What, exactly, is intellectual wellness? In general, it means active engagement in educational, cultural, and community-based pursuits. These types of activities make our lives rich and interesting, and improve mental and physical health. Here are five ideas to strengthen and tone your intellectual wellness muscles:
In This Article
Read Outside of the Box
Much of our reading these days involves skimming or scrolling. Or both. We scan headlines and scroll through updates on our phone and social media accounts. To increase your intellectual wellness, try setting aside time to read full long-form articles, word for word, at least once a week. Focus and concentration are just like muscles, they atrophy if not used. The additional concentration needed to read and absorb a full article can improve your ability to concentrate on other tasks throughout the week.
Change Up Your Workout
Running, biking, rowing, climbing the stairmaster - these are all great forms of exercise. But, they can allow you to go on auto-pilot, as your muscle memory kicks in and your legs pump in a familiar routine. To stimulate your brain at the same time you workout your muscles, try a new form of exercise altogether. Exercises that include choreography or interval activites force your brain to engage, stay present, and build intellectual wellness. Dance-based workouts and high intensity interval training (HIIT) are particularly known for the brain + body benefits.
Volunteer
The benefits of volunteering are tried and true, they help a particular cause and also provide a sense of gratification that comes from giving back. While donating funds is always important, volunteering is a much more active and intellectually-stimulating way to provide support. When you directly experience the amount of time and care it takes to run an organization like a food bank or animal shelter, you’ll have a much deeper intellectual understanding of the community you’re in and the causes you care about.
Learn a New Language
Learning a new language is a regular favorite on New Year’s Resolution lists. Even learning a handful of new words per week can jumpstart intellectual wellness, and just 10 new words a week will add more than 500 words to your new language vocab by year end. Even better, immerse yourself in the culture of the language you’re learning, such as trying out new recipes and listening to music in that language.
Make a Game Out of It
Wordle, anyone? The viral yellow and green squares are the latest proof that intellectual wellness can be fun and relaxing. Crossword puzzles, Scrabble, Sudoku - all of these games can help us unwind, and they also require a lot of brain power. The mental activity required to find solutions and discover patterns improves cognitive functions and expands our intellectual horizons.One last thought on intellectual wellness. Your brain and body need a solid foundation to work from. NextEvo Naturals CBD products can help support mood, sleep, focus and more. You’re then that much better prepared for your next intellectual wellness workout.
