Sy'keria GarrisonIt starts as a typical Tuesday evening. It’s 5:30 pm, and you’re driving your car, commuting home from work. It’s a route you’ve taken for at least a year now; truly, you do this every Monday to Friday without much thought. However, you notice a sign on the side of the road stating that the road will be closed Wednesday and Friday between 4-6pm. Will you remember this tomorrow evening and take a different way home? We’ll see tomorrow.
Wednesday evening arrives. What do you do? A) Forget about the road closure, or B) Take a different route. What about Thursday? And what about Friday? Did you remember that there’s a road closure and take a different route? This thought process is called cognitive flexibility.
What is Cognitive Flexibility?
Cognitive flexibility is the ability to recognize changes in your environment and adapt to those changes. Cognitive flexibility involves problem solving, decision making, adaptability, response inhibition, and resilience. It can be influenced by various factors including age, stress, excessive substance use, lack of sleep, and disease progression. This is an important part of executive function, which involves high level cognitive processes used to control your cognitive abilities and behavior.
A few tests that can be used to assess this aspect of executive function are the Trail Making Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Stroop Test. The Trail Making Test assesses visual attention and task switching, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test measures problem-solving abilities, and the Stroop Test evaluates response inhibition. If you are interested, you can preview an adapted version of the Trail Making Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, and the Stroop Test.
How Can You Improve Your Cognitive Flexibility?
Many factors can lead to deficits in cognitive flexibility and various activities can improve cognitive flexibility as well. If you are looking to improve your cognitive flexibility, you can do various things including:
Reading activates various regions in the brain, improving cognitive flexibility. While reading, you’re tasked with following plot lines and remembering characters or facts over extended periods, sometimes spanning days with breaks in between. This engagement challenges and exercises your brain
2. Changing up your routine
Changing up your routine can help keep your brain engaged during mundane day-to-day activities. You can try taking different routes to work or parking your car in a different spot at work or school.
3. Exercise
Exercise improves cognitive flexibility in various ways such as increasing blood flow to the brain, releasing neurotransmitters, reducing stress, improving sleep quality, and enhancing mood.
4. Keeping a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are important in maintaining optimal brain function.They reduce inflammation, enhance neurotransmitter activity, improve mood, and protect against age-related cognitive decline. Incorporating omega-3-rich foods such as fatty fish (e.g., salmon, mackerel, sardines), flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts into the diet or taking omega-3 supplements may help optimize cognitive flexibility and overall brain health.
In summary, cognitive flexibility is key in helping us navigate an ever changing world. It is not merely a concept, but a skill that we can cultivate by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Remember that with each decision made and each challenge faced, you are honing your cognitive flexibility, equipping yourself for whatever tomorrow may bring.
Peer Editor: Fanting Kung