Intellectual Wellness Doesn’t End Once School Is Done
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What is your IQ? I vaguely remember taking an IQ test when I was 5 or 6 but my mother denied that I did. I don’t know what I was doing at that testing center… LOL
Do you remember your SAT scores? I do. I also found the originals of my standardized test scores (along with my college report cards) while cleaning out my parents’ home after the death of my mother. Who knew they were hanging on to all of that?
Although these popular methods of measuring intelligence have been validated over the years, they are not the only way to determine intellectual wellness. In fact, you may be on genius levels of academic understanding… but having good stress management, coping, and problem-solving skills are also necessary for possessing well-rounded intelligence.
Mental Stimulation Helps Intellectual Wellness
Staying mentally active by stimulating your intellect regularly can be done in so many ways. Perhaps the daily sudoku puzzle is your forte or you enjoy playing in a chess league. Maybe you’ve been thinking about continuing your education with online classes or a specialized certification that will enhance your career goals. There are also brain-building apps you can download to your phone, like Luminosity, that strengthen focus and memory.
Keeping your mind active and challenged keeps it as nimble as possible.
Mindfulness as a Component of Intellectual Wellness
Speaking of focus and memory, mindfulness is a simple way to keep your attention in the present moment and is showing a vast array of benefits as of late.
Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens. The benefits of mindfulness include: helping to relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties. Popular in schools, prisons, and veterans’ centers, mindfulness is for everyone. It is a simple practice that takes time to learn and develop.
Neuroplasticity: Ability of the Brain to Adapt
Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change through growth and reorganization. Although it was thought to have once occurred only during the developing years of childhood, it is now recognized that the brain can adapt at any age. Some examples of neuroplasticity are the ability to learn a new skill, environmental influences, the effects of psychological stress, and how practice influences capability. Having good neuroplasticity could be the difference between recovering quickly or slowly from a brain injury.
Keeping your brain sharp and adept will ensure a healthy and flexible mind.
Mental Health and Intellectual Wellness
Although related to emotional and social wellness, Mental Health is another facet of intellectual wellness. This is because when the mind is unwell, or sick, we categorize this as a mental health concern. Mental health affects how we think, feel and act. Mental health has several contributing factors; including, biological factors such as genes, brain chemistry, or family history, and life experiences such as trauma or abuse. With positive mental health, people are able to thrive by realizing their full potential, coping with everyday stressors, working productively, and making meaningful contributions to their communities.
As you can see, intellectual wellness does not just cover how “smart” you care. The ability of your brain to work quickly, handle different situations, and the level of awareness,
Loving Life — The Reboot!
Dominique
Resources:
Building Better Mental Health (https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/building-better-mental-health.htm) (https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health)
Stress Management (https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htm)
Mindfulness (https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition)
This article provides general information and discussion about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this article, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having.
22 Comments
Martha
I’ve always like to keep my brain as sharp as I can. I don’t remember having a IQ test or even an SAT, that would have been over 65 years ago. But I do remember going back to school to take the SC insurance program when I was 60 years old. Part of me wanted to learn more about Medicare since I was getting different answers from the Medicare office on what my husband’s infusions would be covered under. They told me one thing but I know that was wrong. So I took the course, passed the exam and found out I could still learn and retain what I learned.
siennylovesdrawing
Had an inspiring reminder read here for myself as I wanna continue practising my mindfulness in life for a healthier me. cheers, siennylovesdrawing
MELANIE EDJOURIAN
I agree there is more to it than just academic ability. Stress management is very important especially with recent events.
Jaime Brainerd
Hi Dominique, very true about taking care of our well being by our mindfulness. As a teacher, I always believed we needed to have mindfulness as a subject. I would do brain breaks and meditation with my students and they were always so much better behaved. Of course there were always a few challenging students, but they are the ones who really needed the positive influence. I also do not agree with tests, grades, or grade levels. Watch out for G.A.L.S. educational platform that will eliminate all those things and add subjects like mindfulness, compassion, mental health, emotional health, etc. Thank you for sharing. Sending lots of love and gratitude. Jaime
Fransic verso
Great tips, I always try to be as present as possible and take care of myself. Thank you for sharing these great tips!!
Oscar
Mental health should also be a top priority. It is true that we should forget how we should care about it. Read books, relax your mind, have enough sleep will also help our mind to release toxins that are bard for our health.
Michele
I agree with everything you say. Working on myself has really helped with my passion for always learning new things.
Brianne
This is so right on! Learning and exercising the brain doesn’t stop with school. Always keep learning.
Kuntala
I’m a big believer in keeping the brain healthy and active at all times. We only get one!
Eileen M Loya
I totally agree with everything you shared. We should never stop learning. Even at my age, I am always looking at new things to learn – a new language, a new skill (currently studying the art of bonsai making) and doing crossword puzzles or sudoko during my spare time.
Heather
I completely agree! This is why I always sign our family up for Summer classes.
Ivan M. Jose
I agree with you. Intellectual wellness is a lifelong process that we need to nurture through constant consumption of new information.
Melanie williams
This is fab and I could not agree with you more. Wellness and mindfulness are key to a good well rounded blalanced life x
Sarah M
Whenever I feel low, I try to practice mindfulness and believe me it almost always works. For a healthy mind, I engage myself in different learning and physical activities.
Rosey
Mental health affects every single thing. Taking the proper measures to make sure all is well matters a lot.
Emman+Damian
I totally agree that Intellectual Wellness Doesn’t End Once School Is Done! It’s important that it is being monitored at home by your parents or siblings. It’s nice to exercise your intellectual wellness too.
Nyxie
I love your blog and this post is no exception. So informative and a stark reminder that our wellness is so important. And that there are so many ways to continue with wellness into adulthood.
Dominique
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words and your reading my posts! Have a beautiful day!
Ntensibe Edgar
True! But there are moments where I feel like I just don’t want of it anymore…the whole thing of learning at school and all. There’s always room for improvement, though!
Elise Ho
Intellectual wellness never ends. I truly believe that we must always work on growth or we will age rapidly.
Alexis
I couldn’t agree more. For some of us, learning is crucial to mental health and overall happiness.
Grasyah [Of Coffee and Crackers]
this is so true! it doesn’t end there. and there are more to life than just the academic thing!