You may have heard of the term intellectual wellness; it is not a concept that has been introduced recently. The word intellectual makes it appear that intellectual wellness is mainly focused on things someone learns in school/college or has something to do with a person’s intelligence quotient (IQ). Still, it is much more than just academics. It deals with all of the knowledge a person has, both academic & beyond of that. It is something most people develop in their entire lives without even realizing it. In today’s article, we will discuss some Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness.
What Is Intellectual Wellness?
Intellectual wellness motivates you to engage in various creative & mentally stimulating activities. These activities can expand your knowledge & skills while letting you share your knowledge & acquired skills with others.
This element can be developed through academics, various cultural involvement, community involvement & personal hobbies. It does not happen once or a few times. Intellectual wellness will happen throughout your lifetime.
As intellectual wellness develops, you can increase personal resources that work together with the other areas of wellness to achieve a more balanced life. Adults who engage in creative, challenging, & cerebrally stimulating activities can prevent, slow, or even reverse cognitive decline. This could comprise playing chess, reading, & solving crossword puzzles.
Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness
1. Always Try Something New
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capability to grow & evolve in response to various life experiences. Earlier, scientists believed that the brain stopped growing after childhood. But recent researches show that the brain can grow & change throughout the lifespan. Your brain can change & adapt through various stimulation, stress, & experiences. You should continue to feed your brain with those experiences.
Try to do something new outside your routine life. Come out of your comfort zone & try some new activity you never knew existed. Challenge yourself more to do better & get better. This is the first & one of the most important Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness.
2. Read as Much as Possible
Most highly successful people read 60 books a year. People like Oprah, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Warren Buffet, and Ratan Tata are all enthusiastic readers.
The question is, what should you read? Anything that increases your mindset broadens your views, enriches your experiences, & enhances your knowledge. It can be anything like a magazine, newspaper, or some good fiction or non-fiction book. It doesn’t matter. If it excites your mind & produces interest or lets you learn something new or explore something interesting, go for it – your brain will thank you for it.
3. Exercise Daily
Exercise is good for your heart & body; it can also help to improve another important muscle, your brain. In a study at the University of British Columbia, researchers found that daily aerobic exercise – appears to enhance the size of the hippocampus, the brain area responsible for verbal memory & learning.
Other studies show that various exercises stimulate the release of a particular substance known as the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which helps the growth of new connections in your brain. As a result, exercise enhances your learning abilities, sharpens your memory, & helps you to feel better overall.
Aim for at least 30-40 minutes of exercise. Be it walking, running, biking, or swimming – three to five days per week.
4. Travel as Much as You Can
Traveling helps you to experience other cultures in the purest form. You get exposed to other people’s lives, their economical & cultural activities, and their religious & cultural beliefs, among other elements that make up culture. This inspires you to understand other people and how their background influences them. Travelling can unfurl a new world in front of your eyes. We don’t need to motivate you to travel. We all love traveling.
5. Be Social
We all are social beings programmed for connection. We need to engage with others to prosper as we learn how to get a happy life. Some studies have shown that people who socialize frequently have higher happiness levels than those who don’t. Moreover, when you are around others, you learn & grow because you get exposed to different perspectives & new stories.
Try to grow & foster healthy relationships in your life. Spend quality time – either in person or virtually – with friends, family, & colleagues, or people you value. Join a hiking group, take some hobby classes, or join a frivolous sports team. Make an intensive effort to make deeper connections with people, listen attentively, & try to learn from the people around you.
6. Get Ample Sleep
When we talk about sleeping, doesn’t that seem odd to do if I am trying to grow my intellectual capability? Shouldn’t I be energetically doing something? When we sleep, our brain eliminates stored toxins & takes out the ‘mental trash,’ which helps our brains function better. According to research, sleep has a curative function. Lack of sleep weakens reasoning, problem-solving capacities, & attention to detail.
However, studies continue to come out on the significance of getting enough quality sleep &, more importantly, the consequences of not getting it. Make having at least 7 to 8 hours of sound sleep a priority. Your mind and body will be more functional & efficient after that.
7. Be Creative
Creativity inspires your intellectual wellness & develops your overall health. Consider music, for example. You have probably heard that music makes you smarter. A study showed that musicians’ executive functions (EF) were improved compared to non-musicians. These consist of problem-solving, working memory, processing speed, & mental flexibility.
If you are not a musical type, that’s okay. You can get creative through painting, crafting, cooking, writing, photography, pottery, or even gardening—anything you can involve with an open heart & mind.
8. Playing Games for Brain Stimulation
Many games require you to have a strategy to win. It is only sometimes about luck, mainly while playing games like chess or Shogi. You constantly think about your next move. This stimulation of the mind enhances your intellectual wellness over time. When playing with others, you learn to study their body language & relate it to the actions they take.
Even in some action games like Assassin’s Creed, Total War: Warhammer, Men of War: Assault Squad 2, going gung-ho toward your enemies will not ensure your victory; you will need some strategy to conquer them. Games are a fantastic way to interact, share, & challenge ideas.
9. Meditate
Meditation & mindfulness seem to be essential Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Capacity. They can help by increasing your brainpower. Meditation helps you to calm your thoughts & attain greater mental & emotional clarity & stability.
If you don’t want to meditate, just breathe. Deep breathing enhances circulation by supplying oxygen to your muscles & brain. It commences your parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for rest and digestion), developing a state of calmness & quiets your mind.
Conclusion
Intellectual wellness is about being more curious about the world & increasing your horizons. The more you learn, the more you can share your knowledge with others, and the better you do for yourself & the world.
There are several Ways to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness. Motivate yourself to pick up reading again; maybe you were a good painter in childhood. Brush up that skill. Bring out that guitar you played in college & start playing again. Go to a concert, play, or ballet performance. Intensifying your intellectual wellness can make you a better version of yourself.
