10 Proven Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness
by Kat Rowe | March 1, 2022
To live a full and happy life, it’s important to choose wellness. True well-being consists of multiple interconnected layers, from your work and social life to your body, emotions, and spirit. Intellectual wellness has a profound role to play in this narrative, with healthy brain function linked with enhanced cognitive abilities and improved mental health outcomes.
What is Intellectual Wellness?
Intellectual wellness is the active pursuit, development, and integration of an optimal mental state. As one of 8 dimensions of wellness, your intellectual capacity has a powerful impact on your mental health and broader life experience.
Intellectual wellness is about improving your thinking skills, integrating your emotions, and acting decisively when needed. It’s about being open to new ideas, learning to think critically, and finding creative ways to overcome life’s challenges.
As the faculty of objective reasoning and understanding, your intellect helps you to focus on what matters and connect with the world around you.
Intellectual Wellness Tips
When you increase your brain power, you can upgrade your health and boost your happiness quotient. Let’s take a look at the top ten tips.
1. Explore things
When you take on new activities, you open up new pathways in your brain. Whether it’s a new hobby, an extended vacation, or a fresh career path, the intrinsic power of novelty helps to promote growth on the inside and out.
2. Get busy
The brain’s capacity to respond and create new connections is called neuroplasticity. A busy lifestyle enhances intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli, which helps to link brain structures and improve cognitive function.
3. Be creative
Creativity is a fun and easy way to boost your intellectual wellness. As the cornerstone of problem-solving, active creativity helps to improve your memory, enhance your processing speed, and increase your cognitive flexibility.
4. Have fun
When you enjoy yourself, you release powerful neurotransmitters in your brain. Fun experiences help to create memories and improve brain health. From day trips and concerts to sporting events and parties, fun activities provide fuel for brain growth.
5. Flex your brain
While the brain is not actually a muscle, it still enjoys a good workout. Brain training games and puzzles help to promote healthy neural function, as does reading, painting, sewing, and listening to music.
6. Move your body
Along with brain exercises, physical workouts have a profound impact on cognition and mental health. Neural activity benefits from healthy blood flow, which is enhanced by regular physical activity.
7. Eat good food
Eating a balanced and nutritious diet is the key to good brain health. Lots of foods are known to power the brain, including omega-3 fatty acids, blueberries, turmeric, and fresh green vegetables.
8. Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is the process and practice of being aware of the present moment. When you pay attention to the world around you, your brain can function at an optimal level without becoming reactive or getting stuck in loops.
9. Listen to your emotions
More than an isolated organ, your brain is central to your entire being. How you think is intimately connected with how you feel, so be aware of your emotions and always be kind to yourself.
10. Find your purpose
While it’s easier said than done, finding your purpose in life is the key to intellectual wellness. When you’re happy in your daily life, you will be more focused, have extra motivation, and make better decisions.
Getting Started
If you’d like to increase your mental strength and stamina, please review our dimensions of wellness page today.
With a few simple adjustments, you can support your mental health with a wellness approach.