talking mental fitness
Exercise isn’t only for our bodies. The most important organ in our body needs its fair share of exercise too. This organ is the control center of our bodies. Do you know what it is? If you guessed the BRAIN, then yes you are absolutely correct! The brain controls the messages sent and received from the body to the brain and brain to the body in which all of our thoughts, emotions, and movement are centered by.
Since it plays such a major role in our everyday functioning, our brain needs its exercise to.
Just like we strength train our bodies to make our muscles stronger, we must practice strengthening our brain to make our minds stronger and healthier to perform at our highest level.
When we exercise our bodies, we increase the amount of oxygen that is carried through our blood into the brain and muscles. Notice how you feel more energetic and happier after you exercise. That’s the oxygen breaking down into forms of energy and the release of certain chemical messengers (called neurotransmitters) that contribute to the boosting your mood, reducing stress, helping you sleep better and think clearer.
Well exercising your brain does the same thing - it brings higher levels of oxygen into your brain giving your brain energy and life. This helps bring your mind focus, calm & peace, and the feeling of happiness and joy.
Not sure where to start?
Here are 10 ways to exercise your mental fitness:
1) TAKE A BREATHE
When you are feeling stressed out, agitated, or very nervous take a minute to slow down and breathe. Your breathe can ease your mind and calm it down from its rapid thoughts. Every breathe you take signals the heart to pump oxygenated blood to your brain to and other parts of your body. This gives energy and life to your brain. Through this process you ahve By taking slow deep breathes studies also show that this can help improve memory, settle emotions, and reduce blood pressure.
2) SET TIME FOR YOU
Making time for yourself is critical to your mental well-being. Set time aside that is solely for YOU. Do something that brings you joy, peace, and happiness. It could be something active like going for a walk or spending time in nature on a hike. Or it could be something that brides your quiet and peace such as taking a long bath, reading, journaling, painting, or any other hobby or interest you have that brings you happiness. The more we can stimulate the release of the happy chemicals the better we will be at regulating our mood and presenting a happier state of being.
3) BE PRESENT
How often do you find yourself listing all the things you still need to do or should have done or could have done better? I am sure this happens probably at least 10x a day! These “lists” and “thoughts” can take us away from the present moment. To be our absolute best in every scenario whether its work, home, or school it is important for us to be present in that moment of time. Instead of thinking about all the work things you still need to do when you are at home with your family, take a minute to step back and realize the work stuff isn’t going anywhere but the family time is an important time to spend dedicated and focused on your family. Give them the quality time they deserve. Practice being present by focusing on the current task at hand and let all the other things fall into place as they should.
4) BLOCK OUT THE NOISE
Instagram, facebook, youtube, twitter, and the list does on. The amount of distractions that surround us every minute of the day could be a mood killer. The notifications, the news, the pings, the @’s, the memes, the tik toks, the newest reel trend - all of it can be so consuming and so draining. Remember to take your breaks from technology - and I mean ALL of it - the phone, the tv, the computer. Take time to be present in the moment blocking out all the social noise that distracts us from our most important tasks. Put your phone on silent or airplane mode, turn the TV off, light a candle and just BE. Center yourself and refresh your mind with a new and calming perspective.
5) PRIORITIZE SLEEP
Sleep is one of the most important things our bodies need to function at a high level. Have you ever had an all-nighter and felt absolutely dead the next day? You probably couldn’t think clearly, speak the words you wanted, lethargic, and just not productive at all. Your brain needs rest as much as your body does. Start a sleep routine where you set a time where all technology gets shut off and you start your bedtime routine. Perhaps that means washing the face, brushing the teeth, getting into bed, doing some reading or journaling and then closing your eyes for a full 6-8 hours of sleep.
6) LET GO OF NEGATIVE THOUGHTS
We all have had those days or maybe even weeks where we feel down, unmotivated, or uninspired. The usual culprit is the negative thoughts that have infiltrated our minds causing us to feel sorrow, self-doubt, and insecure. Remind yourself that that these thoughts are not reality and not true to who you really are.
Our past experiences, beliefs, and feelings all play a role in how we view the world. If we walk around allowing negative experiences and feelings to be the only way we view the world, then we will constantly live in a world of doom. But if we take a step back and realize that every thought does not hold validation then we can become better at taking these gloomy lenses off and viewing the world in a more positive way.
Every time you think a negative thought, I ask you to replace that thought with a positive one. The way we speak to ourselves has a significant impact on our feelings and thoughts towards ourselves. Be kind to yourself and know your worth in this world.
7) PRACTICE POSITIVTY & GRATITUDE
Positive thinking is so powerful for our brains. Every thought produced creates a chemical reaction in our bodies. Depending on the thought determines the final outcome. If you are thinking negatively, you will feel gloomy and probably more bad things will seem to happen. On the contrary, if we think positively and view the world from a positive lens we are bound to be happier and have more positive things happen to us. This plays into the law of attraction. This tells us that the thoughts we produce do have a direct impact on our feelings and well-being.
There are many ways to practice positivity but one of the simplest ones is through gratitude. Whether its in the morning or at night before bed or maybe you need a mid-day refresh, write down 3 things that you are grateful for today. By using gratitude and being grateful for all the wonderful things you have, you will immediately feel a shift in your mood. Showing gratitude to yourself, to others and to the world will allow you to see things from a new and bright perspective.
8) LOOK WITHIN
You know that gut feeling inside of you telling you to go after it. LISTEN TO IT! That intuition you hold within is a wise one and it is a voice you should listen to more. No one knows you better than you know yourself. Instead of relying on the opinions of others, listen to your own heart, your own gut feelings, and your own wisdom to pursue the life you want. You know what will make you happy and that is what we need more of in this life. Go after those big dreams and never look back.
9) MEDITATE
Meditation is the ultimate mental strengthening exercise you can do. Meditation gives us the opportunity to sit back and watch the crazy things our minds do. We produce roughly 70,000 thoughts a day - some useful, some hurtful, some troubling, and some simply unnecessary. All of these thoughts affect our emotions and actions. By interrupting this cycle through a time of quiet gives your brain the chance to re-wire the neural networks that are responsible for many of these thoughts. This will help to interrupt and shift the troubling things our minds do time to time. Taking the time to tune out distractions and spending quality time with your mind will allow you to focus more and be more at peace with your mind and body.
10) MOVE YOUR BODY
This one is an important one. When we move our body, signals are sent from the body to the brain and then from the brain to the body telling the body which muscles to contract, which ones to lengthen, and what movements to make. We are working the neural pathways in our brains to move our body. This also stimulates the release of oxygen which produces energy for both the brain and body. In addition, this stimulates a release of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers of the brain) such as endorphins, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Each of these play a particular role. Endorphins are known as the happy chemicals because they are produced to relieve stress and pain and produce a feeling of euphoria. Serotonin works to stabilize our mood, feelings of well-being and happiness, and also helps with cognition, learning, and memory. Norepinephrine helps to regulate sleep cycle, attention, cognitive functioning abilities, and also plays a role in mood regulation. As you can see, all three of these neurotransmitters play a key role in your happiness and mood. Thus, exercise is one of the best mood booster activities you can do for both your BRAIN and BODY!
To sum it up, our brain needs its portion of mental fitness too. By taking the time to sit still and be one with our minds it will allow you a chance to reinvigorate the mind and make it more helpful for you to be your best and most authentic self.
