These times are certainly challenging but I find it helpful to continue to set goals and move forward.

Fit Minds Friday

My goal this week was to learn how to do a Facebook Live event. There is nothing like a little public humiliation to help you focus your mind and try and learn how to do things.

So I present to you in this blog post my very first Facebook Live event. Please cut me some slack if it is not as smooth as it should be.

Check Up From the Neck Up

Today I want you to ask yourself – “what one new thing could you add to your life that would make a difference to your brain health?

In this Fit Minds Friday Brain Challenge I’m going to ask you six questions to provoke your thinking in this area. I want you to give yourself a score using a 5-point rating scale, where 1 equals does not describe me at all and 5 equals describes me perfectly.

Then choose one small thing to implement this week.

Each week I will give you a concrete focus but today I’m going to give you the overall panorama to choose from.

Does this statement describe you?

1. I have at least 2 to 3 interactions with people I care about every week. In one study, individuals who had face-to-face contact with family and friends two to three times per week experienced a 50% drop-in rates of depression. This was really hard during the pandemic. But now that things are opening up, you might want to focus on reconnecting with faces.

2. I do some type of physical exercise that I enjoy every day. Research shows that 52 hours in six months is the minimum amount of exercise necessary to positively impact brain health – that is 2 hours per week. So if you do 17 minutes and 15 seconds of physical exercise everyday – you will meet your two hour threshold.

3. I eat well, including sufficient protein in my daily diet. Protein is important for a healthy brain – it provides some of the necessary building blocks. Next week we are going to focus on nutrition with a specific nutrition challenge, but for now think about how much protein you are consuming each day. According to the Dietary Reference Intake report an adult should consume around 0.36 grams of protein for every pound of body weight. So if you are 100 pounds – that’s 36 grams of protein and if you are 200 pounds that is 72 grams of protein.

4. I spend time in thoughtful reflection for a few minutes every day.  Reflection, meditation, prayer – it all helps reduce stress)

5. I try to exercise my brain with a challenging activity every day.  Cognitive exercise reduces dementia risk – add a new activity to stretch you mentally. If you are not signed up for our daily brain challenge – that is certainly something you can do.

6. I have a bucket list of items for personal growth or achievement that are meaningful to me. Recent research shows that having purpose in life improves longevity.

Next week we are going to issue a nutrition challenge – so join us on Facebook for Friday’s Fit Minds challenge next week at 11am

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