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8 Ways to Keep Your Mind in Shape
A lot of us are concerned with the size of our biceps or the girth of our waist. Having a fit body is important. However, keeping your mind in shape is critical to enjoying your life at the highest level.
Give your brain the attention it deserves!
Keep your mind healthy, active, and in shape with these strategies:
1. Exercise regularly.
Roughly 30% of your brain’s volume is composed of blood vessels. It’s important to keep your blood moving!
Exercise will help to control your blood sugar and get your blood flowing.
Why is that important? Many diabetics die of heart disease or stroke at a relatively young age due to high blood sugar levels being harmful to blood vessels.
So try taking a brisk 30 minute walk on a regular (if not daily) basis!
2. Read each day.
Reading requires a lot of your brain. It’s not easy to transform symbols into words and meaning. Spend some time each day with a book that makes you think. You might learn something useful, too.
Avoid reading the same types of books on a regular basis. Read well-written articles, the classics – try a new science fiction novel. How about a book on theoretical physics?
Reading the sports page every day doesn’t count. The same goes for romance novels by your favorite author. Mix it up.
3. Eat well.
Preserve your brain function by eating a healthy diet. (Counting calories without knowledge of what you’re limiting and how it may or may not adversely affect your body is not being on a healthy diet.)
Do a little research on the best diet for longevity and attempt to make a few changes to your eating habits. A few, small changes each month will go a long way toward keeping your brain healthy.
4. Meditate.
Meditation is powerful for several reasons:
- You’ll learn to focus like a Tibetan monk.
- You’ll also learn how to relax.
Both are wonderful for your brain. But here’s the thing — meditation is hard work.
It’s like a well-needed decathlon for your mind!
Find a good teacher in your area and meditate in a group. You’ll make some new friends, too.
Or you can check out this system I came across in my own research that I really like to use.
5. Challenge yourself.
Learn something new. Learning to:
- paint
speak a new language
dance (just to name a few)
Learning something new forces your brain to create new neural pathways.
Your brain’s ability to change is referred to as its “elasticity.”
Initially, this can be very challenging.
Been living the same day repeatedly for years? Then learning something new will feel similar to going jogging for the first time. It’s painful, and you don’t get too far. But be patient and give your brain a chance to wake up!
6. Do something that requires a lot of brainpower.
Anything that might be considered “mind numbing” or “day in day out” does not require a lot of brain power. Try:
- solving cryptograms
writing a computer program
take a multivariate calculus class
study chess
Push your brain to the max!
7. Remember the past.
As we grow older, it’s more challenging to remember facts from the past. When you can’t remember something, avoid giving up. Take all the time you need to remember. You might finally remember the name of your high-school English teacher while you’re mowing the grass. Keep at it.
8. Get out and socialize.
Want to increase the livelihood of developing dementia? Then spending a lot of time alone – it has been shown to increase possibility of you developing this disease.
And if that doesn’t scare you enough to do it, just remember that you’ll enjoy life more when you have an active social life and spend more time with others.
There are many benefits to keeping your mind in tip-top condition. You’ll enjoy better mental health and preserve your mental faculties longer.
Keeping your mind healthy requires attention. Challenge yourself to learn new information and skills.
Your brain is highly elastic. Give it a chance to use that ability.