Mind

Mind, Brain, Inner Peace

Living a longer and happier life depends on more than a healthy body, healthy skin, and correct nutrition. You also need a healthy brain, and a mental attitude that promotes health rather than illness.

Of course good nutrition and regular physical exercise benefit brain cells just as much as they benefit other cells in the body. Certain foods, for example, can improve your mood; physical activity can alleviate stress. Exercise that engages the brain as well as the muscles provides a double benefit.

In addition to appropriate food and exercise, there’s more you can do to build and maintain the health of your mind and nervous system. In a world that seems to grow more stressful by the day, it becomes even more important to understand and employ techniques that can manage and reduce our tension levels. In addition to tackling the negative impacts of stress, building our mental resources helps us cope with events in the world around us. This combination of fortifying our mental stability and control, along with managing stress, contributes to a state of mind I describe as Inner Peace.

Working towards a state of Inner Peace is helped by adequate sleep. Sufficient restful sleep provides an opportunity for your brain to repair and reconstruct neural networks; this helps to boost mental well-being and overall health.

Just as the body needs exercise to keep muscles and bones in good shape, the brain and nervous system need mental exercises to keep neurons and other components healthy and functioning.

Inner Peace

In a world that seems to grow more stressful by the day, it becomes even more important to understand and employ techniques that can manage and reduce our tension levels. In addition to tackling the negative impacts of stress, building our mental resources helps us cope with events in the world around us.

Fortified mental stability and control, along with managing stress, contributes to a state of mind I describe as Inner Peace. Inner Peace is a positive state of mental well-being, in which a human being maintains a level of awareness that brings balanced tranquility and self-possession, even if the environment around is changing and potentially disruptive. Achieving Inner Peace is strongly linked to an ability to understand and—when necessary—take control of our emotional responses. Emotions are healthy and part of life, but uncontrolled emotions can do more harm than good.

In the quest for Inner Peace the Age Later program emphasises four important components, each one of which supports the others.

Mindfulness

Midfulness has been described as “a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment” (American Psychological Association). Cultivating mindfulness helps us take greater control of our mental processes, resulting in a more consistent sense of calm.

Reducing Stress and Anxiety

Mental stress causes biological changes in the body. If you have an argument with a friend or work colleague, it’s not the argument that increases your blood pressure and heart rate. It’s your response to that argument. You may not be able to alter the nature of your co-worker, but you can adjust your own response to that person’s stress-inducing behavior.

Sleep:

Sufficient restful sleep provides an opportunity for your brain to repair and reconstruct neural networks; this helps to boost mental well-being and overall health.

A Healthy Nervous System:

Just as the body needs exercise to keep muscles and bones in good shape, the brain and nervous system need mental exercises to keep neurons and other components healthy and functioning.

The Age Later book covers a lot of additional topics including the impact of mental factors on neurological disease, the need for nourishment and physical exercise to maintain mental well-being, the many ways that stress can damage your health and  relationships, and the importance of a healthy nervous system.

Smoking, Alcohol and Other Substances

You already know that smoking tobacco is bad for your health. You already know that too much alcohol is bad too. If you weren’t aware of that you might like to buy a copy of Age Later in which I’ve devoted some space to tell you all about those dangerous habits.

If you still smoke, drink alcohol to excess or use other dangerous substances you probably need some help to quit. These dependencies have both a physical and mental component. I provide some hopefully useful suggestions here: How to Gain Control.