Our brain is just like a muscle and it thrives on exercise. Moreover, it is the fastest-aging organ in the body. Studies show that brain volume naturally decreases with age due to neuronal loss, starting as early as your late 20s or 30s. This process accelerates over time, leading to a decline in cognitive functions such as memory, processing speed, and decision-making.

However, there is a way to counter it. Neurologists across the world agree that frequently playing brain games can prevent brain ageing. Backing them up is research showing that brain-training games may help improve attention levels, memory, response time, logic skills, and other measures of cognitive function if played over a long period.

And the good news is that these brain games are affordable and easily accessible to all. you just need a pen and paper for sudoku and the same goes on for crosswords. However, if you are someone who is up for a high-tech, options for brain games are plentiful.

To give your brain a workout while having fun, try these games and activities:

Sudoku

Crosswords

Elevate

Peak

Happy Neuron

Happy Neuron is another game that organizes its games into memory, attention, language, executive functions, and visual/spatial categories. Training is personalized, and progress tracking is available. While a subscription is required, a free trial lets you explore its offerings. The app is available only for Android users.

Braingle

Queendom

Queendom features personality tests, puzzles, and "brain tools" for cognitive improvement. Free accounts provide limited access, while full reports require payment.

My Brain Trainer

My Brain Trainer offers an online "brain gym" with games and puzzles to boost mental fitness. It recommends 10 minutes of training twice a day. Subscription plans are more affordable than similar platforms and free trials are available.

People with hemophilia face an increased risk of poor bone health due to recurrent joint and muscle bleeds, joint damage and reduced physical activity. Experts told HealthandMe that preventing bleeds from childhood, alongside adequate nutrition, appropriate exercise and regular assessment, can help protect bone health throughout life.

Globally, an estimated 836,000 people have hemophilia, including approximately 284,000 with severe hemophilia. In India, the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) reported nearly 28,000 diagnosed and registered patients as of 2026, including more than 24,000 with Hemophilia A. However, the estimated prevalence could be as high as 1,36,000, suggesting many cases remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

Childhood and adolescence are critical for building peak bone mass, making early intervention important for long-term musculoskeletal health, said health experts.

How Hemophilia Can Affect Bone Health

Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency of clotting factor VIII (Hemophilia A) or factor IX (Hemophilia B). It primarily affects males, while women are often carriers.

Repeated bleeding into joints can cause chronic pain, joint damage, deformity and reduced mobility. Muscle bleeds can further restrict movement, limiting participation in physical activities that help maintain bone strength.

“Bone health begins in childhood, but protecting it is a lifelong commitment. In people living with hemophilia, recurrent joint and muscle bleeds, reduced physical activity and other risk factors can contribute to poor bone health and an increased risk of osteoporosis,” Dr. Varun Bafna, associate professor in the Department of Hematology at Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Government Medical College, Kolhapur, told HealthandMe.

Why Prophylaxis Matters

Prophylaxis involves preventive treatment to reduce bleeding episodes rather than treating bleeds only after they occur. Regular factor prophylaxis can help prevent recurrent joint bleeds, preserve joint function and support mobility.

“Regular factor prophylaxis helps prevent repeated joint bleeds and preserve joint function. That protection can support mobility, an important contributor to bone health,” Dr. Hitha B, associate professor and haematologist in the Department of Medicine at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, told HealthandMe.

She advised patients to discuss breakthrough bleeding or difficulties accessing treatment with their healthcare team so their treatment plan can be reviewed.

Dr. Bafna said consistent prophylaxis can also support muscle strength and safer participation in physical activity.

“Prophylaxis is not just about preventing bleeding today; it is an important part of protecting long-term musculoskeletal health and quality of life at every age,” he noted.

How to Protect Bone Health From Childhood

Experts recommend an individualized approach based on age, joint health, mobility and other risk factors. Key measures include:

• Calcium and vitamin D: Ensure adequate intake through diet and discuss supplementation with a healthcare professional when needed.
• Appropriate physical activity: Weight-bearing exercises suited to individual joint health can help maintain bone strength, with guidance from the care team.
• Physiotherapy: Tailored rehabilitation can help maintain muscle strength, mobility and joint function.
• Regular assessment: Periodic evaluation can identify bone-health concerns and determine whether further investigations are needed.
• Consistent prophylaxis: Adhering to prescribed preventive treatment can reduce bleeding episodes and help protect joints.

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Lifelong Care

Hematologists, physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals can help patients and families integrate preventive treatment, rehabilitation, nutrition and appropriate physical activity into an individualized care plan.

Early intervention and consistent care can help preserve joint function, mobility and quality of life as people with hemophilia grow older.

A stroke rarely announces itself loudly. A sudden wobble, a blurry eye or a slightly lopsided smile is easy to ignore. But in a stroke, minutes decide how much of the brain survives.

On World Stroke Day, doctors want everyone to know one simple tool: BE FAST.

What Doctors Say

Dr. Abhinav Gupta, Director of Neurology at Sarvodaya Hospital, Greater Noida West, and Dr. Atampreet Singh, Senior Director and Head of the Institute of Neurosciences at ShardaCare, Healthcity, told HealthandMe, “Knowing the early warning signs of a stroke can shorten the road to full recovery,” they said.

The problem, they added, is that “a stroke’s symptoms can be easy to dismiss as minor inconveniences, like being tired or having weak muscles.”

What Is BE FAST?

BE FAST was developed by Intermountain Healthcare as an adaptation of the American Stroke Association’s FAST model, according to a Frederick Health handout. The doctors break it down like this:

• B – Balance: “Unsteady feeling or sudden lack of muscle control and dizziness can be a warning sign of a stroke.”
• E – Eyes: “Don’t overlook loss of sight in one or both of a person’s eyes, sudden blurring, or double vision.”
• F – Face: “Ask the person to smile. Unevenness or droopiness on one side of the face can be a sign.”
• A – Arms: “Have the person raise both of their arms. If the person has difficulty holding one arm up or has unusual arm weakness, get emergency help.”
• S – Speech: “Sudden lack of ability to talk, inability to understand what others are saying, or slurred words, can be signs of a stroke.”
• T – Time: “If one of these symptoms occur out of the blue, then call emergency services. When the emergency operators are on the line, let them know what symptoms have presented.”

Also Read: Times Network India Health Summit 2026 Key Takeaways: AI, Fertility, AYUSH, Cancer Care & More

Why “Time” Matters The Most

Time is not a symptom. It is a reminder to hurry. Duke Health, citing the American Stroke Association, says to call for help even if the symptoms go away. Weill Cornell Medicine, citing the same group, says never to drive yourself to hospital.

The Frederick Health handout adds that you should note when the symptoms began. UChicago Medicine estimates that about 1.9 million brain cells die every minute in a stroke caused by a large blocked artery.

India’s biggest problem is delay in seeking medical treatment.

An ICMR study of 34,792 stroke cases at 30 hospitals between 2020 and 2022 found that only 5.3% of patients reached hospital within the first hour, according to South First. Nearly four in ten waited more than 24 hours. Down To Earth, reporting on a Lancet Neurology study, says India had over 1.25 million new stroke cases in 2021, up 51% since 1990.

If you see even one sign, don’t wait for the others. Call 112, India’s single emergency number, which also covers the 108 ambulance service, according to Factly. Say what you see and when it began.

Share BE FAST with your family tonight. You may be the one who spots it.

Many people track their steps, sleep and heart rate with a precision that once seemed unusual. The feet behind those steps rarely get the same attention, hidden as they are inside shoes all day.

A crack, an ache or a patch of numbness is easily put down to the weather, age or an ill-fitting pair of sandals. Yet some complaints reach a clinic only after they begin to interfere with everyday life.

Symptoms That Are Easy to Explain

Cracked heels are a good example, because they are so common that most people treat them as a cosmetic matter and reach for a moisturiser. That is usually reasonable, although a deep fissure that bleeds or keeps reopening gives bacteria a way into the skin and is worth having examined.

Heel pain often has a musculoskeletal cause and tends to respond to rest and supportive footwear, but pain that lingers for weeks points to something more specific. Numbness gives the least warning of all, since it can arise from nerve compression, poor circulation, nutritional deficiencies or diabetes, and because it does not hurt, an injury can go unnoticed for days.

Also read: Toddler’s Swollen Knee Turned Out To Be Juvenile Arthritis Diagnosis: Signs Parents Should Not Ignore

Why Weekly Measurement Matters

When a wound does develop, understanding whether it is actually healing becomes just as important as recognising the early warning signs. Researchers who monitor wounds over time know that appearance alone does not always tell the full story.

What a Recent Case Report Showed

A 2025 case report in the Journal of the Foot & Ankle followed two adults with long-standing diabetes and neuropathic plantar ulcers for twelve weeks, with wound area quantified by digital planimetry. One wound, treated with a graft of decellularised human dermis, shrank by 80 percent by week four and had fully epithelialised by week eight.

The other, managed with gauze-based moist wound care, reduced by 7.8 percent at week two, grew by 21.6 percent between weeks three and five, and reached a 68.6 percent reduction by week twelve without closing. No adverse events were recorded in either patient during the twelve weeks.

Reading the Evidence Carefully

The report is descriptive, and two patients cannot settle questions about any treatment. The lesson that carries beyond the clinic is more modest, since progress is easier to judge when it is tracked against a timeline.

Asking How Long, Not How Bad

For readers, the message is to pay attention not just to how serious a symptom looks, but also to how long it has lasted and whether it is changing. Cracks that repeatedly reopen, persistent heel pain and spreading numbness deserve medical attention.

For people with diabetes, any new foot wound should be assessed promptly rather than waiting to see whether it improves on its own.