One of the most important pieces of equipment you need as a business owner is a healthy brain. You have to be able to make good decisions, think creatively, and respond to new challenges on a daily basis.

We don’t understand a lot about our brains. For example, we’ve been told we typically only use 10% of our brain. According to this myth-busting video from asapSCIENCE, we use all of it, all of the time. (So we don’t have to worry about Lucy happening any time soon.)

My favorite way to keep my brain sharp is doing the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle. It’s available in digital format, but I love the paper version.

But you’re not limited to puzzles; the brain training trend has resulted in a variety of cool methods to keep your mental facilities in shape.

Brain Training Apps

Lumosity is a brain training and neuroscience company that offers both web-based and mobile apps. They will design a specific training regimen for you, based on a questionnaire, and provide statistics to show your progress. The games within the apps are fun and challenging.

focus@will App claims to be able to increase your attention span by 400%, using neuroscience based music channels. Their research shows that by listening to a specific type of music, your brain will respond by focusing more deeply on the task at hand.

Fit Brains from Rosetta Stone (the language learning folks) is another website that offers games tailored to training your brain for problem-solving, concentration, and memory skills.

Brain Training on TV

Wait. I thought it was called “the boob tube.” Perhaps it’s not so stupid after all.

The History Channel’s “Your Bleeped Up Brain” is a one hour show (currently on hiatus) that offers a light-hearted take on brain-related research. Find out how your brain separates fact from fiction, why some people have better memories, and how humans are often fooled by simple deceptions.

National Geographic Channel has Brain Games, an Emmy nominated series that uses intricate experiments to demonstrate the inner workings of the brain. Many of the experiments on the show are also available on the interactive website. Do you know whether a lightning strike or a wild bear is more likely to kill you?

Brain Training in Your Living Room

We bought a Mindflex as a gag gift last year, but it turned out to be fascinating. You wear a headset that makes contact with your temples, and power the movement of a ping pong ball through a series of obstacles. You can also go up against an opponent and try to push the ball over their goal line while they push in the opposite direction.

Physical exercise has been shown to increase your brain power too. So while you’re doing your Zumba, you’re training your brain!

How are you taking good care of your brain?