Mental Fitness, Relaxation, and Self Improvement Articles

Here’s a collection of the best of our mental fitness, relaxation, and self improvement articles. If this is your first time to the mental fitness blog, this would be a great place to start. We hope you’ll then branch out into other parts of the website as well!

The Ultimate List! 100 Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp and Healthy

by Joi

How are pets beneficial when it comes to mental fitness and brain health? Read on to find out!

Mental fitness and brain health are… excuse the pun…. on everyone’s mind these days.  Not only are baby boomers actively searching for ways to keep their minds sharp and their brains healthy, other generations are seeking the fountain of youth for their minds as well.  You’re just as apt to see a 65 year old in the store, loading up on crossword puzzles as you are a 22 year old buying brain games.  I absolutely love that more and more people are waking up to the importance of good mental health and to the urgency of staying mentally fit.

Remember when we all believed that losing your memory was a part of aging. Thank goodness we know better now!

The time to start getting really serious about strengthening brain is today. Right now.  People with strong minds live healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives.  What’s more, they retain their memories and abilities to process information much, much longer.

The following list, in no particular order, gives you our mental fitness blog‘s 10 favorite ways to keep your mind sharp and healthy.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. – Henry Ford

Get Plenty of Mental Exercise: 

Like any muscle, the brain can suffer atrophy.  If you keep that thought in the front of your mind, you’ll no doubt seek out ways to “work out” your brain each day.  Below are a few ways to sneak in fun workouts for your mind. Please remember to do one or more of these daily.

  • Crossword Puzzles.  Never underestimate just how mentally stimulating a crossword puzzle is.  The ones that run in newspapers are pretty challenging – and they make the cost of the newspaper EVEN more worth it.
  • Jumble Puzzles.  These often appear in newspapers as well, allowing you to get even more bang for your buck.
  • If you don’t buy or subscribe to the newspaper (something I urge you to do for many reasons, including supporting local businesses and neighbors), you can find many puzzles online.
  • Start calculating mentally rather than using pen and paper or a calculator. Whether you’re adding up bills or shopping, go as far as you can mentally before resorting to extra help.
  • Grocery Store Game: Mentally keep a running tab (rounding to the nearest dollar) of the amount of money you’re spending.  At the cash register, it’s fun to see how close you actually come.
  • Subscribe to National Geographic Magazine.  Each magazine provides amazing, exciting, and beautiful lessons.  Bonus Mental Work: After reading each article, mentally “pull out” 5  facts and memorize them. Throughout the week, quiz yourself on the facts from each article.
  • If you’re more of a visual learner, use the above advice with the National Geographic channel (as well as NatGeo, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, The Travel Channel, etc.)
  • This goes back to newspapers (and is another excellent reason to subscribe or buy a local newspaper daily): Stay on top of local news.  Sadly, more people currently know more about celebrity news than they do world events. I recently overheard a conversation between two women in Starbucks. They were discussing the Kardashians and seemed to know more about them than most members of the infamous family does!  Then one literally said, “By the way, do you have any idea who Michele Bachmann is? My daughter asked me this morning and I was like, I dunno…“  They then proceeded to move their conversation back to Kim Kardashian and I was never more happy than the moment the barista called my name and handed me my Chai Tea Latte. I could escape!  Staying on top of current stimulates the mind.  At the very least, know who the players are!  You can’t really avoid celebrity or pop culture news and events. We’re surrounded by it, everywhere we look. But if your idea of current events is who the last pair was to leave Dancing With the Stars, you need to re-evaluate and stop, mentally, eating only junk food!
  • READ, READ, READ. Read books, magazines, shampoo bottles, blog posts, brochures, etc. Your brain LOVES to read and process information. Never deny it this delight.  Remember, bonus points are racked up when you read informational, educational, and “deep” content.
  • Play video games.  That’s right, I said it!  Did you know that many experts believe that video games can help keep you mentally active, keep your reflexes, reactions, and responses sharp, and (get this) can even help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease!  Now that doesn’t give you free range to play video games for hours on end each day. That would leave no time for other activities like reading, socializing, or stretching your mind in other ways.

We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself. – Lloyd Alexander

Stay Creative

A strong and healthy mind is a well-rounded and creative mind. Never get stuck in a rut where you think about, talk about, or participate in the same things over and over again. Growth doesn’t happen in ruts. What’s more, creativity dies a slow death in ruts.

  • Write!  Buy a journal or even a great notebook and simply record your thoughts and feelings each day.  Bonus points: Every now and then, put your feelings in the form of a poem.
  • If you have family that lives far away, write to them often. Everyone, young or old, loves to get a letter in the mail.
  • Consider setting up a personal blog. You’ll learn something new (how to run your own blog) and you’ll have a wonderful place to let your creativity flow.
  • Head to a local crafts store or the craft section in your favorite department store. Buy a project that interests  you and let your creativity flow!
  • If you have small children around, don’t just read them stories, TELL them stories. When my girls were younger, they actually preferred the stories I made up to the ones I read.
  • Don’t read the same types of books or the same authors all the time. Mix things up!
  • On your next trip to the library or bookstore, grab a magazine about a subject you know nothing about.  If you don’t cook, grab a cooking magazine and read different recipes, tips, and cooking terms. If you aren’t familiar with birds, grab a magazine about birds and learn about the different beauties. Travel magazines are also fascinating.  Expose yourself to different subjects – when you do, you take your brain on fascinating  journeys.
  • Take up cooking. If you already cook, learn a new style or type of cooking each month.  One month you may specialize in Chinese cooking, the next month you may move on to authentic Mexican cooking or Amish recipes.  Mix things up and avoid the dreaded rut.  If you’re new to cooking, tune in often to the Food Network, visit food blogs, and buy popular cookbooks.
  • Listen to Classical Music. It’s relaxing, beautiful, and helps clear your head from thought overload. Bonus: Learn about the composers!
  • Do things differently.  Take different routes to regular destinations, eat with your opposite hand, use chopsticks in Japanese restaurants, etc. When you mix things up, you perk up regions of your mind that might otherwise be lulled to sleep. Do I even have to tell you how dangerous it is when these regions doze?!?!

Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back. – Chinese Proverb

Your Emotional State Matters Greatly

Everything is tied together in your body – your mind, emotions, heart, health, etc.  Each one affects the other greatly, so each one must be taken into consideration.

  • Breath. Practice deep breathing. It allows oxygen to reach every corner of your being – and since oxygen is our lifeline, this is essential.  However, it’s more than that. Deep breathing helps us remain calm and keeps us on an even keel.  Throughout the day, take random “checks” on your breathing. You’ll be surprised at the number of times you’re pretty much holding your breath!  Breath deeper and the rewards will pile up.
  • Laugh more! Find opportunities for laughter and approach them daily.  Whether it’s reruns of I Love Lucy, Sanford and Son, or Friends – find what makes you laugh and enjoy it as often as you possibly can. Laughter truly is the best medicine and it’s an excellent stress reducer.
  • Find ways that work for you when it comes to managing stressful moments. When something stressful happens or a disappointment pops up, deal with it immediately. It’s when we allow these to pile up on one another that we get into trouble.  Spring into action right away.  Some people swear by long hot baths while others love to escape with a great book or their favorite music. Personally? It may sound strange, but I like to soak my feet in a scented, warm, bubbly bath.  After they soak for 5 – 10 minutes, I use an exfoliating brush on my heels, dry them off, and top it all off with my favorite foot lotion and a soft pair of aloe vera socks.  I do all of this while playing relaxing sounds with an iPod app (my favorite is rain… maybe because I’m from Kentucky and Kentucky rain is infamous!).  At the end of the 10 minutes, whatever annoyed me is long gone and my feet and I feel marvelous.
  • Don’t overwhelm yourself or overload your plate. Some people try to do too much and it takes a toll with their emotional, physical, and mental health. If you feel overwhelmed by life, you need to take a good look at your life and prioritize what you need to do.   Never extend yourself further than you’re capable of stretching. If you do, you’ll snap.
  • Get plenty of sleep and rest. Everyone needs their own personal amount of sleep each night – some people require 8 hours or more while others feel best after about 6 or 7 hours of sleep. Your body will let you know when you need more.  Also, remember to rest during the day as well.  Sit back, put your feet up, and let your body and mind unwind.
  • Keep a positive attitude. When you feel yourself having negative thoughts, push them out of the way. Negativity never produces anything worthwhile.
  • Get pets! Having at least one pet is SO rewarding in so many ways. It’s impossible to feel lonely or sad when a precious pair of eyes are lovingly looking at you.  If you can’t have pets, take up squirrel and bird watching. Buy bird feeders, squirrel feeders, and bird houses and invite more pets into your life than you ever imagined!
  • Unwind with gentle stretching and even yoga. Put relaxing music on and unwind from your head to your toes.
  • Don’t try to take care of everyone. Never try to live other people’s lives or do other people’s jobs for them.  When we take care of our self, we soon realize that it’s such a full time job, we don’t have time for anyone else. Allow others to live their lives, make their choices, and find their way.  As you’re able to live your life, allow them to live their life.  They aren’t the only ones who benefit – you reduce SO much stress, anxiety, and worry from your life when you just concentrate on you.
  • Meditation and prayer don’t just work wonders for reducing stress, they are invaluable when it comes to staying focused.

Your Physical Health Affects Your Mental Health

Making healthy decisions rewards you with improved physical health and mental health.  The heart and mind are so closely tied together, it’s actually amazing. What’s good for one is good for the other.

Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. – Oliver Wendell Holmes

  • Get plenty of physical activity. Whether you walk daily, practice yoga, or workout to an exercise video – be certain to get your blood pumping daily.
  • Take part in your favorite sports and activities. The funner an activity is for us, the more often we’ll do it.
  • Jump on the Wii Fitness craze. It’s incredibly fun and more of a workout than you’re probably already getting.
  • If you’re overweight, lose the extra pounds. Your heart and mind will both thank you for your efforts.
  • Move more. It’s that simple. In stores, walk the longest possible route to what you need.  Go out of your way to take more steps during the day.  Find even simple ways to add more steps like putting the laundry up one item at a time. Any and every way you can add more steps is vital – they all add up.
  • Get fresh air. Even in winter, get outside each day. Find reasons to do so – whether it’s feeding birds, walking a dog, playing with cats, gardening, raking, shoveling, walking, or jogging.
  • Be safe!  Always wear seat belts and use common sense when driving or playing sports. Brain injuries should be avoided at all costs – yes, even if it means wearing a bicycle helmet. Think about it, is it worth the risk?
  • Absolutely, positively avoid illegal drugs of any kind. If it isn’t legal, don’t make excuses for it. Avoid it and you’ll protect your body and mind.  Again, nothing is worth your brain’s health or safety.
  • Avoid alcohol.  Heavy drinking is linked directly to memory loss. Personally, I plan on avoiding anything that poses a risk to my memories!
  • Don’t smoke.   Smoking, obviously, robs your body of precious oxygen. Oxygen is essential for a healthy brain. Essential!  Furthermore, studies show that Alzheimer’s Disease is twice as likely to occur in smokers than non-smokers.  Bonus: Avoid secondhand smoke for these same reasons.

Eat and Drink a Healthy Diet

You are what you eat and it’s never more true than when it comes to brain health. Eating is one of those things we do, often, without even thinking. It’s time to be more mindful about what we put into our mouths.

  • Eat and drink antioxidant-rich drinks and foods.  Drink tea rather than soft drinks for a simple and fast way to up your antioxidant count. Also, eat more fruits and vegetables, which are packed with antioxidants. Bonus: Green tea is PACKED with antioxidants.
  • When it comes to brain health, fish is a super hero.  Eat fish several times a week.  However, avoid mercury-laden fish.  Salmon is one of the best friends your brain could have.
  • Avocados are another delicious way to improve your brain’s health. Avocados increase blood flow, causing more blood flow to the brain. Obviously this is a glorious thing!
  • Two and a half servings of whole grains, daily, reduce your chance of having a stroke.  Strokes are devastating for the victim’s brain, so we should do all we can to prevent them. Look for whole grain cereals, bread, and even pasta.
  • Something I have in my kitchen, at all times, is Olive Oil. This healthy alternative to other oils has been shown to break up clots in capillaries. It also helps with blood flow in general.  Replace other oils, and often butter, with olive oil. I use mine for frying eggs and haven’t missed butter in the least.  When making “French bread” or “Italian bread,” instead of buttering the bread, simply bake it THEN serve it on a platter with a dipping bowl filled with olive oil. Grind black pepper on top of the olive oil and/or sprinkle fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, basil, or chives) on top.  I also like to slice tomatoes and mozzarella onto plates, then drizzle olive oil on top. Healthy and delicious!
  • Buy organic when possible. Organic means that you’ll have fewer toxins joining you and your food at the table.
  • Blueberries and Goji berries are ninjas  in the battle for brain health. Eat them as often as possible.
  • Drink coffee! Coffee drinkers are less likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s than non-coffee drinkers. However, you have to have quite a few cups a day.  Most experts say about 8 cups are the minimum.  In addition to my morning cups of coffee, I also enjoy iced coffee throughout the day.
  • Did you know that breakfast is considered to be the most important meal for your brain?  Another reason to start your day off with a good, healthy breakfast. Oatmeal, eggs, fruit, whole grain cereal, and (of course!) coffee will give you a great start.
  • Drink lots of water to keep your body and mind detoxified and oxygenated.
  • Avoid as much as possible: Fast food, white sugar, overly processed food, hydrogenated vegetable oils (higher cholesterol leads to less blood flow to the brain), high fructose corn syrup (even worse for you than white sugar),

Be Social and Involved in Life Around You

Even homebodies can become more social and involved by taking simple steps. The main objective is to realize that there’s more to life than just you and the space in which you live. Studies show that being more involved and socially active benefit your brain in ways you couldn’t imagine.

  • Develop and nurture e-mail relationships. If you haven’t heard from someone in a while, contact them with a warm, friendly e-mail.
  • Get a Twitter account and take part regularly. It’s easier to set up a Twitter account than it is to comment on most blogs!  (I’m on Twitter HERE!)  Twitter’s a great way to keep up with what’s happening in the world and the perfect opportunity to expose yourself to other people’s thoughts and opinions. After all, we already know our own, right?!
  • Take a class that interests you at your community college.
  • Go through “human” lines in stores rather than the ones where you check yourself out.
  • Don’t monopolize conversations – really listen to what others are saying. People can tell when you’re really interested in them and in their words.
  • Leave comments on blogs you visit.
  • Take part in forums devoted to subjects that interest you.  Google your subject (cats, fashion, bird watching, baseball, cooking, books, etc) + forum. Individual sport’s teams have lively and entertaining forums and cat lover’s forum are always a warm and wonderful place to visit and make friends.

Challenge Your Brain More Than You Are Today

Each day, be mindful of REALLY challenging your brain… BEYOND crossword puzzles, brain games, and reading. Yes, these things are essential, but for optimum brain health and fitness, you need to go further. You don’t have to do each of the things below, of course. They’re simply ideas to use and build upon.

  • Subscribe to a Word a Day e-mail service. You’ll learn a new word each day. Bonus: Learn and remember each word. Study and be able to define each at the end of the week, then at the end of the month.
  • Learn a new language, or at least enough to identify a great range of objects and carry on a casual conversation.  Actually, learning a little bit of several different languages can be one of the best mental workouts of all.
  • Take up a musical instrument such as piano, guitar, or even drums.
  • Learn to do something you always wished you knew how to do. You’re the only one stopping you. Learn to knit, read music, paint, cook, build computers, design websites, write, groom dogs, garden, do yoga, or anything that interests you.
  • Take up a fascinating hobby such as candle-making, pottery, crochet, or soap making.
  • Learn photography and really hone your craft. Read every book and magazine you can get your hands on and become the best photographer you can be.
  • Take a class at your local college in something such as cake decorating, computer repair, first aid, child care, etc.
  • Learn how to paint.
  • Buy paint by number kits.
  • Learn to identify all the different birds in your region (and even beyond).
  • Learn to identify all the different trees, plants, and flowers in your region and beyond.
  • Learn to identify all the different insects in your region and beyond.
  • Learn to play chess.
  • Become the best checkers player in your family.
  • Travel to different places. If you have certain places you always go, venture off in other directions. It’s only “so fun” to see the same sights over and over again. Broaden your boundaries.
  • Become an expert on the Civil War (or Revolutionary War, World War I, World War II, etc.)
  • Get a degree online.
  • Learn Feng Shui.
  • Learn everything there is to know about vitamins and minerals. Become a walking encyclopedia of healthy information.
  • Learn about the healing power of herbs.
  • Take a subject you feel extremely weak in (for me, it’s definitely math) and hit it head on. Go to tutorial websites, buy workbooks, and really push yourself until you no longer feel weak!
  • Here’s a mantra to keep in mind: If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always know what you’ve always known.

 

A Few Extras Brain Healthy Tips

  • Gardening is excellent for stress reduction PLUS learning new gardening techniques increases your knowledge. Bonus: Read every gardening book and magazine you can get your hands on. Bonus #2: Take part on gardening forums and blogs!
  • Take an Omega-3 supplement. Omega-3 amino acids are one of the best brain supplements you could possibly take. They’re also incredibly healthy for your heart.
  • Another supplement you should consider is B Vitamins. Vitamin B complex supplements are known to be incredible brain boosters!
  • If you have a breathing disorder, be certain to do all you can to keep your airways open. The more oxygen your brain gets, the better your brain will function.
  • Get plenty of Vitamin C in your diet. Vitamin C can help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. It’ll also help keep colds at arm’s length.
  • Nuts are great for the brain. Walnuts, pecans, and pistachios… they’re healthy, delicious, and your brain loves them.
  • Matcha is a powdered form of green tea. It’s like green tea on steroids! It is beyond excellent for mental health.
  • Learn to visualize for quick stress reduction and to quickly release anxiety.  Think of a place that defines peace and contentment for you.  When you’re stressed, annoyed, anxious, or down, close your eyes (if possible) and visualize this place. What sounds do you hear, what can you see, are there any particular smells, how do you feel when you’re here…. If you can’t close your eyes, simply think about the setting and ask yourself the same questions.  (Warning: If you’re driving or at work, please pay attention to what’s going on around you for your safety as well as the safety of others.  If possible, wait until you’re elsewhere to “escape.”)
  • Grape Seed Extract has been shown to prevent the onset of dementia.
  • A great way to keep your memories alive is to think about them often.  If you’re one of the lucky ones, you’ve kept journals over the years and can go back and re-live what happened. If not, consult old pictures.
  • Smells often conjure up memories more than anything else.  Make a habit of smelling different perfumes, foods, flowers, etc – ask yourself what the scent reminds you of and “where the scent takes you.” There’s a particular perfume (Sand and Sable) that takes me back to the first years of my marriage, when my husband was in the military.  Enjoying the scent allows me to relive a lot of beautiful memories.
  • It’s worth repeating, eat more fish! Researchers from Purdue University have proven that those who consume baked or broiled fish at least once weekly have more gray matter in areas of the brain that are at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Brain health is associated with volume of gray matter in the brain; the more gray matter one has in the brain, the healthier one’s brain is.
  • If you have an iPhone or iPod, find educational and mentally challenging apps. A few of my favorites are Scrabble, Brain Trainer (from Lumosity), Brain2 Free, Math Ninja, Scramble CE, and Word Search, sudoku2, and Crossword.
  • Name Quiz (State Capitals) is a fun app – a great way to remind yourself of the state capitals.
  • Visit eHow often and venture off in different directions each time. The articles read fast and you’ll learn a lot of different cool things.
  • When working puzzles or solving problems, don’t worry about coming up with the correct answer and don’t sweat it when you don’t get something “right.”  The brain is benefited by the challenge, itself. When we ponder over a problem or spend time THINKING, we challenge our brain.  THIS is where the growth occurs – a correct answer is simply icing on the cake.
  • Your brain does not want to be in a rut. There’s no challenge or growth for it there. Remember to take it in different directions, show it different things, and expose it to different challenges and thoughts.  Throw different subjects into the mix, it positively loves it when you catch it by surprise!
  • You HAVE to check out Marbles the Brain Store. The website, the design, the information, the products, the blog… there’s nothing about this site I don’t love and highly, highly recommend.
  • Lumosity is a wonderful, inexpensive, and highly effective way to improve Your Memory. Click here for a Free Trial.


Brain Games

Be Mind-Ful of Heart Health!

by Joi

Salmon is loaded with Omega 3's which are great for your heart AND your mind!

Research shows that, beyond any shadow of doubt, brain health and heart health are directly linked. It goes without saying, but I’ll probably say it anyway, what’s good for your heart is good for your mind.   There are many ways you can incorporate heart-healthy habits and lifestyle changes into each day. When you do so, your heart AND your brain will become healthier.

That may be the best two-for-one deal I’ve ever heard of!

  •   Studies have found that eating the king of all omega-3 fatty acid super foods, fish, is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline or dementia. Omega 3′s are also, of course, the cornerstone of all heart healthy diets.
  • Eat to live, don’t live to eat. At the risk of being blunt, get your weight under control NOW. Study after study shows that people who are obese in middle age were twice as likely to develop dementia in later life. Those who also had high cholesterol and high blood pressure had six times the risk of dementia.
  • Get some sort of activity (such as walking) for 30 minutes each day.
  • Reduce your intake of fat and cholesterol. Countless studies have shown that high intake of saturated fat and cholesterol clogs the arteries and is associated with higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Use mono- and polyunsaturated fats, such as olive oil, for example. Bake, steam, or grill your food instead of frying. Find alternative seasonings to help your taste buds adapt.  An example: I LOVE fried fish – to absolute distraction. However, I’ve found that if I use a Blackened Fish seasoning, I honestly like it just as much grilled or baked. I’ve been grilling fish on my George Foreman grill and, honestly, can’t remember the last time I fried fish. I simply don’t miss it at all.
  • Don’t smoke. If you smoke… stop.  If you don’t smoke, don’t start. Smoking interferes with blood flow and oxygen to the brain and is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

From the Alzheimer’s Association:

Some of the strongest evidence about maintaining your brain links brain health to heart health. Even though you can’t feel your brain working, it’s one of the most active organs in your body. Your heart pumps about 20 percent of your blood to your brain, where billions of cells use about 20 percent of the blood’s oxygen and fuel.

If your heart isn’t pumping well — or if your brain’s blood vessels are damaged — your brain cells have trouble getting all the food and oxygen they need. Any condition that damages your heart or blood vessels can affect your brain’s blood supply.

 Off-Site articles you’ll find interesting:

Can Vitamin B12 Lower your risk of Alzheimer’s Disease?

Walking 6 to 9 Miles a Week May Help Memory

The Connection Between Seafood Omega-3s and Mental Health

by Joi

Alaska Salmon

About a year ago, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute sent me a wonderful package of recipes and health information to use for my food blog. Last night I was looking through the recipes for one in particular for salmon. While sorting through delicious-sounding recipes, I came across a pamphlet titled “Seafood Omega-3s and Mental Health.”

Obviously, mental fitness and brain health are of the utmost interest to me, so I put my recipe search on hold and read the information front to cover.

Fascinating! If I didn’t already love fish madly, I’d certainly begin a love affair now. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to eat more fish? It’s delicious, low fat, usually low calorie, great for your heart, and now we learn just how great it is for our mental health.

I sat down to the computer to type in the wonderful article – then it hit me, I’m sure they have a pdf on their website. Lo and behold they didn’t let me down. If mental fitness and the health of your brain are as important to you as they should be, I hope you’ll click the following link and read the article. It’s short but it’s packed with great information, particularly in the areas of depression, postpartum depression, and Bipolar Disorder.

Even if these subjects aren’t relevant to you personally, you’ll learn just how vital omega-3s are to the brain’s functions. Read Seafood Omega-3s and Mental Health for more information.

The Breakfast of Mental Champions

by Joi

Like a good little mental fitness blog should, we’ve been researching in the field of mental health – finding the things we can all do to improve our mental health. Something we’ve uncovered is very encouraging – there’s far more than we ever thought possible, that can be done to improve one’s memory, mental health, while preventing dementia and Alzheimer’s.

One of the most effective, and easiest, changes we can make is at the breakfast table.

It’s alarming how many people skip breakfast and even more alarming how many think they are actually doing something good for their body when they do so.

Study after study shows that for optimum physical health, we need to eat a good breakfast.  I’m sure you’ve seen these studies before, yourself.  What you may not realize, however, is just how important a good breakfast is for your mental health.

Studies have found that eating breakfast may improve short-term memory as well as attention. Students who eat breakfast tend to perform significantly better than those who don’t.  By the same token, workers who fuel up with a healthy breakfast work circles around those who either skimp or skip breakfast entirely.

So what breakfast foods do the experts suggest are the most pivotal for your brain’s health?   To fully arm yourself with the healthiest brain foods and fuel your mind with the nutrients it craves, include high-fiber whole grains, dairy, and fruits.  Be sure not to overeat, however.  High calorie breakfasts can slow you down and make it hard to concentrate.

Sugar is one of your brain’s favorite fuel sources – not table sugar, but glucose, which your body metabolizes from the sugars and carbohydrates you eat. That’s why a glass of something sweet to drink can offer a short-term boost to memory, thinking processes, and, yes, even mental ability.  A glass of juice is, obviously, the best way to give your brain this sweet treat.

Then, of course, there’s my favorite part of morning (or noon, or night…): Coffee.  Caffeine can energize and help you focus and concentrate.Caffeine in foods such as coffee (and chocolate, another reason for loving life) give your body and mind a wake up call.  Of course, the effects aren’t long term – just long enough to help you wake up and begin functioning.

One of my favorite breakfast foods is oatmeal.  It’s unmistakably good for you and it’s so wonderfully filling that you don’t feel like you’re starving halfway between lunch and breakfast.  You can kick up the health benefits of oatmeal and make it as healthy for your brain as it is for you heart by adding nuts.  Nuts (and seeds for that matter) are good sources of the antioxidant vitamin E, which is associated with less cognitive decline as you age.

Another favorite  healthy food, dark chocolate, also has powerful antioxidant properties. And it contains natural stimulants like caffeine, which can enhance focus and concentration.  That’s why dark chocolate is a favorite mid-morning snack.

As we’ve said many times on Out of Bounds and Self Help Daily, what’s good for the heart seems to be good for the brain – and vice versa.  The heart and the brain each depend on blood flow and eating a diet high in whole grains and fruits can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, lower bad cholesterol, and prevent memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. When you reduce your chances of plaque buildup and enhance blood flow, you really fire up those brain cells!

Be sure to include whole grains in your breakfast meals as often as possible.

Further research shows that blueberries help protect the brain from oxidative stress and may reduce the effects of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

But that’s not all:  Studies also show that diets rich in blueberries significantly improved both the learning capacity and motor skills.

Obviously, adding blueberries to oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, and pancakes is an extremely healthy thing to do for your brain’s health. 

So, are you ready to start powering up each morning with a healthy breakfast?  Start off with 100% fruit juice, a whole grain cereal or oatmeal, blueberries, and a cup of coffee.

In addition to eating a well-balanced breakfast, mental health experts also advise:

  1. Get a good night’s sleep.
  2. Stay hydrated.
  3. Exercise to help sharpen thinking.
  4. Practice relaxation techniques.
  5. Eliminate as much stress from your life as possible.
  6. Stay physically active – remember, keep that blood circulation, for your heart AND brain.

Make each moment count double,
~ Joi

3 Things You Should Be Doing Now to Prevent Alzheimer’s

by Joi

The harsh reality of Alzheimer’ Disease:

• 5.3 million Americans have it.

• Symptoms include memory loss and confusion.

• Half a million Americans in their 30s, 40s and 50s have Alzheimer’s or related dementia.

• It’s the seventh leading cause of death.

I don’t have to tell you how incredibly important it is to do everything within our power to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.   And I don’t have to tell you how vital it is that we all give as much money, time, energy, prayers, and efforts to Alzheimer’s research as well as to families who have been affected.

One of the main missions of Out of Bounds is to arm as many people as possible with the knowledge they need in order to prevent dementia, memory loss, Alzheimer’s, depression, anxiety, and a host of other diseases that can be down right horrific.

USA Today (one of a few periodicals I read every day) recently ran a fascinating article about Alzheimer’s prevention.  When I read the article, I couldn’t help getting excited – it’s always exciting to realize that so many people are throwing their money and brainpower behind the battle against Alzheimer’s.

Research has determined that three things (well within our control) can greatly lessen our chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease:

  1. Exercise
  2. Vitamin D.
  3. Tea

“These are encouraging,” says William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer’s Association. “These types of studies make people think, ‘Well gosh, maybe I can do something about this disease.’ “

Exercise to Prevent Dementia and Alzheimer’s

One of the studies is from the Framingham, Mass., cardiovascular risk study, in which researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, among others, tracked more than 1,200 elderly people over 20 years, 242 of whom developed dementia.

The researchers found that participants who had moderate to heavy levels of physical activity had about a 40% lower risk of developing any type of dementia. Those who reported the least amount of activity were 45% more likely to develop dementia compared with those who logged higher levels of activity. -   USA Today

Getting more activity is completely within our control.  It doesn’t matter how long your work days are, how many children you have, how old you are…  Basically you just can’t come up with a good enough excuse NOT to get more activity.

If, however, due to health reasons, you can’t take prolonged walks, exercise on a treadmill, or workout in some other organized manner – you can STILL increase the amount of activity you get each day.

  • If you watch a fair amount of television, use commercials as your cue to get up and move.  Do the twist, walk around the house, do squats – just move that body and keep it moving for as long as the commercial break lasts.  Do the same thing for each and every commercial break.
  • When you go to the store, take one or two laps around the entire store before you even put the first thing into your basket.
  • Even better than working out during commercials, work out during your favorite television show.  March/run in place, do sit ups, lift weights, and so on.  Grab an exercise book or log on to Prevention.com for exercise ideas.
  • Put the laundry up one item at a time.
  • Do all of your housework at once – a 30 minute to 60 minute session of housework can be quite a workout!

Needless to say, if at all possible, walk!  Take a nice, relaxing, brain pumping walk every day — use a treadmill when the weather isn’t conducive to an outside walk.

Drink Tea To Prevent Dementia and Alzheimer’s

Perhaps even more within our control than exercise, drinking tea has been found to help in Alzheimer’s prevention.  Great, great news for me – I have a cup of tea nearby me at all times!

In a study of more than 4,800 men and women ages 65 and older, participants were followed for up to 14 years. Tea drinkers had less mental decline than non-tea drinkers. Those who drank tea one to four times a week had average annual rates of decline 37% lower than people who didn’t drink tea.  (Source: USA Today)

Tea is full of antioxidants that your body loves – and now, apparently, we learn that our minds love tea as well.  Cool.  If you’re hooked on diet drinks or soft drinks, start asking yourself (before each sip), “What good is this doing my body or mind?”  Then ask, “What benefits would drinking tea instead give my body and mind.”  Then order tea!  Remember, if you’re on a decaf diet, you can order decaf tea – it doesn’t appear to be the caffeine that our brains love so dearly.

Vitamin D for Alzheimer’s Prevention

Finally, we come to another Alzheimer’s and Dementia prevention tip that’s completely within our control:  Getting enough Vitamin D.

British researchers looked at vitamin D’s effect on brain health. They examined data from 3,325 U.S. adults ages 65 and older from the NHANES III study. Vitamin D levels were measured by blood test, and cognitive tests were administered. Odds of cognitive impairment were about 42% higher in those deficient in vitamin D, and 394% higher in people severely deficient.

“Vitamin D is neuro-protective in a number of ways, including the protection of the brain’s blood supply and the clearance of toxins,” says author David Llewellyn of the University of Exeter Peninsula Medical School.

There is actually very little vitamin D found naturally in the foods we eat.  The best food sources of vitamin D are coldwater fish. In many countries, vitamin D is added to milk and other foods like breakfast cereals and margarine, contributing to our daily intake.

The best way to get vitamin D is from the sun.

While researching vitamin D, I found this on Real Age.com and thought it was pretty fascinating:

As indicated by the study of submarine personnel noted above, by far the best source of vitamin D is sunlight. However, current recommendations which stress sun avoidance and the use of sunblock may have the unintended effect of increasing the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. Severe vitamin D deficiency was common in England in the 1800s due to coal smoke obscuring the sun. During that time, cod liver oil, which is high in vitamin D, became popular as a supplement for children to help prevent rickets. (Rickets is a disease caused by vitamin D deficiency in which developing bones soften and curve because they aren’t receiving enough calcium.)

Vitamin D deficiency is known to occur today in the elderly (who often receive less sun exposure) as well as in people who live in northern latitudes and don’t drink vitamin D-enriched milk. The consequences of this deficiency may be increased risk of hypertension, osteoporosis, and several forms of cancer. (Source: Real Age.com)

Use common sense when getting enough vitamin D.  Aim for a little sunlight daily if at all possible.   I’m not suggesting you burn or even simmer your skin – but I am suggesting that you seriously ask yourself if you’re getting enough sunlight and enough vitamin D.

While you’re thinking about it, take a walk around your yard – while, of course, sipping a tall glass of iced tea.

Your brain will love you for it!

Make each moment count double,
~ Joi

Relax, Max! How to Keep Stress From Breaking Your Heart

by Joi

Everyday Health recently ran a great article on Heart Health: Preventing Heart Disease. There was, of course, the “expected” (yet golden) advice:

  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Eat more fiber
  • Get at least 10,000 steps in daily
  • Get at least 30 minutes of exercise 6 days a week
  • Have a great night’s sleep

As someone utterly fascinated with the mind-body connection and someone who firmly believes that the two influence one another greater than we’ll ever truly realize, I wasn’t terribly surprised to find the following advice:  Relax!

Stephen Sinatra, MD, a cardiologist and assistant clinical professor at the University of Connecticut had this to say in Everyday Health’s article, “People who see the world optimistically — who see the cup as half-full — [typically] do not get heart disease, as opposed to people who are more pessimistic, who worry all the time, who live in fear — these are the people who have hormonal responses that lead to heart disease.”

If that doesn’t spell it out, I don’t think it can be spelled.

Finding ways to relax and unwind aren’t just necessary for our emotional and mental well-being, health, and happiness – they’re pivotal to our physical health as well.  Our heart doesn’t want any more stress or upheavals in our lives any more than our brains do!

People who tend to stress and mentally grind about things know who they are. Truth be told, they want very much to relax but often don’t know where to start.  There isn’t a deep, mysterious secret to learning how to relax. On the other hand, it isn’t as easy as opening a can of Diet Coke either.  Those of us who were born in a sort of zen state and have never seen any reason to leave it tend to forget that sometimes.  We’re like, “Relax, man, just relax.”

Easier said by some than done by others.  We’re all wired differently, after all.  What’s more, isn’t it a good thing we are?!  I can’t imagine a world filled with zen-bots any more than I can imagine a world filled with stress-n-steins. Either arrangement would make me want to hide in the attic.

When all’s said and done, however, those who tend to stress out, worry, fret, and get their drawers twisted on a regular basis MUST find a way to deal with life differently – otherwise, it’ll deal with them in a completely unacceptable way.  To the tune of heart disease.

Below are a few steps to consider if you’re one of the many, many, many people who are looking for more relaxation.

  1. Remind yourself, as often as needed, that this is life and unexpected things are going to happen. Disappointments, broken appliances, flat tires, arguments, rude co-workers, bad colds, burned meatloaf – and so on – are going to happen.   I’ve never understood why people flip their lids over things that can be fixed.  Save the lid flipping for those things that can’t.  I remember one particularly fun month when my vehicle, our oldest daughter’s vehicle, and our middle daughter’s vehicle ALL needed trips to the mechanic.  My husband never batted an eye.  I thought, “Wow. He’s handling this all amazingly well…”  Then I overheard him telling one of our girls, in a matter-of-fact way:  “It can be fixed.  Not a big deal.”  A perfect lesson:  If something can be fixed, why stress?  Save that for things that can’t be fixed, replaced, or done without.
  2. Don’t expect life to be fair. No one ever said it would be.  Sometimes bad things happen to good people and sometimes good things happen to bad people.  Sometimes your college professor will be wrong and you’ll be right – you’ll know it the whole time you’re staring at the B- on your paper.   Sometimes you’ll try a new exotic recipe that you’re excited about and your spouse won’t even take a second bite!  That’s life and no one said it’d be fair.  You aren’t in it alone – and life isn’t singling you out.  No pity parties allowed.
  3. You know the old saying that starts out, “All work and no play…”  The 2010 version would be, “All work and no play invites stress over to stay.” If your mind is on work and/or making money for the majority of your waking hours, you need to reevaluate.  There’s more to life than money and work!  Take time and make time for enjoyment.  Sit down and watch an NBA or MLB game.  I’m a huge baseball fan and can think of few things more relaxing than kicking back on the couch with a snack and watching a baseball game.  I’m there – body, mind, and soul – from the first pitch to the last.   For those few hours, nothing needs to be done or taken care of…. except maybe a few appeals to the umpire regarding his inconsistent strike zone.  Have a wide one or have a narrow one – just be consistent.  No accordion strike zones when my Cardinals are playing, thank you very much.  As a sidebar, following sports can be a great mental workout – keeping up with names, numbers, teams, managers, averages, wins, losses, divisions, and so forth, is a fun way to stay mentally active and a great way to challenge yourself.  A few days  ago, I grabbed pen and paper to see if I could name all of the National League teams and all of the American League teams.  I did really, really well – I just put the Marlins in the wrong league and totally forgot about the Lions.  Sorry, Detroit.
  4. Take up Birdwatching. Seriously.  Grab a few bird feeders, a bird bath, and even a house or two.  Fill the feeders with seed and the bird bath with fresh, clean water.  If your completely into it like we are, you could even plant a flower bed nearby to make your feathered friends Garden of Eden even lovelier.  I promise you, when you watch these peaceful, feisty little feathered beauties, your stress level will hit rock bottom and your relaxation level will soar.  If you tend to stress and being tightly wound has become a way of life for you, I’m literally begging you to take up birdwatching.  You’ll feel better instantly. Call it your feathered tonic.
  5. Watch the Food Network. This is another great way to unwind and relax. When you come in from work, turn on the Food Network and chill.  Few things are more peaceful than sitting back and watching a cooking show.  Pick a few favorites and watch them regularly.
  6. Enjoy your favorite hobbies and create new ones. Some of my favorite hobbies are cooking, walking, gardening, birdwatching, reading, watching movies & sports, and learning new things.  Learning new things seems like an odd hobby, but I simply LOVE to research and learn about history, new places, animals, nutrition, and so on.  I also want to get back into crafts.  I used to sew, make pillows, and once started to take up quilting.  I would love very much to get back in touch with my creative and crafty side.  I also want to get back into cake decorating.  I used to make some real works of art (such as doll cakes when our girls were smaller – of course, they’d still love them muchly!)  If there are any hobbies or interests that peak your interest, head off to the craft section at your favorite department store – or a Hobby Lobby if you have one of those amazing stores – and have at it!
  7. If you enjoy golf, tennis, softball, or bowling – go for it. Also, if there’s one of these sports you’d like to learn – why not start this month?  The beautiful thing about sports is that you’re multi-tasking in a wonderfully healthy way – you’re relieving stress, unwinding, getting fresh air, AND getting heart-healthy exercise.  I’ll feel a little guilty while you’re outside doing all of that and I’m inside watching baseball, sewing, and planning my next extraordinary cake.  A little guilty… happy, but a little guilty.
  8. Take up yoga.  Whether you’re male or female, 10 or 70 – yoga is amazingly relaxing.  After 30 minutes of yoga, you feel almost like you’ve gotten a full body massage.  Now tell me that wouldn’t feel sensational!
  9. Take a walk. Very often, a nice 10 minute walk is all that’s needed to unwind and relax.  If 10 minutes doesn’t do the trick, keep going!
  10. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep. A lack of sleep (even if you shortchange yourself an hour or two) can make even the most relaxed, even-tempered person in the world a crank and a bundle of nerves.

If you do just one thing today (and it’s Wednesday, so we all know 1 is actually a reasonable number) – make it this:  Make up your mind to make your health and happiness a priority.  Your heart’s health should be one of the most important things to you.  It determines whether you live or not!  I can’t see something being any more important than that.  Find ways to relax and unwind and do so on a regular basis.  You HAVE to include some time in your day (each and every day) for total, complete relaxation.

Now off to to the store with you – the birdseed (and a more relaxed future)  is waiting.

Make each relaxing moment count double,
~ Joi

By the way… have you met my new favorite word yet? – Gambaru! Click the link and prepare to fall in love with the word as much as I have.

4 Ways to Improve Your Memory and Strengthen Your Mind

by Joi

How can you strengthen your mind?
How do you improve your memory?
How do you prevent mental decline?
How do you guard against supposed “age-related” memory problems?

If you’re looking for ways to strengthen your mind, improve your memory, and enhance your brain’s fitness – look no further  than the mirror.

More specifically, look at four simple promises you have to MAKE, then KEEP. Obviously, just making them isn’t going to do a bit of good. :)

Promise # 1:  Keep Your Mind Engaged

Experts tell us again and again and again (think they’re trying to drive their point home?!) that we need to keep mentally active if we want to keep mentally fit.  We have to keep our minds occupied.  If we fill our mind, our time, and our days with nothing but fluff – our minds aren’t going to be stimulated enough to stretch or grow.  In fact, the mind will regress and weaken.  Think about lifting weights.  Which will produce better-defined, more attractive, and stronger arms – working out with a 10 pound weight in each hand or a jumbo marshmallow in each?  You have to challenge something to bring out its best.

But here’s the thing I think most people miss:  You have to keep on challenging anew.  You can’t get to a point and rest thinking, “I’ve arrived. I’ll rest.”  The person who does that will soon learn just how wrong they were.

Anyone who has embarked on an exercise regime to lose weight knows the importance of adding distance or time to their workouts.  If you don’t keep challenging your body, the weight will simply stop coming off.  If you start out walking a nice, comfortable pace everyday for a month, you’ll lose weight.  How much depends upon your eating habits.  However, after a period of time, your body isn’t impressed by this distance or challenged by your pace.  It refuses to budge any more. Hello, plateau.

This is why fitness trainers preach the importance of changing your routine up, adding distance, and incorporating interval training into your workout – it keeps the body challenged.  It keeps the body improving.  It keeps the body engaged.

How do we keep our mind engaged?  If you’re reading these words, you already have a keen interest in mental fitness and brain health. You’re already ahead of the game.  You probably read each day, love brain games, and are probably a Crossword Puzzle working machine.  But here’s the thing:  Are you reading the same things each day?  Are you working the same types of puzzles each day?  Do you visit the same types of websites?  Do you watch the same types of television shows?

Are you working out with jumbo marshmallows?

It’s not enough to just read educational blogs, websites, magazines, books, and so on.  You have to make sure you aren’t reading the same subjects over and over and over again.  Many so-called experts who are cemented in particular subjects aren’t giving their minds the workout they think they are.  They aren’t stretching their minds at all, actually.  The mind gets accustomed to and comfortable with all of the articles about the same thing.

How much growth do you think occurs between accustomed to and comfortable with? Virtually none.

Here’s what I like to do.  I take a different subject area every couple of weeks and try to learn as much about that subject as possible.  I’m the biggest animal lover in the world, so I use animals often as subjects.  I recently chose one of my favorites – the great white shark.  Fascinating guy!

I also love history, so I’ll often choose a period of time, a war, or an individual and learn all I can.   Flowers, herbs, plants, natural remedies, baseball – they’re all personal favorite directions to take off and explore.  There’s something mentally stimulating for the mind to immerse itself in, say, sharks one week (or month) and Andrew Jackson the next. Personally, I’m fonder of the shark.

Challenge your mind and, whatever you do, KEEP YOUR MIND ENGAGED.

Promise # 2:  Keep Your Body Moving

Experts also tell us that staying physically active is as important for our minds as it is for our bodies.  Try to get more activity each day in any way you can. Below are various ideas to do just that.

  1. Walk everyday for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Garden!  Planting flowers, herbs, veggies, and plants – then tending to them calls for a lot of activity and burns a lot of calories. You get fresh air, sunshine, and physical fitness. If you engage your mind by reading about many new, fascinating plants, you’ll be overachieving!
  3. If the weather is too cool to walk outdoors, consider buying  a treadmill.  I wouldn’t take anything for mine.
  4. Clean house like you mean it!
  5. Wash your car yourself instead of taking it through a car wash.
  6. When shopping, take the long route to everything on your list.
  7. Make it a habit to park as far as possible from your destination.
  8. Put the laundry up one item at a time.

You get the idea – find more ways to move your body more often.  Pedometers are outstanding.  They let you know how many steps you’ve gotten that day – so you can try to stay on pace or push yourself beyond pace.  Always fun.  Just KEEP YOUR BODY MOVING.

Promise # 3:  Keep Your Lungs Clear

Smoking isn’t just unhealthy for your lungs and body – it’s a nightmare for your brain. If you are a smoker who wants to improve your memory and strengthen your mind – you simply must quit smoking.   What’s more, if you’re around smokers – even if you don’t smoke – your lungs aren’t as clear as they’d like to be.  Avoid second hand smoke whenever possible.  It’s horrible for every part of your body and mind.

If you’re after optimum physical and mental health- KEEP YOUR LUNGS CLEAR.

Promise # 4:  Keep Your Appointment with Your ZZZZZZs

One of the surest signs that you aren’t getting enough sleep is mental fogginess.  Forgetting names, misplacing things, and simply not feeling on top of your game are all signs of a lack of rest.  You may think you’re getting all the sleep you need, but that may not be the case.  Try to add a few more ZZZs and see if you feel more like your old self.

Sleep is required for our bodies and minds to repair themselves from all they do during the day.  If you rob yourself of the sleep your body and mind crave, you’re running on empty – and that never ends well.

Even if you’re keeping your mind engaged, keeping your body moving, and keeping your lungs clear… you won’t achieve all that’s yours to achieve if you don’t KEEP YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR ZZZZZZZZs.

Make each promise and make each promise stick!
~ Joi

Go Deep! A Mental Exercise to Keep You Mentally Sharp

by Joi

The individual who wants to give their brain the sort of workout that it craves has endless options each day to do just that.  Of course we know about the wonderful brain games that are online and offline – these are wonderful, wonderful, wonderful ways to stimulate your mind, improve your memory, and keep your mental faculties sharp and ready!

There are also other little “tricks” we can do to stay sharp and improve our memory:

  • Periodically, challenge yourself to spell a word that you hear forward AND backward.
  • When you have a mathematical problem to solve, try it first without the calculator (or even pen and paper).  Then, move to pen and paper to see if you got it right, mentally.  THEN, the final test – check yourself with a calculator.  If you erred somewhere along the way, go back and see where you messed up.
  • Listen to 80′s music  (and/or 50′s, 60′s, 70′s, 90′s – depending upon your generation).  The music, itself, won’t perk up sleeping brain cells but this will:  See how fast you can identify the title of each song, the artist, and the year the song came out.  When it comes to the year, give yourself a 2 year leeway – if you’re within 2 years, you did exceptionally well.  If you can’t come up with the artist (or year) while the song’s playing – think about it for the rest of the day.  Believe me, your brain loves this sort of workout!  Try to picture a music video, the artist singing the song, or the album cover.  Resort to Google only as a last result – when you feel as though your head may explode. Tip: Searching for the song title and/or part of  the lyrics can lead you to the artist.
  • Take different routes to the store, to work, or just to ride around town. Be sure you have gas, though – and allow plenty of time for wrong turns.
  • Brush your teeth with the hand you never use for the task.  Eat with your opposing hand as well.  The brain loves it when you mix things up and catch it off guard.
  • Eat a healthy diet.  What’s good for your heart and body is also good for your mind. Read through the articles here on Out of Bounds to find food that experts recommend for a healthy mind (blueberries, fish, spinach, walnuts….).

In addition to these brain games and mentally stimulating tricks, there’s something else you can do to sharpen your mind:  Become a DEEPER thinker.  Don’t let your thoughts just skim the surface – make them go much deeper.

If you want to be a deep thinker you have to get in the habit of asking deep questions. Ask them about everything. But how can we say if one question is “deeper” than another? A couple examples will help make that clear.

Deep thinking looks beyond (deeper) than the obvious and searches for reasons, explanations, answers, and true meaning.   Here’s an example.  My husband and I were recently checking out at a favorite grocery store.  The young girl working the cash register was so completely off of her game that I wanted to just hug her… then send her home.  Sadly, it wasn’t my place to do the first and I didn’t have the power to do the second, so  my husband and I both just smiled at her and hoped that our combined thoughts of “It’ll get better, sweetie..“  reached her.

99 percent of people would have gotten extremely annoyed at the girl, herself.  Most would have stormed off grumbling things about her, personally.  However, as we walked away my husband’s beef was with the “higher ups.”  He pointed out how unfair it was to put a young girl (or anyone, for that matter) into a situation they hadn’t been properly trained for.  He wondered why someone wasn’t near her, helping answer her questions and showing her what needed to be done – rather than just abandoning her in her misery and confusion.

That’s an example of “DEEP thinking” – looking past the surface… past the so-called obvious that everyone can see.

Start digging deeper with your thoughts.  Look for meanings behind situations, reasons “why,” and solutions to problems -whether they’re your own problems or someone else’s.

Below are some of my favorite subjects and situations to wrap my mind around.  Not only can they stimulate deeper thinking, they’re great conversation bait as well.

  • Why are reality shows so popular?
  • Why did John McCain choose Sarah Palin as his running mate?
  • Did the choice of Mrs. Palin lead to John McCain’s loss?
  • How serious IS global warming?
  • What could other organizations learn from PETA – things that could lead to THEIR organizations becoming household names as well.
  • What could a small business learn from Survivor?
  • Will “Race” ever be a non-issue?
  • Should the Bible be allowed in school rooms and in the school curriculum?
  • Should prayer be allowed and even encouraged in school?
  • What are the pros and cons of the new Health Care Reform?
  • Should the government pay for college?
  • Why is Twitter so popular?
  • Are texting, twitter, facebook, and MySpace affecting our young people positively or negatively?  How?
  • How could adults keep technology from being a negative influence in their children’s lives?
  • Do you believe in ESP?
  • Why are some people afraid of clowns?
  • Is the term “cougars” a bad thing, good thing, or somewhere in between?
  • If the government had proof of life on another planet, do you think they’d divulge the information?
  • Has American Idol ran its course?

Here’s something that’s worth extra points:  If you stand, firmly, on one side of a situation or controversy – force yourself over to the other side and, literally, defend it!  More likely than not, you’ll return to the side you started out on – but you’ll do so a more rounded, informed, and educated individual.  You’ll also be a deeper thinker.

I’d love for you to share your opinions about deep thinking in the comments, below.  Let us know how you try to practice deep thinking in your own life.  Also, feel free to tackle any of the questions above. I’d love to see deep conversations develop  and brain cells stimulated!

Make each moment count double,
~ Joi

Ready to Rethink Mental Health? Get On Board!

by Joi

stunning flower

For far too long, mental illness has been stigmatized and those stigmas have served as a barrier to innovation.  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “Rethinking Mental Health” competition offers an opportunity for new ideas outside the traditional structures to emerge.

What can you do to participate? Simply go to http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/mentalhealth to do any of the following:

1.  Comment on entries from others like you who are deeply concerned about this very important issue and want to get involved.
2. Enter the competition and share your own idea for improving mental health.
3. Nominate an inspired idea or project.
Please note that you will have to create an account on the Changemakers website, but it is free to do so and will only take a minute of your time. Entries and comments can be submitted until October 14th.  A panel of judges will then select 10 ideas that the Changemakers community will vote on to select the top three. The Changemakers collaborative competition winners-the three finalists that receive the most votes-will be announced on December 16, 2009 and will each receive a cash prize of USD $5,000. As important as the three winners, however, is the dialogue that occurs about mental health and that as many great minds as possible come to the table with fresh thinking and new solutions.

For more information, please visit http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/mentalhealth.

I hope you’ll get involved – for one thing this is an ingenious idea, one that could help countless people live better, more productive, happier lives.  For another, I’d love to see you win the money!  Hmmmm, in fact, I wouldn’t mind the money myself – I want a new treadmill pretty badly….

I’ll see you there!

Make each moment count double,

~ Joi

Go Nuts! Your Brain Will Thank You

by Joi

Walnuts

For your brain’s sake, you should begin loading up on peanuts, brazil nuts, and walnuts. Toss them in salads, yogurt, oatmeal, etc. Or, go with my favorite system – straight into the mouth.

Each of these delicious nuts are high in protein – but more importantly, they contain omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids are known to be important to a healthy brain.

So, go nuts!

Make each moment count double,
~ Joi
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DID YOU KNOW?
The Sun’s diameter is about 870,000 miles wide, 109 times the size of earth. You could actually fit 1.3 million Earths inside the Sun!

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