Are you looking for a way to keep your brain healthy while you’re stuck at home? If so, you’re not alone. We are all looking for new ways to stay mentally sharp since the Coronavirus pandemic grounded life as we know it.
When your brain is firing on all cylinders, you’ll experience less stress, feel physically and mentally healthy, and have a passion for learning and understanding the world around you.
There are plenty of ways you can promote positive brain health. Today we wanted to look at several ways you can enjoy life and keep your brain active without leaving your house. Our tips will primarily focus on small, actionable tips you can start implementing right away.
Stay Active
Before we were all stuck indoors, staying active was manageable. It was easy enough to go to the gym or spend some time walking through your neighborhood.
Now that things are a little different, it’s not as easy to stay physically active. Gyms are closed, and walking around in your neighborhood might require you to wear an uncomfortable mask, which makes it hard to exercise.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can get enough exercise without leaving your house. Find what works for you, and learn how to include this routine into your new, but temporary, indoor lifestyle.
For example, if you’re into yoga, you might want to consider spending an hour a day practicing your technique in a quiet room. If you’re more into lifting weights, there are plenty of places you can buy free weights and develop a routine that’s similar to your old routine at the gym.
Couple this with the abundance of online training videos, and you’ll see that it’s easy to stay physically active while you’re at home. When you’re moving your body, and your blood starts pumping, you’ll get a dose of the feel-good chemical dopamine. But don’t forget that exercising also helps improve circulation, which is necessary for good brain health.
Declutter Your Thoughts
During these trying times, your mind is probably racing with a million different thoughts. If you feel like you’re stressed out or overthinking, you can benefit from decluttering your brain.
When we get overwhelmed, our brain has a hard time processing the things happening around us, which only contributes to stress and poor sleeping habits.
Lack of sleep can cause severe mental distress, prevent learning, and make focusing on one task at a time nearly impossible. You can declutter your brain in several ways.
Here’s a simple exercise to help you get more rest and keep your brain healthy if you’re an overthinker: Twice a day, spend 10 minutes writing down all of your thoughts, your to-do list, and things stressing you out.
Once you have your thoughts on paper, it becomes easier to put your energy elsewhere because you have a because they are stored elsewhere. That’s not to say that all of your stress will instantly melt away, but you will have a much easier time staying focused on positive things when you organize your thoughts with a journal or your blog.
Connect with Friends and Family
Social connections are essential for a healthy mind. Odds are, you don’t get to talk to relatives or your friends as much as you would like since most people are staying inside.
Most people turn to social media as a way to keep in touch with loved ones, which is great, depending on how much time you’re spending on these sites.
Don’t be afraid to video call the people close to you. Seeing and speaking to people we care about helps us build secure connections in our brain, and gives everyone some much-needed peace of mind.
Simply touching base with your friends and family can have a massive impact on your mood and keep your brain sharp and healthy.
Reignite Your Passions
Finally, make sure you’re spending time reigniting your passions. Many of us got lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life before the recent pandemic. Between work burnout and general overload, there was little time to pursue the things that we find interesting.
Now is a great time to revisit the things we’ve wanted to do but haven’t had time. What is it that you would like to accomplish? Is your goal to learn how to master the art of meditation? Maybe you’ve been thinking about starting a website but couldn’t find the time.
Think carefully about your passion in life and get started. The brain savors the chance to learn and understand new things, especially when it comes to our interests and hobbies.
Despite everything going on in the world today, there’s more time than ever before to reignite your passion, connect with family, and reorganize your habits for a more fulfilling, stress-free life.