Forget Mommy Brain!

Motherhood has a way of draining our energy. In fact, research has determined that a woman's brain shrinks during pregnancy, making it harder to retain information. And while this is a temporary condition of pregnancy,moms know how demanding parenting is and just how challenging it can be to maintain your mental stamina with children constantly pulling at your hands and clothes.Your star sign provides tips on how to keep up (and rebuild, if necessary) your brain power and get back into your adult flow while managing kids at the same time.

Your brain is your power center. You can sharpen your thinking by spending time each day using your non-dominant hand. For example, if you're right-handed, spend some time using your left hand. This will stimulate the opposite side of your brain and boost your connections. If you just write several sentences a day with the opposite hand, your brain will begin generating new pathways.

Because you love art, consider spending time memorizing your favorite poems. Reciting poetry by heart may not actually have any demonstrable impacts on the brain, but doing it for its own sake is just as good as any other reason. Simply learning something by heart helps boost your memory, and it's as simple as that. Plus, your favorite poems are bound to put you in a good mood.

Gemini, you have an amazing brain, and I'm guessing the demands of motherhood might not impact you as severely as it does most. But even the brilliant Gemini can stand a brain boost when dealing with children most of the time. Try doing math in your head. It will focus you by bringing your mind to one stream of thought and you'll need to organize figures in your mind and keep track of what you're calculating. If you do this once per day, your mental acuity will increase.

A great game for your brain includes working with your taste buds and your memory. While eating various foods, identify the ingredients, herbs and seasonings. It might be difficult at first, but over time your brain and taste buds will align and you'll be as sharp as a chef.

Learning a new sport later in life helps manage depression and improves concentration. There's nothing like being a beginner again. You'll find that your listening and focusing skills increase too. Doing something new asks you to be more attentive, which stimulates your brain. Add body movement and coordination to the mix, and you'll have all your brain synapses firing at once.

The Virgo brain is organized and savvy, but motherhood can wreak havoc on your superpower. When your organizing skills are under threat, you'll fight back. Start by learning a new language. You've likely always wanted to learn one but couldn't find the time to do so. Modern technology makes it easier than ever to spend a few minutes a day mastering a new tongue.

You'll enjoy nothing as much as learning to play an instrument. What a way to create pleasure and strengthen your brain power. You might include your children in this activity. You'll develop coordination, learn to read music (if you don't already know how) and relax in the process. And everyone knows music is a great love of yours, so you'll kill two birds with one stone!

You have a real desire to create that lives deep inside of you. One great way to connect your creative desire and increase your brainpower is by doing puzzles. You can choose your favorite topic and spend an hour a day building a puzzle. Try starting with 500 pieces and increase the difficulty as your skill grows.

Your great love for travel is the best way to engage your brain power. Think of the places you've visited and attempt to draw maps from memory of your favorite countries and states. You might even pull out photos to help spark your memory (and your joy!). Drawing maps is a great way to recall events and people from your fabulous journeys.

You're very hard-working, so let's do something simple but significant. Brush your teeth each day with your non-dominant hand. It seems like a pretty silly thing to do, but you'll be surprised how long it actually takes to get the hang of it. Plus, your brain will light up in a way it hasn't before.

Since having children, there's a chance you don't have the same amount of time to read as you previously had. A great brain exercise for you is to try reading audio books. Listening to a book uses and strengthens an entirely different section of the brain than reading. It also encourages imagination and focus, which engages the brain in a new and unique way.

The world within your mind is filled with fantasies and all sorts of creative ideas. You escape into your inner world when life gets exhausting. It might be fun to use fragrance to spark your brain and create new pathways. When you find yourself drifting off into your dreamland, pull out a bottle of lavender or rose oil and inhale deeply. This will bring you into the present while helping your brain create new associations.