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7 Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness

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7 Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness

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7 Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness

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We often think of the mind and body as two separate entities, but many studies have shown that intellectual wellness is just as important as physical wellness. Intellectual wellness includes our…

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12 Proven Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness

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12 Proven Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness

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Are you looking for ways to boost your brainpower, think faster, increase your cognitive capacity, and improve your overall health and happiness? If yes, then it's time to focus on increasing your intellectual wellness.

Many people focus on their physical wellness and taking care of their bodies. However, it's just as critical to dedicate time and energy to keep your mind healthy. Not only does intellectual wellness improve all of the above, but engaging in mentally stimulating activities may also reduce cognitive impairment and put you at a lower risk for dementia and Alzheimer's.

What Is Intellectual Wellness?

Intellectual wellness, therefore, is an active pursuit of working towards an optimal intellectual state. It can include being open to new ideas, thinking critically, expanding your knowledge and skills, exposing yourself to new ideas, people, and beliefs, discovering more about yourself and your potential, being open to different perspectives, and fostering creativity.

12 Ways to Increase Intellectual Wellness

Lots of supplement companies make millions of dollars claiming to improve your brainpower and brain health. Do they work? Maybe. But there are plenty of things you can do, free of charge, to increase your intellectual wellness and improve your brain function.

Here are 12 ways to increase your intellectual wellness.

1. Try Something New

Neuroplasticity is the brain's capacity to continue growing and evolving in response to life experiences. Historically, scientists believed that the brain stopped growing after childhood. But current research shows that the brain can continue growing and changing throughout the lifespan. Your brain can change and adapt through stimulation, stress, and experiences. Your job? To provide those experiences!

What new thing will you try to do outside your comfort zone? You could pick up a new sport, travel to a new location and learn about its history, learn a foreign language, or take a class at the local community college. What challenge will you choose to expand your brainpower?

2. Read

One of the common habits of the most successful people in the world? They read. Oprah, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Warren Buffet, Sheryl Sandberg, LeBron James are all avid readers.

So, what should you read? Anything that expands your mindset, your views, your experiences, and your knowledge. It can be a magazine, newspaper, or a good fiction or non-fiction book. It doesn't matter. If it stimulates your mind and generates interest or allows you to learn something new or explore something interesting, dive in-your mind will thank you for it.

3. Exercise

Not only is exercise good for your heart and body, but it can also help improve another major muscle, your brain. In a study done at the University of British Columbia, researchers found that regular aerobic exercise-the kind that gets your heart and sweat glands pumping-appears to boost the size of the hippocampus, the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning.

Other studies show that aerobic exercise stimulates the release of the substance known as a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which supports the growth of new connections in your brain. Ultimately, exercise enhances your learning, sharpens your memory, and helps you feel better overall.

Aim for at least 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise-walking, running, biking, swimming-three to five times per week.

4. Be Social

We are social beings hardwired for connection. That means we need to spend time engaging with others to thrive as we learn how to get a life we can enjoy. Studies have shown that people who socialize often have higher levels of happiness than those who don't. Plus, when you're around others, we learn and grow because we hear different perspectives and new stories.

Make an effort to grow and nurture healthy relationships in your life. Spend time-either in person or virtually-with friends, family, and colleagues. Join a meetup hiking group, take a cooking or dance class, or join a recreational sports team. Attend the office (virtual) happy hour. Make a concerted effort to make deeper connections, listen attentively, and learn from the people around you.

5. Stay Curious

Curiosity increases brain activity and activation. Being curious about something not only improves learning about that specific subject but increases your overall learning and retention capabilities, too.

Curious how your car engine works? Take it apart. Curious why your local baker started her bakery? Ask her. Curious about the plant-based movement? Watch a documentary. Identify one thing that you wish you understood better-big or small, it doesn't matter. Just find something you're curious about, explore that thing, and activate your brain!

6. Eat Well

The food you eat fuels not just your body but your brain. In fact, your brain consumes about 20% of your daily calories! Inflammatory foods such as sugar, dairy, and refined carbs affect you negatively, while clean, nutrient-dense foods affect you positively.

Some great food sources for brain health include antioxidants in blueberries, micronutrients such as magnesium and zinc in pumpkin seeds, vitamin K, folate, and beta carotene in green leafy vegetables, flavonoids in chocolate, lutein, and the healthy fats and compounds in nuts, specifically walnuts. Why do you think they're shaped like a brain?! Increase your intellectual wellness by including a couple of these foods consistently into your diet.

7. Get Creative

Creativity stimulates your intellectual wellness and improves your overall health. Take music, for example. You've likely heard that music makes you smarter. One study showed that executive functions (EF) were enhanced in musicians compared to non-musicians. These include problem-solving, working memory, processing speed, and cognitive flexibility.

Not the musical type? That's okay! You can get creative through doodling, painting, crafting, writing, photography, pottery, or even gardening-anything where you can come with an open heart and mind and dive in with curiosity and exploration.

8. Stay Hydrated

The human brain is composed of over 75% water, with some studies suggesting that the number is closer to 85%. What do you think happens when we are dehydrated? You guessed it-the cells in your brain are dehydrated too, and you experience brain fog, loss of focus, memory as well as headaches, and emotional issues like moodiness and fatigue. According to research, "water gives the brain the electrical energy for all brain functions, including thought and memory processes."

Do you want to improve your focus and clarity? Aim to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses daily. Increase the hydration factor by adding electrolytes or a little sea salt to increase absorption into your cells.

9. Sleep

Sleep. Sleep, you say? Doesn't that seem like an odd thing to do if I want to grow my intellectual capacity? Shouldn't I be actively doing something? When we sleep, our brain removes stored toxins and takes out the 'mental trash,' which allows our brains to function better. According to research, "sleep has a restorative function. Lack of sleep impairs reasoning, problem-solving, and attention to detail, among other effects."

I used to wear it as a badge of honor that I didn't sleep much. Maybe you do, too. However, studies continue to emerge on the importance of getting enough quality sleep and, more importantly, the consequences when you don't. Make getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a priority. Your mind and body will thank you for it.

10. Practice Self-Reflection

Just like physical wellness is about growth and strength, so is intellectual wellness. Taking the time to reflect on yourself and your life is a great way to engage your brain.

Self-reflection is defined as "meditation or serious thought about one's character, actions, and motives." It's about taking a step back and reflecting on your life, behavior, and beliefs. Self-reflection improves self-awareness, provides perspective, facilitates a deeper learning level, challenges your assumptions, enables learning and growth opportunities, and even improves confidence.

Like the idea but not sure where to start? Here are some great tips for self-reflection.

11. Meditate

Meditation and mindfulness seem to be the answer to all that ails you, and yes, they can help with increasing your brainpower, too. Meditation allows you to calm your thoughts and achieve greater mental and emotional clarity.

Don't want to meditate? Just breathe. Deep breathing increases circulation by bringing oxygen to your muscles and brain. It initiates your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), promoting a state of calmness and quiets your mind.

What happened when you started to read this? Did you take a deep breath? Great, you should be feeling much clearer. Practicing deep breathing or meditation for just five minutes a day will make a huge difference in your intellectual wellness.

12. Pick Up Your Rubik's Cube

Okay, you can probably tell I'm a child of the '80s. Games can help exercise your brain and improve your long-term and working memory. Working through puzzles or finding words in patterns uses a great amount of brainpower. Increasing your ability to work through these activities can maintain and build your intellectual wellness.

Want to go old school? Pick up a crossword puzzle, grab your book of sudoku, or play a game of chess. New school? Grab your smartphone for a game of Words with Friends or check out one of the many free brain game apps like BrainHQ.

Ready to Get Started?

You don't need to do all of these to increase your intellectual wellness. Think of these as a menu to improve your brainpower and mental stimulation. Your next step? Identify two to three items you will commit to trying, then go out and do them.

Your brain controls your body and your overall health and well-being-it's time to commit to actively increasing intellectual wellness. Your brain will thank you for it!

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12 Proven Ways To Increase Your Intellectual Wellness

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Are you looking for ways to boost your brainpower, think faster, increase your cognitive capacity, and improve your overall health and happiness? If yes, then it's time to focus on increasing your intellectual wellness. Many people focus on their physical wellness and taking care of their bodies.

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Intellectual Wellness | Corner for A Little Mindfulness | School of Social Work | CBCS | USF

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Find your local public library, which can help children learn to read, and adults learn English or find a job. Also, explore federal libraries’ collections.

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Neuroscientist explains the best exercise to improve brain function

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Neuroscientist explains the best exercise to improve brain function

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Neuroscientist explains the best exercise to improve brain function

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What Is Intellectual Wellness? How to Expand Your Skills for a Happier Life

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What Is Intellectual Wellness? How to Expand Your Skills for a Happier Life

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Many may be familiar with mindfulness and its importance for mental health -but have you ever thought about intellectual wellness?

As nourishing and exercising our physical bodies is crucial for our health, taking your brain to the gym and constantly developing and feeding your mind is just as important.

According to the Center for Wellness and Health Promotion at Harvard University, some of the potential benefits of intellectual wellness (or intellectual wellbeing) include:

Improved cognition.

Improved concentration and memory.

Enhanced clarity in thinking.

The experience of a more stimulating life.

The development of personal values and opinions.

Having a more open mind.

What Is Intellectual Wellness?

Simply put, intellectual wellness is "the wellness of the mind," Michael Ebinger, the director of Washington State University (WSU) Spokane's University Center for Innovation who spoke about intellectual wellness for TEDx Talks, told Newsweek.

Randy McCoy, vice president of product and curriculum for The Little Gym, an enrichment and physical development center for children in Arizona, told Newsweek: "Intellectual wellness is much about the desire and ability to expand one's knowledge and skills through continued learning, productive curiosity, creativity thinking and exploration."

Ebinger broke down intellectual wellness into the following fundamental elements:

Actively learning throughout life, also known as constant or continuous learning.

Being open to new ideas.

Being involved in creative activities (such as writing, photography, community assistance).

Reading "all sorts of works," from those written by contemporary writers to those long dead.

Keeping updated on current affairs.

Participating in hobbies.

A connection to the arts.

How To Improve Intellectual Wellness

Improving your intellectual wellness entails "an act of doing or immersing oneself" in the elements mentioned above, Ebinger explained.

For example, "I am an active listener to many forms of classical music, and I am also a student of viola. Others might choose to paint, write poetry, learn new skills, take in all sorts of news sources to be well-versed on current events," he said.

McCoy said it's also important to understand the connection between intellectual wellness and physical activity and exercise.

"The same areas of the brain responsible for cognitive thinking tasks are activated and developed during physical activity and exercise," meaning "when the body is in motion, the brain comes to life," he said.

The brain shifts into a "higher gear" and is "ready for action" during physical activity and stays in this higher gear for a good amount of time even after we stop the activity.

This effect on the brain is not temporary. "It has a lasting, positive impact on brain function and neuroplasticity-the brain's ability to change and adapt from experience," McCoy added.

Studies have shown that regular, daily engagement in physical activity - particularly in children and teens - will enhance development in areas of the brain that are responsible for "executive function," he noted.

Executive function is important for a group of essential cognitive skills that allow us to "mentally multi-task," meaning mentally work with and remember several things at once while maintaining focus and filtering out distractions and even make creative adjustments "on the fly."

So bearing all of this in mind, one way to certainly improve intellectual wellness is to maintain a physically active lifestyle to "help keep the brain engaged and happy," McCoy said.

Intellectual Wellness Activities

Reading

Among the easiest activities for improving intellectual wellness is reading more literature, according to Ebinger. This can include reading classics or contemporary works and learning more about current events. "Constant learning always happens to those working on improving their intellectual wellness," he said.

Ebinger also recommends combining different elements of intellectual wellness. For example, "I might be involved with continuous learning as I read the works of Goethe [poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe] and listen to those words placed in a classical music composition.

"There might also be a creative side to that when I play a piece based on a poem or prose work by Goethe or composers like [Johannes] Brahms," he added.

Engaging Your Imagination

Ebinger explained: "Engaging with one's imagination is a sure way to build a connection to intellectual wellness and increasing the fluency with intellectual wellness."

Get Outside and Play

As mentioned, physical activity keeps the brain fit, McCoy said, as it will activate the neurotransmitters in the brain and get it "wired and fired."

Even just going for walks with your children can have a "dramatic impact" on their intellectual wellness, according to McCoy. He recommends making this a part of your regular family routine.

"I hike out in nature most every day. I find that when my body is in motion and my mind is relaxed, my mind becomes more creative and I come up with some of my best ideas," he said.

Brain and Body Power Naps

Giving your brain and body a rest can actually increase your brain power, McCoy said. Taking five minutes a day to sit or lay down and practice some form of mindful meditation can "do wonders" for your body and brain.

For those who may not even have five minutes to spare or who find it too long (especially kids and teenagers), the same benefits can be achieved by taking as little as 30 seconds to "sit, relax and do some deep breathing."

Even just five breaths can offer a nice brain and body power nap. "Breathe in positivity and happiness, breathe out 'clutter'," he said.

Hang Out with Your Buddies

According to McCoy, studies have shown that spending time with friends and loved ones on a regular basis will increase not only your level of happiness but even your lifespan. "Socializing, talking, exchanging ideas is like health food for the brain," he explained.
Update 03/31/22, 12:25 p.m. ET: This article was updated to reflect Randy McCoy's new job title.

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