excellent talk by Dr. Daniel Amen, “America’s most popular psychiatrist.”

Dr. Amen’s mission is to end mental illness by revolutionizing brain health. He is a physician, adult and child psychiatrist, and founder of Amen Clinics, which has the world’s largest database of brain scans for psychiatry. He is also the founder of BrainMD and Amen University and a 12-time New York Times bestselling author.

Dr. Daniel Amen on stage at the 10th Annual Biohacking Conference

Dr. Amen shared a slide summarizing the factors affecting brain health based on his BRIGHT MINDS model during his talk.

While I have written about many of these topics in previous newsletters, I want to spotlight the best brain exercises today.

The Best Exercises for the Brain

“People who play racket sports live longer than everybody else.” —Dr. Daniel Amen

As Dr. Amen explained, table tennis is a fantastic brain exercise because it requires fast reflexes and hand-eye coordination, is very aerobic, and allows you to employ strategy.

I’ve been playing table tennis or, as I like to call it, ping pong, since I was a kid. I had a particularly spirited match at a friend’s house senior year, leading to a sprained ankle. Of course, not everyone has the space for a table or people to play with, so I’m glad I found Eleven Table Tennis on the Meta VR system. Without question, this is the most realistic table tennis simulator available. I purchased the Meta 2 nearly three years ago and recently upgraded to the Meta 3, which is better in every way. I usually play for 1.5 to 2 hours and work up quite a sweat. The best exercise is one you enjoy, and this one is my favorite. If ping pong doesn’t do it for you, here are suggestions for the best brain exercises from Dr. Amen’s book, Change Your Brain Change Your Body.

• Tennis

• Pickleball

• Badminton

• Dancing and dance classes

• Walking

• Golf

• Hiking

• Frisbee

• Swimming

• Basketball

• Volleyball

• Jumping rope

• Walking the dog

• Martial arts (no contact)

You may notice some everyday physical activities are not on the list. Biking may be one of the most popular aerobic activities, but it also happens to be the number one cause of head injuries. If you ride a bike, you must wear a helmet that fits correctly. Helmets that don’t fit provide little to no protection.

No Excuses

People who know me will verify that I’m not exactly Mr. WorkOut. I will come up with every excuse in the book not to exercise.

“My back aches.”

“My knees hurt.”

“My feet hurt.”

“I don’t want to get injured.”

“I don’t have time.”

“I’m too tired.”

“I’m not very coordinated.”

“I don’t like to sweat.”

“I have a health condition.”

“I hate exercise.”

I feel for people who suffer from chronic pain. According to Dr. Amen, the use of chronic pain medications, such as Vicodin or OxyContin, is harmful to brain function. The brains of people who use these medications on a long-term basis look very similar to the brains of alcoholics. If you are experiencing pain, I wrote about a breakthrough technology that may help you. Please email me at bewellthybrandon@protonmail.com, and I would be happy to share more information.

My vision board has a graphic that reads, “NO MORE EXCUSES!” Pick an activity that’s good for your brain and do it regularly. If I can do it, you can do it. Your body and brain will thank you.

My 2025 Vision Board

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The Daily Habit is where I share my habits related to the fundamentals: sleep, diet, physical activity, mindfulness, and stress management.

Consider getting a coach or a physical trainer to help you improve your chosen activities. Whenever you do something well, you want to do more of it.

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Last week’s answer

Be Wellthy Club entrants: Matt B., Mark P., Veronica C., Scott L., Scott S., Ariel E.

The January raffle is now closed with 27 entries.

Raffle prizes are for Be Wellthy Club Members only. Club members can email bewellthy@substack.com with the correct answer to each week’s brain training and be entered into a monthly raffle to win one of two prize packages every month. I do respond to every email.

This week:

Find the missing letters.

See the answer.

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One year ago, I wrote about some of the best foods to support brain health. Are you helping your brain health with your diet?

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