Just like physical exercise, mental exercise is also very important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Mental exercise is key to keeping your brain sharp, active and productive.

Regular brain workouts help improve memory, problem solving and reduce the chances of cognitive decline.

Here are five smart yet effective brain workouts:

Learn a new language:

Learning a new language helps your brain by improving its ability to recognize patterns, remember information and adapt to new situations.

It also improves the ability to multitask, enhances focus and may even help delay memory loss related to aging.

Another key to keeping a healthy brain is practicing flexible thinking, which involves being able to look at a situation from different perspectives.

This helps improve the brain’s ability to adapt and think in new ways.

Learning to play an instrument or signing helps improve memory coordination and the brain’s ability to process sounds.

It activates various parts of the brain, enhancing cognitive skills, improving hand-eye coordination and contributing to better emotional health.

Games such as poker, rummy or solitaire help improve mental skills such as focus, memory, pattern recognization and logical thinking.

Playing chess engages both sides of the brain, which helps improve abilities such as solving problems, thinking critically and maintaining focus.

It also strengthens memory by requiring players to remember complicated patterns.