According to The Leading Edge, the human mind has to make 35,000 decisions per day. Scientists have discovered a phenomenon known as decision fatigue—which is what happens when your brain is worn out and depleted of mental energy. Decision fatigue is why many wage earners have little mental energy left over for activities outside of work.
Prioritizing your mental health is essential to thriving professionally and personally. If you’re like most people, you might not know that your mind needs more care than your job, car or house. A healthy mind helps you perform well at work and determines how far you climb the career ladder. So it’s important to know what it needs. With modern imaging techniques, neuroscientists have advanced our understanding of how a youthful mind can function optimally after 50 and what it needs to provide exceptional job performance as we continue on our career trajectory.
How To Sustain A Youthful Mind And Successful Career
1- Regular exercise. Regular cardiovascular exercise boosts heart rate and blood flow, which helps reduce the risk of cognitive decline. One study found that, after twelve months, exercise and movement amped up blood flow to the brain and even helped slow the onset of memory loss and dementia. You can fuel your mind the excess blood it needs through aerobics, walking and stretching and toning your body.
2- Mind breaks. Research shows the value of what scientists call “Microbreaks” throughout the workday. These short breaks of five minutes or less are effective energy management strategies and can be as simple as stretching, walking up and down stairs, gazing out a window at nature, snacking or having a five minute mindful meditation. Microbreaks mitigate decision and mind fatigue and reset your brain between appointments.
3- Meditation. Practice bringing your attention into the present moment once in a while, notice what’s around you, and breathe. This is called mindful open awareness. You’ll be less stressed, more productive and successful in the long run. Or take the time to sit and meditate on your breath. Meditation moves you up the career ladder faster and farther and beefs up your earning potential, studies show.
4- Continual learning. Partake in mentally challenging activities like learning a new language, a musical instrument, completing puzzles, creating art or playing strategic games to keep your mind active and alert. Formal education at any stage of life helps reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Consider enrolling in a class that interests you at a local college, community center or through an online platform.
4- Ample sleep. Sleep restores mental clarity and sharpness by refining cortical plasticity, whereas sleep deprivation lowers your resistance to stress and causes cloudy thinking. Lack of sleep interferes with memory and learning. Your mind moves slower. You’re more forgetful, and your attention is short-circuited. Studies show that sleep deprivation leads to mental stress and decision fatigue.
5- Healthy diet. Eating a balanced, low-fat diet rich in vegetables and fruits reduces the risk of cognitive decline. Healthy foods like Proteins—such as meats, poultry dairy, cheese and eggs—boost your mood and provide the amino acids your mind needs for optimal career performance. Omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines boost your mood. Vitamin B is essential for mental wellness and can be found in eggs, whole grains, fish, avocados and citrus fruits.
6- Novelty. Studies show that your mind’s exposure to new experiences dampens established thought patterns in order to consolidate new information. Novelty promotes adaptive learning by resetting key brain circuits and enhances your ability to update new ideas into existing neurological frameworks.
7- Social connections. The mind is healthier when you have regular social connections. Research shows that social engagement mitigates cognitive decline. People who get together with friends and family, or who volunteer or attend classes have more robust gray matter and greater mental clarity.
8- Optimism. Research shows that, although we’re wired for negativity, the mind likes optimism. Enthusiastic and cheerful employees are less likely to have memory decline as they age. Focusing on the big-picture aspects of situations enlarges your mind’s range of vision, allowing it to see more possibilities and solutions, creating more optimism. And optimists scale the career ladder faster and farther than pessimists. You can tattoo that.
9- Your brain needs 120 minutes per week in nature. A groundbreaking study shows that your mind loves a minimum of two hours a week in nature—parks, woodlands or beaches. It promotes physical and mental health and well-being, plus a bigger perspective of your life circumstances. It doesn’t matter how the 120 minutes are achieved. It can be done in one block or spread out over the entire week to get the benefit. It doesn’t matter what activity you’re involved in, either, as long as you’re outdoors: sailing, biking, kayaking, walking or tennis—or simply sitting.
A Parting Word On Mental Resilience
These nine tips stress-proof your mind and make it happier and healthier. You don’t have to continue to allow external or internal pressures to clog your thinking or decision making, dictate your health or burn you out. Your mind and body weren’t designed to stay on red alert 24/7 in order to speed from task to task. Unless you’re under threat, you were designed for calm and clear-mindedness.
When you slow down and savor job tasks you’ve been rushing through, ease and stillness keep your energy up, mind resilient and engagement and productivity high. So step back, take a breath and chill. By the end of the workday, you still have time left over for the things you want to do, your mind will be happier and you won’t wear it out before its time.