Changes in one’s life are as much apprehensive as they are exciting. We look forward to the first day of freshman year in college or the first day of our graduate program. We’re probably starting our first job out of college. We’re probably recently engaged or possibly expecting a new child. Changes happen in our lives and they awaken the adrenaline in our bodies and create a slideshow of expectations.

As scary as change is for some people, change widens our perspectives and is beneficial to our cognitive health because it stimulates and encourages us.

Sometimes change isn’t as scary as it is uncomfortable. Our brain is trained to favor familiarity. Change makes the brain work harder to fit the changes into its existing framework. Another reason why it is uncomfortable from a neuroscience point of view is our brain acts as our own personal bodyguard. From an evolutionary point of view our brain has developed neural pathways for survival. When something that is unfamiliar to our routine becomes part of our life we have a tough time adjusting.

The way to overcome these changes from a neuroscience point of view is to train our brains. What can help our brains get used to the unfamiliar is to learn a new language and do rehabilitation brain exercises on luminosity.