Aerobics, strength training and stretching are good ways to maintain a healthy body. Meditation, yoga and surrounding yourself with good vibes are ways to maintain a peaceful soul.
Many people stop at this point. They have reached physical and spirit strength, but tend to forget about their mental health.
Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in people ages 15 to 44 in America. Although some of the population are born with disorders, another large part of the population develops mental health issues during their late teens to mid-twenties.
Mental health is critical to our overall well-being and becomes very important once we reach adulthood.
Our brain may be an organ, but it can be shaped and reshaped through exercise just like a muscle. Exercising your brain is key to learning to cope with existing mental health issues as well as preventing new ones from forming.
Below, you will discover exercises for your mind as well as what the particular exercise does to transform yours brain.
Picturing Success
The Exercise: Close your eyes and picture yourself doing something that you commonly struggle with. For some people this could be a calculus test, for others it could be weight loss. Now, imagine that you are successful with it. You have overcome the challenge and passed that test with an A+ or dropped 20 pounds. Visualize every moment of the glory.
The Results: Visualizing success is an anti-depressant tool because it wards off negative, demeaning thoughts we can have throughout the day. If we practice putting as much effort into picturing the positive things that can happen as we do the negative, then our anxiety can be cut in half.
Memory Building
The Exercise: Find a song on the radio or YouTube that you have never heard before. Without reading the lyrics, try to learn and remember the lyrics within 30 minutes.
The Results: Memory is an awesome brain function that can deteriorate over time with the proper maintenance. Learning the lyrics to a new song helps to push that part of your brain that is responsible for memory to be better and stronger. Practicing this exercise once or twice a week can dramatically improve your reasoning and ability to do mental math.
Visual Memory
The Exercise: The next time you walk into a new room or store then leave, try to recall five items that your saw. Recount characteristics such as color, size, number and position. This exercise can also work by looking at an ISpy page for 30 seconds.
The Results: Paying closer attention to your surroundings works the visual-spatial as well as the memory part of your brain. You will want this part of your brain to be strong and alert during times of sudden crisis/decision making. Also, studies have shown that people who exercise their brains in such manners during adulthood, have a less likely chance to develop Alzheimer’s or Dementia into later life.