Here’s Why Wellness is a Journey and Not a Destination – The Value of Brain Training

Life is a journey, not a destination, and so is our wellbeing. Good wellbeing requires an everyday commitment to keeping ourselves on track. Whether you approach your wellbeing from a physical, mental or emotional perspective, your brain can support or thwart your efforts.

When Brain Neuroplasticity was discovered in the 1970’s, it changed the course of brain science as we came to understand that the brain has the capacity to respond to its environmental changes and to re-arrange itself to accommodate these changes.

We now know that the brain changes throughout life:

1.     At gestation and birth when the immature brain forms and organises itself

2.     In the early years of life when as children we absorb information and feedback from our environment

3.     After brain injury – to create new pathways for lost functions

4.     Throughout adulthood into later years as new things are learned and memorised.

Brain neuroplasticity means the brain can change to accommodate a new situation – for better or for worse. It is a responsive organ that alters to work with the conditions or stimulus of its environment, both good or bad. This is both a little bit overwhelming as well as a relief.

It’s a little bit overwhelming because it puts the responsibility squarely in our laps to look after our brains by paying attention to our environment and how we are coping with life’s challenges in any given moment. It is a relief because now we know we can take steps daily to improve our brain, our mental health and therefore our wellbeing.

The Case of London Taxi Drivers

This well-known study has clearly demonstrated how external stimulus will make the brain change to accommodate what we are learning. Studies into the brains of London's cab drivers showed they have an enlarged hippocampus. The hippocampus is important for long-term memory and spatial navigation.

Taxi drivers in London have to memorise thousands of streets and it is part of their training to obtain a taxi license. They develop a larger hippocampus to accommodate this new spatial awareness and for memorising maps. It is also interesting to note that when they stopped driving cabs, their hippocampus began to shrink back to its normal size, much like a muscle that is not used.

The brain can change at any age, so it is never too late to change daily habits that will contribute to better brain health – isn’t that a relief!

In saying that wellbeing is a journey, not a destination, the science supporting this is evident – with brain training you can change your brain for the better and experience an improvement in your wellbeing over time.

How do we Change Our Brains for Improved Wellbeing?

As well as participating in brain training exercises, there are all the daily habits that we can alter bit by bit that will help us to develop better functioning brains. This is a very individual journey for people, depending on age, current health conditions, circumstances, families etc but for the purpose of this blog, we will focus on the easiest ways to start changing your brain for the better.  

Improve Your Nutrition 

Good nutrition is fundamental to wellbeing. We are what we eat and what is in our food will change our biology. There are plenty of blogs and websites that have extensive information about food for good brain health. Read up and find out what works for you.

Here’s a list of food known to promote good brain health:

• Leafy greens – spinach, kale and other spring greens
• The Brassica Family of vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts, bok choy
• Oily fish - salmon, mackerel, herring, and trout
• Whole grains – brown rice, buckwheat, bulgur (cracked wheat), barley, millet, whole grain bread, pasta or crackers, oats and oatmeal
• Blueberries and Avocados
• Beans and Nuts - almonds, walnuts, peanuts and pecans

These foods are rich in Omega 3 oils, folates, Vitamin B’s, magnesium and zinc. Also, the less processed the better. The body’s and mind’s intelligence are supported when it is met with food it recognises. When you give it food that is processed which it needs to work harder with, it takes energy away from other more intelligent things it could be doing, for example, remembering how to cook a healthy meal!

Be Aware of the Air Around You 

More than 50% of people now live in urban areas and by 2050, this will be 70%. Urbanisation has been associated with increased mental illness and there is increasing evidence pointing to this. Polluted air leads to impairment in cognitive processing, basically meaning it is making us less intelligent and less able to problem solve effectively – one of the primary roles of our brain.

If you have to live in a city, take regular trips out to the country or the seaside where the air is cleaner – our grandmothers always said fresh air was good for us, the science shows us why.

Your Visual Surrounds 

Take care of the visual stimulus you are adding to your brain – is it easy on the eyes or does it create stress?

• Your home - is there clutter you no longer need? Is it clean and tidy?
• TV/Screen time - what programs do you watch, is it always the same type of show? Is it a good range of entertainment as well as education? Too many soap dramas are no good for mental health, as are too many violent movies.
• Artwork – do the pictures on your wall induce ease or discomfort?
• Your office/office desk – can your day’s work with ease or is it stressful getting to your tasks?

Lessen the Impact of Daily Mainstream News 

What style of news are you absorbing every day? Does it enhance your life or does it create anxiety? We have many choices today on the types of news that comes our way. Adjust your settings online to ensure that you receive information that provides some value about topics you care for. Leave out the news that just regurgitates more of the same daily drama that happens around the world as it is just repetitive negative information.

Take Up A Hobby 

Hobbies are a great way to learn and grow. A hobby can be anything, an art or craft, a new language, a musical instrument, a meet up group.

Learning a new language and a new instrument have been shown to increase and improve the functioning of several areas of the brain including the brain’s motor regions, anterior superior parietal areas and inferior temporal areas.

Learning and memorising anything new creates neural pathways in order to understand and memorise the new information. This is healthy brain expansion, not just in a metaphorical sense, but in the physical sense.

Increase Your Exercise 

Exercise and physical activity promotes memory and learning and protects the nervous system from degenerative diseases. It pumps blood to your brain and takes with it many neurotransmitters, providing the necessary biological nutrients to improve the brain’s neural connections.

Even a 30 minute walk three times a week makes a difference to your overall sense of wellbeing.

Get Outdoors and Into Nature 

Getting into nature boost our sense of wellbeing for many reasons. Firstly it is visually relaxing to cast your eyes over green fields, trees and bush landscape. Secondly, it has also been shown that people who go for a walk in nature are able to break the loop habit of negative thinking. 

Even more interesting, people who walk in nature have less neural activity in the areas of the brain associated with mental illness than people who only walk the streets of cities.

Join a local hiking group and get to know some of the nature walks in your local area. Yo meet like-minded people who care about their health and wellbeing as well!

Improve Your Communication Style 

Take note of the way you communicate with others, is it direct and clear, with good eye contact, or do you avoid eye contact? Do you listen well or do you try and pre-empt what is going to be said? Do you stay present when engaged in conversation or do you think about other things and check your phone multiple times?

Good communication with others helps you feel empowered as a person and increases your overall sense of wellbeing. There are many good books on this subject you can purchase from your local bookstore.

Why a Love of Learning Is Linked to Good Brain Health 

It is easy to instil a love of learning in children, their minds are fresh and they are eager to learn. But as we grow and age, we may lose our love of learning. This happens for all sorts of reasons, but if we keep a love of learning alive and well, then we will be open to learning new things throughout life and in our elderly years when our cognitive functions are at more risk of diminishing.

Our brains are naturally wired to learn and to problem solve. Learning is natural to every human being regardless of their age. Keeping your love of learning alive and well keeps you young, interested in life, interesting and mentally and emotionally well. You are never too old to take on a new interest, start a hobby, get fitter, start a business. It is never too late.

Brain Training 

Brain Training is an excellent way to support your activities to improve your brain and mental health. Brain9D is an all in one brain training platform that provides games and diagnosis tools for mental health. You can do memory tests, brain training games and take a test for depression and anxiety.

The Brain9D system helps you get to know your brain and how it works. When you know more about how it works, you can make it better. Sign up to Brain9D today.

Books and Resources for Brain Training 

For books, resources and other articles regarding brain and mental health, brain training and brain fitness, please visit the Brain9D Shop.