Wellness Wednesday: Keeping Your Brain in Shape

Physical fitness gets a good reputation amongst most people. But how about mental fitness? At first thought, you might be thinking, “Give me some relief from the self-care industry.” However, practicing mental fitness can be as simple as taking fifteen minutes to learn the lyrics of a “new-to-you” Dolly Parton song.

Mental fitness can be just as important as being in good physical shape. Mental fitness is the ability to think clearly and to make decisions efficiently and effectively. It includes the ability to manage strong emotions and stronger resilience for physical and mental adversities.

How can we build mental fitness?

1. Understand the current state of your mental health. Ask yourself, “Am I tense?” or “Am I being uncharacteristically short with people?” Depending on your answers to these questions, you might feel like your mental fitness needs some attention. Working out the brain is a similar concept to working out muscles. To make it stronger, you need to continuously put effort into building and strengthening it.
2. Be aware of patterns. How do you self-soothe when stressed? Or how do you try to fall asleep and is it effective? Negative habits and patterns can affect your mental fitness. For instance, scrolling on social media right before bedtime might keep you awake longer due to brain activity. Not getting enough sleep will hinder your mental fitness. If you’d like ideas on how to create a bedtime routine, read Apex’s last Wellness Wednesday blog.
3. Identify and practice strategies that improve mood and decrease anxiety. Breathing exercises, like this one, taking a walk or mental break during the day are good strategies to improve mood and focus.
4. Consider thought strategies for balanced thinking. Being in touch with your feelings and reactions will help you better understand the facts of a situation instead of your assumptions and perspective. Try to see the full picture of a situation and think about its long-term effects over the short term.

How do I practice mental fitness?

Keeping your mind mentally fit isn’t as difficult as running a marathon, but it still takes dedication and practice! Try learning a new song. Like a Dolly Parton or Adele song.. you had us at Dolly. Take up a new hobby or try new food because it keeps your brain active. Read more. Reading forces your brain to visualize the subject matter on the pages before you and imagine what the characters look like.

You can also take a more restful approach like visualization or relaxation practices. You only get one brain, so keeping it sharp is important as we get older.

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