Life’s stresses take a toll on your body, especially your brain. Long work hours, family obligations and financial concerns are known to cause weight changes and tense muscles. Did you know that those same stressors can have a negative impact on how well your brain functions?
Since the human brain is integral to everything from leg movement to smiling, taking good care of it is a must. Here are four things you can do to help keep your mind at its sharpest.
Supplement Your Diet
The brain needs nutrients in order to do its job. Making healthy food choices is a big step toward giving it the nourishment that it requires for everyday tasks. If you want to go beyond the basics, however, you should consider investing in quality nutrient-rich supplements such as Constellation Nutrition Neuro Fuel.
Because of the brain’s complex and all-encompassing duties, it needs special treatment and a wider variety of nutrients. Feeding it with the most superior materials helps contribute to its symbiotic relationship with the entire body.
Putting pure vitamins and minerals into your system is the equivalent of filling the gas tank of an expensive sports car with premium gasoline – it runs faster, sounds better and lasts longer.
Get Plenty of Rest
Much like the battery on your smartphone, the brain needs regular recharging time. The effect of sleep – or lack thereof – has a strong influence on mental cognitive functions. It repairs, renews and cleanses the mind during slumber.
However, it is important to remember that both quality and quantity of sleep are equally necessary if it is to have a truly positive impact on the health of your mind. While everyone has different requirements in terms of the number of hours needed, be sure to aim for more than the minimum amount to guarantee the appropriate amount of rest for you.
Additionally, having your bed in a soothing and comfortable environment will aid you in getting to sleep easily and with more consistent results.
Keep Tension at Bay
Anxiety and stress can rob your brain of energy because it is forced to handle too many draining activities at once. Reducing pressure in your life wherever possible can be a big help in avoiding overtaxing yourself.
Stay away from negative people and situations and try not to let your imagination run away with you when it comes to potentially stressful events. Instead, allow time for activities that bring you happiness. Keep problems in perspective and have long conversations with friends.
Go window shopping or have an occasional dinner at your favorite restaurant. Anything that brings you joy will increase your brain’s production of serotonin, which helps your moods and your general outlook on life. A happy brain is a healthy brain!
Give Yourself a Workout
Your muscles need regular exercise for optimal function. Similarly, your brain needs exercise to stay strong. Challenging your abilities with things such as crossword puzzles, learning a foreign language or taking a different route home from work can help your brain cells flex their proverbial muscles and tune up your mental engine.
The stronger your mind gets, the more tools you give it to handle anything that comes your way. Also, as you progress in age, your memory will function better when your brain cells are strengthened.
This can mean the difference between the development of often heartbreaking brain conditions such as dementia and advancing well into old age while keeping your faculties as intact as possible.
It is human nature to overlook many things that can snowball into greater problems when they remain unchecked. We get caught up in the daily grind and doing things for those we care about.
Remembering that to take care of yourself and make both physical and mental health a priority will better serve not only you but everyone around you. Be your best self, and make the world a better place for it. Your children and even your grandchildren will be glad that you did.
Identity Magazine is all about guiding women to discover their powers of Self-Acceptance, Appreciation, and Personal Achievement.
We ask that every contributor and expert answer the Identity questions in keeping with our theme. Their answers can be random and in the moment or they can be aligned with the current article they have written. In that way, and as a team, we hope to encourage and motivate each other, thus inspiring you to Get All A’s.
1. What have you accepted within your life, physically and/or mentally? Additionally, what are you still working on accepting? Now, we’re not talking about resignation, rather stepping into, embraced, and owned.
I have accepted that I will never find the perfect balance at as a mom, and no matter how others perceive me as a working mom, both being a mom and a professional help me to progress as a woman.
2. Appreciation is everything. What have you learned to appreciate about yourself and/or within your life, physically and mentally? On the other hand OR in contrast, are there elements of who you are that you’re still working on appreciating?
I’m grateful for the resilience that my trials have instilled in me. As hard as my trials have been they have helped me empathize with others more and to become a better person.
3. Share with us one of your most rewarding achievements in life? Tell us not only what makes YOU most proud but also share the goals and dreams that you still have.
Becoming a mother and feeling the love of my children has been the most rewarding experience of my life. That love coupled with a desire to maintain their love and respect is one of my biggest motivators in life.
