When you are hands deep in potty training, giving snacks, and coordinating schedules, the word ‘intellectual wellness’ may not exactly be something that you’re prioritizing. But while you are devotedly caring for your family, it’s crucial that you engage your mind frequently.
In this post we are talking about the next dimension of wellness. Specifically, I’ll share 5 easy ways you can support your brain health. Sound boring? Please keep reading. These are stimulating, fun and help form a successful and happier life. This is self-care.
8 Dimensions of Wellness
What is Intellectual Wellness
The intellectual wellness definition is the following:
Growing one’s knowledge through creative ways that allows us to maintain brain health in order to:
- process learning
- solve problems
- make decisions in daily life
Brain health is mental health.
And as you probably know and have experienced, mental is health is vital to our well-being.
What are some intellectual wellness examples?
Here’s 4 instances, or goals of intellectual health:
- Challenging yourself to see all sides of an issue
- Exposing yourself to new ideas, people and beliefs (different than your own!)
- Developing time management and skills for a successful household
- Understanding who you are and what you value
Those sound lovely, right? But perhaps a bit daunting or big for today’s to-do list.
Here’s the neat part–getting there is actually the fun! You can do these, enjoy these and involve the kids, too.
5 Ways to Practice Intellectual Wellness
Like so much of life, it’s a balance. Here’s 5 ideas to get your growing today.
1. Read a book or listen to podcast
Read a book! Check out from the library, download to your tablet or even your computer. It can be a classic, best seller or of any topic that interests you. As long as it’s expanding your knowledge or mindset or experiences, it’s a winner!
If you’re like me, you savor that sacred time at bedtime to flip pages but really love audible information and podcasts. Especially during the day.
Guess what? Those count too!
While reading and listening slightly differ in how your brain processes it, both support using your brain- and that’s the point!
2. Try Something New
As a mom, we have this opportunity ALL THE TIME thanks to our kids. Think about it:
- Learning a new board game
- New experience like mommy and me dance class
- Going to the museum and learning history
If anything, kids challenge us in this department frequently with that one favorite question…
“But why, mommy?”
Yes, this can be a test of patience but how cool is it that we learn right along with them?
As our kids age, we can swap that automated response of “just because” for a thrilling suggestion of “that’s a good question, let’s look it up together.”
And, I don’t know about you, but thanks to motherhood where basically everything is new, I’m constantly out of my comfort zone and housing a lot more confidence than I previously did. All while growing the brain, apparently!
3. Exercise
Here we are again with that word exercise– have you noticed it’s popping up everywhere in this series? But let’s spotlight a major organ that’s not highly discussed. Your brain!
As a refresher, exercise can:
- Enhance learning
- Sharpen your memory
- Reduces stress
- Stimulate mood and an overall happier demeaner
So, while the wellness industry is busy correlating exercise with a bathing suit, we can empower ourselves to move to support and sustain our body and all it does for us!
4. Get Creative
Curiosity and exploration are great ways to feed your brain. Involve your kids in this, too! Together you can:
- Doodle
- Craft
- Paint
- Garden
- Bake
Or maybe you have a small business, blog or photography business. Those are wonderful ways and offer so many benefits (read about benefits of blogging here) for continued learning and inspiration.
5. Eat Well
Last and certainly NOT least is nutrition.
Did you know that our brain consumes nearly 20 % of our calories? (Here’s an article that dives further into that)
Certain foods are exceptional for brain health such as:
- leafy greens
- Berries
- Coffee
- Pumpkin
- Fatty fish/ Omega 3 sources (avocados, walnuts, flax seed)
An easy way to boost nutrition is to keep hydrated as the brain is primarily made of and uses water to function.
For optimal focus and clarity, drink your water!
As you can see, the more you do these activities, you’ll feel the energy–broader world view, enhanced thinking patterns and renewed sense of self and purpose.
Imagine how fulfilling these “intellectual” activities feel while cultivating a grateful heart!
Keep practicing. Keep learning. Keep growing.
Wellness is a journey.
Just like motherhood!
More inspiration:
Needing a quick workout idea? Please check out:
Check out these easy recipes + nutrition tips that support brain health:
Ready to embrace your wellness?
Catch up on previous posts and continue to follow along! And hey, reading blogs is a great way to support your mental health today 🙂
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