Knowing how to keep mentally healthy is important to life satisfaction. In the first place, during youth you usually do not understand memory and overall mental function can decline as you age.
In fact, as you grow older your mental clarity and sharpness will gradually decline naturally. Memory decline can begin to accelerate in our 40s and 50s. As a result, your short term memory (working memory) will begin to lose performance.
Overall mental health can deteriorate without following some general guidelines. Below is a list of ways to keep mentally healthy.
Maintain a regular schedule of physical exercise.
This can include the most basic exercise such as walking for 20 minutes. Certainly, 15-20 minutes 3 times a week of exercise will keep your body in shape. Important to realize, what is good for your cardiovascular system will be good for your brain.
To emphasize, an improved cardiovascular system will better supply your brain with blood and nutrients. Moreover this will have a positive cumulative effect throughout your life.
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables throughout your life
Do not underestimate the importance of eating fruits and vegetables every day. You do not have to follow stict vegetarian diet, just make sure you eat fruits and vegetables every day (with most meals).
The value of doing this is to provide more antioxidants that add cell protecting qualites. Eating the wrong foods have a damaging effect on cellular structures. Over time this damage drastically effects intelligence, mental power and clarity. For this reason, fruits and vegetables must be seen with respect and reverence.
Eat more fish which contain Omega 3 fatty acids.
This will provide your brain with healthy Omega 3 fatty acids to help balance out the more abundant Omega 6 fatty acids. In fact, healthy fats help your brain function properly to become more adaptable to the rigors of life.
Good sources of healthy fats are avocados, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds and oily fish (sardine, wild caught salmon, mackerel). In addition, because the brain is predominately made up of 60 percent fat, adding healthy fats will aid healthy brain composition.
Limit alcohol and tobacco usage.
Evidently, excess alcohol causes the brain to atrophy. In fact, because alchohol is a mild poision, drinking to much can damage brain cells. And these brain cells can be effected in areas that control memory. Consequently, years of drinking can cause a noticeable decline in mental performance.
In addition, evidence shows that tobacco use is bad for mental health. The primary cause is through its negative effect on the cardiovascular system. Of course, if you need further evidence of this fact, then search the internet for dangers of tobacco use.
Strive to continually educate yourself and learn new things daily.
Use your brain or you will lose function. For one thing, your brain is like any muscle that needs exercise to maintain health. Consistently us your brain and strive to learn new things daily. Consequently, constant learning will keep your mind in peak condition.
You can not just read books and magazines (or watch pointless videos) and expect to improve brain function. To increase mental capacity and clarity do math problems, puzzles and other things that challenge your mind.
For example, learn a new language, research and write an essay and learn how to code. Always be learning and improving. Therefore, use the concept of kaizen for self growth.
kaizen[ kahy-zen ] noun – a business philosophy or system that is based on making positive changes on a regular basis, as to improve productivity; an approach to one’s personal or social life that focuses on continuous improvement.
Always have a good night’s sleep to keep mentally healthy.
Strive to get between 6.5 to 8 hours of sleep every night. Lack of sleep will lead to lower intelligence and mental sharpness. Don’t underestimate the importance of a consistent sleep pattern.
In conclusion, it is natural for your mind to be healthy throughout your entire life. But negative lifestyle habits will cause mental health to decline. The most important ways to keep mentally healthy are to eat properly and to exercise daily.
In addition, practice kaizen to continuously improve your mind. Your mind controls your life, so how you think consistently effects you mind-body. Clearly, you must make your mind health a top priority.
Best Diet
The best diet for you is crucial to your success. In fact, it affects your body and mind in major ways. Don’t underestimate the importance of your diet. In truth, it is one of the secrets to success.
Diet Affects The Strength And Clarity Of Your Thoughts
Your thoughts must be clear, focused and powerful for maximum success. If your thoughts aren’t focused, then whatever you do will lack the power to effect change. In contrast, focused thought multiplies to become stronger and stronger.
As a result, increased mental power attracts similar thoughts and circumstances. Consequently, a powerful mind will easily direct actions that bring your goals into reality. This ease of action will not be possible with an unclear, unfocused and weak mind.
Basic Diet Principles To Help Strengthen Your Mind
Of course, we all have subtle body and mind differences. However, there are general diet principles beneficial to mental function. Here are some diet ideas to consider following to maintain a powerful mind.
Follow the everything in moderation concept.
The influence of modern society is predominately everything in excess. Clearly, to counter this excess we must strictly monitor our consumption. And what you eat is an excellent place to start.
Limit the intake of stimulants, intoxicants and other drugs.
Important to note, the Oxford Dictionary defines drug as – a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body.
Limit sugar, white flour and all processed foods.
Nutrition is the process of obtaining the food needed for growth and health. This requires the ingestion and absorption of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins and essential fatty acids. The optimum diet will include the most basic foods to accomplish this process.
Sugar, white flour and processed foods can overload the ingestion and absorption process. Therefore, you must limit their intake for higher dietary efficiency.
Limit your meat intake and choose from quality sources for best diet.
You must experiment to see what specific diets are optimum. Clearly, no specific diet will work for everyone. For meat eaters, the most important thing to consider is the origin of the meat. If you can, then choose organic meats. Organic meats will come from animals receiving no antibodies and growth hormones.
Eliminate foods you are allergic to that cause inflammation.
Some possible foods you may be allergic to are dairy (milk, cheese, ice cream), nuts (peanuts, tree nuts), eggs and wheat (gluten sensitivity). Basically, we want to eliminate foods that cause mind and body inflammation.
In conclusion, your diet has a direct effect on your mind. Avoid foods that negatively effect your mind functioning. Then follow basic diet principles to optimize your diet. For example, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Here are some basic diet principles to follow:
- Eat healthy fruits and vegetables
- Drink adequate clean water; stay hydrated
- Keep your electrolytes balanced; read this article on electrolytes
- Get adequate carbohydrate, protein and fat
- Eliminate junk foods (excess sugar, fat and nutrient poor)
Plainly, your ability to monitor food intake demands discipline. By following an excellent diet, you increase mental power through clarity and focus. Also, a strict diet supports a strong and disciplined mindset.
Make the decision to improve your life through your food intake; because it is necessary to become success oriented.
Train Mind For Increased Mental Power
To achieve high performance, you must train your mind for increased mental power. In fact, you must train your mind to achieve a higher intellectual ability. Consequently, implementing a strict training schedule is fundamental to success. Below are important points to guide your mental training (well planned and constructive).
Set And Maintain Mental Direction
In other words, maintain focus of where you want to go. You are either moving toward your goals or moving away from them. Do not underestimate this point. Certainly, to achieve your goal, the mind must always emphasize moving toward the goal. In contrast, do not focus on what you do not want.
True focus requires a strict attitudinal, behavioral and mental tendency. In other words, maintaining a consistent mental direction requires discipline. You must be decisive to eliminate all other possibilities but success.
Focus Mind For Extended Periods Of Time
A highly focused mind can direct maximum mental effort. Consistent mental effort will allow you to achieve higher performance. In fact, your ability to achieve maximum mental effort is key to unlocking the subconscious.
To emphasize, the ability to focus for extended periods of time allows you access the powerful subconscious. As a result, a highly focused mind will bring the subconscious mind in alignment with the conscious mind. Consequently, learning to access the subconscious will allow maximum mental effort and direction.
Define And Set Up A Mental Training Schedule
Mental training will fine tune your brain for maximum mental clarity. Additionally, consistent practice will result in increased clarity, concentration and focus. To achieve high performance requires an optimized mind. Below are some points to help define and set up a mental training schedule.
- Make your mental training the main part of your lifestyle – Mental health (attitude, clarity, concentration, vision) is the most important aspect of life
- Set up a mental training routine and journal your progress – Define a strict training routine (exercises, time, goals) ; follow your routine daily to make it a habit and journal your progress
- Be consistent and strict with your training schedule – Consistent effort brings consistent results. To progress you must strictly follow your routine daily.
Eliminate distractions, take breaks and don’t overtrain – Set up an ideal training environment. Allow for mental recovery.
Gain Clarity, Focus And Power Through Writing
Writing something down forces you to see it from a certain perspective. Consequently, writing imprints what you write into your mind. In fact, when you write something down it creates mental organization. In addition, when you write something down you prioritize it over your thoughts. If you want to further prioritize your writing, then read out what you have written.
Below are some points to help you write more powerfully.
- Do your best to write in your own words. Copy concepts, but do not copy text verbatim
- Concentrate fully on what you are writing – give maximum effort to increase understanding
- Before you begin writing, define the objective of what your writing (define specific points)
You can not achieve a peak mental state with out regular writing. For this reason, regular writing is essential to mental organization and idea generation. Consequently, decide now to formulate and write ideas on a regular basis.
In conclusion, decide to move toward your goals by setting up a training plan. In that case, you will gain momentum and make the plan a daily habit. As a result, increased mental power will come from continuous and progressive mental and physical action.
To train your mind for increased mental power requires a set mental direction. To clarify, you must focus on where you want to go. Do not waste mental effort thinking about what you do not want! First, practice focusing your mind for extended periods of time. It requires mental discipline to increase mental power.
Second, define a mental training schedule. High performance requires clarity, concentration and focus. Certainly, make improving your mental health a priority. If you prioritize mental training, then conscious and unconscious organization will result.