You know that eating a sensible diet and getting plenty of exercise help make your body healthy and strong.But do you know that there are ways to make your brain healthier and smarter? Here are some steps toward a smarter brain.

Limit your TV viewing

    ① Never spend too much time on TV viewing, for it needs very little brain activities.Your brain will become weak just as your muscles do.If you do watch TV, choose something educational and meaningful.

Travel

    Travelling to another country forces you to see and do things in a fresh way, bringing stimulation to the brain.

    Learn a new language

    Learning a new language involves different learning methods.Learning a language sharpens your brain and helps prevent memory problems that you may meet in later years.

Read often

    As you read, take the time to look up people or places that aren't familiar.Reading makes your vocabulary much larger if you always search for words and definitions that you don't know.Each week, choose an animal, a bird or fish, and read everything you can about it.Stretch your brain as you become an expert on the subject.

Calculate （计算）when you shop

    As you put things in your grocery cart, total everything in your head.See how close you get to the actual total.

    Use your non-dominant（不占优势的）hand

    If you are right-handed, use your left hand for everyday activities, or use your right hand if you are left-handed.Doing familiar things in a different way will make your brain create new neural （神经）networks.

Wechat（微信）

    ② Read messages from various people.They have different interests.And some say that learning to express yourself in just 100 words is a great brain challenge.

    Have a try and do these every day.Little by little you can get into the habit of challenging your brain, and make your brain smarter!

    I had a good time on my vacation. I spent my vacation trekking(徒步旅行)in Nepal, a small country in the Himalaya Mountains of Asia.

    On the trekking vacation, I walked for a long time through the mountains. There are very few roads in Nepal, so trekking is the best way to travel. It will be better if you have a guide. The guides know the best paths to take and they can also help trekkers with their bags. Sometimes our guide cooked food for us. Every day, we trekked for about four hours in the morning, and two hours in the afternoon. We slept in the large tents. It was very interesting. I didn't want to go home in the end.

    Information Card

    Reading books is a good hobby for all kinds of reasons.

    First, reading books is fun. You can always keep yourself amused if you like reading， especially when the weather is bad. It is a relaxing hobby, too. You can really become lost in a book.

    Next, you can read a book almost anywhere: in a car, in a waiting-room, on a plane, in bed—even in the bath. All you need is a book! Reading is a convenient hobby as it is easy to stop and then start again.

    Another good reason for reading books is that it is useful. If you read as a hobby, you will get better and better at it. This means that you will read faster and will become better at understanding what you read. As your reading improves, you will probably find your schoolwork become much easier. Many school subjects depend on good reading and, as you read, you learn more and more.

    Some people say that reading is out of date. This is not true. You have to be able to read to use a computer and, the better you read, the better your computer skills will be. Reading is hardly out of date!

What other hobby could be more useful, or more enjoyable!

    Confidence(自信) is very important in daily life. It can help you to develop a healthy attitude (态度). A study shows that the people who are more confident are much happier. They can have more chance to make themselves successful(成功的). But how to be more confident? Here are some suggestions(建议):

    Speak loud

    When you are not confident, you can't do well what you want to do. You speak in a voice so low that other people can hardly hear you. Try to speak loud enough so that people can hear you clearly. The high voice can help you become more confident.

    Play sports 

    Physical exercise makes you tired but completely relaxed. Astrong body helps you be full of confidence.

    Encourage(鼓励) yourself

    Write down a list(目录) of things you did during the day to see how many things you have done well. Did you finish your homework? Did you tell a joke that made everybody laugh? Give yourself praise for the good things you've done.

    Get rid of fear

    Fear(恐惧) comes along with failure(失败). But it's easy to overcome (克服) if you know that failure is part of your life. Don't hide your head just because you said something stupid last time. Try to start again and believe you can do better.

    Pick up a hobby

    If you like singing, sing as much as you can.  In some ways, a hobby can make you outstanding(杰出的). And it will make you happy and confident.