The importance of mental fitness and how to keep your mind in shape

We all know that physical health is hugely important. We cook and eat the right food, train the right way, and always make sure that we do everything to keep the physical side of things in tip-top condition. 

But what about the mind? 

Thankfully, in recent years, we’ve become more aware of the importance of mental health in terms of how we manage our emotions and keep our minds active. We now understand that a healthy mind can equate to a healthy body or at the very least a more capable one. 

A study by Dr. Sherry Willis of the University of Texas found that completing brain training tasks to improve mental fitness had a positive effect on a person’s ability to complete everyday tasks. These tasks could be anything from writing a to-do list for the week to working out at the gym. 

With this in mind, I’ve decided to take a closer look at the benefits of mental fitness and how we can use it to our advantage when training and working out. Here’s what I discovered. 

The advantages of mental fitness 

From a general standpoint, mental fitness is always going to be a good thing. It keeps us sharper and more alert which can improve how we do everything from playing games like chess or poker to how we complete our tasks at work. We’ll talk more about games a little later. 

Mental fitness also promotes wellness, encourages us to pay more attention to our emotions, and believe it or not, can prolong your life. 

It can also help you relax more, particularly in stressful situations. This can, in turn, helps your decision-making ability which in itself has many positive benefits on your mental health and wellbeing. Interestingly, being sharp and agile of mind is also a great way to remain focused on your target or end goal, whatever it may be. 

So we know that mental fitness is a good thing and that it can help us improve our physical health. But how do we go about keeping our minds in shape? Is it as simple as doing a quick workout every day? Can we drop into the brain gym for a quick session?

In a word, yes. 

Unfortunately, there may not be a brain gym open in your local area as of yet (imagine if there was such a place), so here are a few things you can do to get your mind in peak condition. And you may notice that each can help your physical training in some way. 

Take up a mentally challenging hobby

Now, there are many activities that you can take up to keep your mind in peak condition, but you might as well go with something that’s also fun. That’s why we mentioned games like poker and chess earlier. Games such as these are hugely demanding in terms of focus and intellectual ability. 

In the case of poker, the ins and outs of poker psychology will give your mind a serious workout that you can only compare to completing a challenging obstacle course. Playing poker also improves your decision-making skills, helps control your emotions, and teaches you how to deal with pressure. These are attributes that are of great benefit for anyone into endurance sports or working towards a significant goal such as a contest or event.

Chess is another game with similar mental fitness benefits, but also one that is played at a much slower pace. This makes it an excellent game for winding down and relieving stress. Of course, there are many other challenging hobbies you can take up, but with both chess and poker being such popular games, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to play with friends and family of varying skill levels. 

Eat the right food 

Did you know that eating the right food can sometimes have a more significant impact on your mental fitness, than your waistline? 

Dr. Eva Selhub made a great analogy when writing for Harvard Medical School. She tells us that our brain is like an expensive car that needs to run on premium fuel. Give it anything less, and while it will still work, it won’t function to its full capability. Even worse, if you put the wrong fuel in (which in our case would be junk food) it can cause significant damage. 

So what is the right food? Well, you likely know already. It’s no coincidence that the food that promotes a healthy body has the same effects on your brain. Fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, whole grains, nuts, seeds, eggs, and of course, the all-important protein are the commonly known staples of a healthy lifestyle. 

Stay socially active 

This doesn’t mean posting a gym selfie every time you finish a workout. Staying socially active means interacting with real people in the real world as well as talking with your peers, and getting into conversations about things you feel strongly about. 

We all know that it can be very easy to close yourself off from the world, especially when training for an event. But it’s vital not to cut yourself off completely. Go out with your friends and have fun. It really is that simple, but it’s one aspect of mental wellness and fitness that is often ignored. 

Embrace music 

Most of us have our go-to playlist for working out. It should then come as no surprise that music is one of the best ways to engage your brain and promote feelings of happiness. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. 

To give your brain a workout, try learning a song by heart. Memorise all the words and see how far you can get. We all think we know how to sing our favourite songs, but if you actually sit down to try, it can be tough to remember all the lyrics. This is a great mental workout and gives you a sense of achievement when you succeed. 

If you have time, you can even attempt to learn how to play an instrument. You’re not trying to hit professional musician levels so don’t worry if you’re not that good. The idea is to engage your mind in a task that requires memorizing the right keys to hit or strings to pluck, which is quite challenging. 

If you’re into fitness and taking good care of your body, then there’s a good chance you’re doing at least three of the things mentioned above. If not, then you really should be. Eating healthily and staying socially active are pretty much basic requirements for the human body and mind. Picking up an instrument is a bit out of left field so don’t worry if you really don’t fancy it. But when it comes to having an engaging hobby that challenges you intellectually, you really can’t do without one. Poker or chess just might be exactly what you need to sharpen your mind.