One of the best ways to spark up your brain is to have an intellectually stimulating conversation. Trying to wrap your mind around new ideas and concepts forces your brain to wake up and pay attention. By surrounding yourself with smart people who can challenge your thinking, you’ll improve your cognition and memory. Having a debate with a friend isn’t just socializing—although socializing is also good for your brain—it forces you to make logical connections between ideas and to do it on the fly. (Working under pressure is a great way to stimulate those little gray cells.) Plus, you’ll probably learn something new.