You’re Into Fitness, But Are You Working Out Your Brain Too?

When people try to focus on their health, they tend to focus on their physical shape alone. Of course, working out is good for your mental health as well, as exercise can shed stress as well as the pounds! 

But working out your brain is a discipline unto its own. So when you want to look after your health, you’ll need to spend a bit of time flexing the strongest muscle of all. That means expending mental energy on some creative pursuits – here are a few good examples you might want to try.

Try a Few More Puzzles

Puzzling is good for the brain, as it helps you to think outside of the box, especially if you’re a fan of cryptic crosswords. Anything that requires you to use your problem solving skills, whether it’s a quick game of sudoku or a tricky nonogram, are going to be good for you. Spend 10 minutes each day completing squares whilst you sip your coffee and see how much stronger your thinking patterns get after a couple weeks! 

Focus on Learning an Instrument

Learning an instrument is a great way to keep your brain healthy, as there’s a lot of technical skill involved. Alongside this, the ability to create and play music is always going to be a fun exercise, even if you don’t think you’re very good at it! Pick up some music theory books, invest in an instrument you’re truly interested in playing, and give it a go at least once a week. The more you play, the better you’ll get, the more you’ll enjoy your time, and the more confident you’ll feel!

Start a Reading List

Reading is the easiest thing to do to workout your brain. Open up a book, get stuck in for half an hour, and make your way through a reading list throughout the year. And seeing as reading can help expand your attention span, and make you hungry for a good narrative, there’s really no downside to giving books a go. Really, the more you read, the less time you’ll spend scrolling through social media on a screen, which can really damage the grey cells you’ve got up there!   

Find Ways to Be Mindful

Being mindful means something a bit different to everyone. For some it’s all about meditation; taking time to clear your mind and breathe deeply in a relaxing setting. For some it’s self care activities that get you to live in the moment, such as sipping a hot drink or taking a long soak in the bath. 

But whatever being mindful means to you, do it more often to workout your brain. When you can train your brain to feel the moment around you, with little to no distraction, you’re not always going to be running after that next dopamine hit. 

Staying fit means working out your brain as well as your body. The more you focus on your physical health upstairs, the more positivity will trickle down. 

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hen we are trying to find the essential ways of looking after our health we can spend a lot of time digging deep into the right diet habits and approaches that are considered gospel. The biggest problem is that when we are chasing the latest fads, thinking it’s the key to longevity, we are neglecting our own body in the process. We are individuals, and when it comes to longevity, there are three things that it is influenced by: genetics, environment, and lifestyle. We can’t do anything about our genetics, and apart from moving to another climate, there is very little we can do about our environment. When it comes to lifestyle, there are so many factors, but here are two key approaches that we should all think about when it comes to longevity that focus on one key thing: strength. 

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