Conscious Living – 10 Ways To Boost Your Mental Fitness

Posted on Mar 6, 2023 | 0 comments

Each day Neuroscience research continues to show us new and effective ways to develop our brains for optimal performance. Just as science is fascinating, neuroscience is mind-blowing; showing us how powerful our brains, our thoughts, really are.

After all, our brains are muscles. We are conscious to work out all of our other muscle’s so shouldn’t we be mindful of giving our brains workouts too?!

One of the most exciting things we are learning from neuroscience is that with training, at any age, we can transform our brains to become more mentally fit, strong and healthy. We can literally train our brains to be more productive and responsive to the things we are passionate about. Read on to find out how!

10 Ways To Boost Your Mental Fitness

Talk to yourself. I know, sounds crazy. But here is the science behind it – your brain does not know who is talking out loud, it just hears the voice and processes it. Try looking in the mirror and telling yourself some encouraging and loving words. Your body will feel a warm rush go all over it as your brain hears this positive feedback and creates more serotonin (the happy hormone) in response to the praise. Do this daily, I do!!
Play games. They are so good for our brains. And don’t just stick to one. Pick a few that you like and have fun using your mind.
Eat foods that support your brain. You can find a great list from Harvard here, working even a few of these in and beginning to eat clean can be a game changer for our brains and bodies!
Meditate. Even just for 5 minutes a day, meditation gives your brain a workout as it helps to relax you. You can engage your brain in new ways while increasing your brain fitness by creating a different mental state for yourself. There are many apps and guided meditations you can use, find one that you vibe with.
Journal. 10 minutes a day will help your brain go a long way. Writing it all out helps your brain to process and to –
Let go. Holding onto a painful situation, trying to control the people in our lives, trying to control our lives in general is honestly a one-way ticket to anxiety and frustration. Instead accept what you can’t control, let your best be enough and be kind to yourself as letting go can be very hard. Allow yourself the time you need to let go.
Create a sleep routine and prioritize sleep. We are only just beginning to learn just how important sleep is. But we do know this. If you want your brain to functional at it’s optimum levels, than you need to allow it to sleep. So be conscious of this and make sure you are getting enough!!
Exercise. Physical exercise is mental exercise too!! When we are active our brains have to learn new muscle skills, estimation skills and practice our essential skill of balance.
Breath work. When we become stressed or anxious, our breath becomes more shallow giving us less oxygen causing our brains to not think straight. By being conscious of our breath, doing breathing exercises and making sure our brains get enough oxygen to function properly we are giving our brains great workouts while relaxing our bodies.
Listen to your instincts. So many of us tune them out these days. Instead, honor your brain and your gut by listening.