"exercise the mind" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it any time you want to talk about mental activities or activities that are aimed at stimulating, developing, or otherwise exercising the mind or intellect. For example, "We should all take some time each day for mental exercises to exercise the mind."
Gambling can thus train and exercise the mind in taking real-life risks.
Some pop genres have traditionally held a licence to thrill, to divert and to exercise the mind.
Even people blessed with ideal genetics -- those lucky souls at low risk for wrinkles and memory loss -- still need to exercise the mind to preserve their mental vigor.
Shingler can play at centre and at stand-off - and 10 and 12 are two positions that constantly exercise the mind of Scottish rugby fans.
The same objects fill the analysis and the synthesis; they exercise the mind of the man in the analysis and his muscles in the synthesis; the analysis consists in thoughts, the synthesis in acts.
Increase the number of items to exercise the mind even more.
With increasing numbers of students enrolling at higher education institutions, where to house them all is a dilemma exercising the finest minds in university towns across the UK.
It's not as if Jones has suddenly burst on the scene, but how to counter his scene-stealing performances is going to exercise the minds of many a coach and media manager.
The DS is marketed primarily as a teaching toy, or one to help exercise the mind--a personal handheld gaming device on which to solve puzzles and brainteasers.
Like all good science, this work raises as many questions as it answers, and one obvious one that will exercise the minds of researchers everywhere is how can an organism so effectively prevent its genome from acquiring mutations?
Of the chess lessons, Mr. Ross said, "It's the quiet, the discipline and the challenge of exercising the mind".
