Embrace Intellectual Wellness To Age Well
Quite often, many of us sometimes forget simple everyday things – what we had for dinner, where we had left the house key, the name of the street next to the provision store, and so on. Such occasional memory lapses are normal. However, alarm bells start to ring when the occasional forgetfulness becomes a recurring event in a senior’s life. Although not quite dementia, such memory loss can signal an impaired cognitive ability. To arrest such a deteriorating condition, seniors should engage in activities that challenge the mind to be creative and to solve problems. So embrace Intellectual Wellness and uncover yet another secret to staying mentally sharp in old age.
So what exactly is intellectual wellness? Simply, it is about acquiring knowledge and skills such as learning new things through formal training or through taking up a hobby. In doing so, one’s knowledge is expanded and one’s ability to be creative and think rationally is improved.
Boost Brain Power
A proven approach to keeping the mind alert and interested is to engage in creative pursuits and intellectually stimulating activities. Many avenues and resources are available to seniors today to grow fresh grey matter and boost brain power. Thus it is important to keep our minds active so that neurons or nerve cells which decrease in old age can continue to regenerate. The good news, according to scientists, is that our brains are continuously making new neurons throughout our lives which help prevent loss of power to think properly, to use creativity, to learn and to memorise e ffectively. A complex organ, the brain requires oxygen and exercise to properly control our body and state of mind. So keep the brain active and healthy through exercise and stimulation, and new neurons will continue to be generated which will have tremendous positive impact on mental ability and agility.
Stimulate Your Mind
Useful tips for things you can do to stimulate the mind include the following:
- Keep your brain busy
Consider the different possibilities of how something could have been done, and explore consequences. This improves creativity. Memorise your grocery list or friends’ phone numbers to train cognitive memory. - Build A Model
Remember the fun you had as a child making model airplanes and cars? Recreate that by building a miniature model. Comprehending those written instructions sharpens your powers of concentration. - Do Yoga
Yoga has great calming and relaxation qualities. Yoga forces you to focus on controlling all your muscles and breathing. Your worries will slide away, giving your mind rest from stress. - Eat Foods Containing Omega Fatty Acids
Flax, hemp seeds and fish are known to contain this nutrient which may boost intellectual stamina. - Engage In A Debate
A lively discussion can be invigorating. You get to practice your quick-thinking skills, logic and creativity when you have fun arguing about the pros and cons of an issue with friends or colleagues. - Learn Something New
Take classes and learn to play bridge, study a new language or attend a workshop. Reading music provides mental stimulation and learning how to make music will stimulate your creativity. Playing an instrument requires power of recall as well as concentration to maintain tune and tempo. - Play Stimulating Games
Solve puzzles such as Crossword, Sudoku and Scrabble. Or play golf which stimulates the mind as golfers use their decision-making skills to plan stroke strategies. The game also instils mind-body discipline. If golf is not your game, then play pool which demands that players think in terms of physics while games like chess and cards test your mathematical skills and logic. - Read Often
Reading helps you exercise your cognitive skills and increase your vocabulary. Do it regularly and be pleasantly surprised by the amount of information you can absorb and how good a conversationalist you have become.
