10 Ways to Be a Champion for Your Health
You’re in a war for your health.
The war is won or lost in your brain.
When your brain works right, your decisions are more likely to have a positive effect on your life.
When your brain is troubled, your decisions are more likely to have a negative, even catastrophic, impact on your life.
As the executive control center of the entire body – and the supervisor of every thought, mood, memory, and action – your brain makes you you. You must do everything you can to take care of your brain.
To accomplish that, you need to be a Brain Warrior for yourself and the ones you love.
What’s a Brain Warrior?
Bushido (Japanese for “way of the warrior”) was the code of ethics adhered to by some ancient warriors. Those warriors constantly focused on self-improvement to protect themselves and the ones they loved.
Are you that dedicated to your health? Since you only have one brain, you must do everything you can to nurture and protect it.
Becoming a Brain Warrior is for those who, either out of desire or necessity, are serious about their health. It’s for people who want to look and feel their best for as long as possible and want to excel at work, school and in their relationships.
A Brain Warrior is someone who has M.A.S.T.E.R.Y over the health of their brain and body.
Mindset – know your motivation to be healthy and focus on abundance, never deprivation
Assessment – develop a clear plan, optimize your important numbers, and prevent future trouble
Sustenance – consume food and supplements to fuel success
Training – learn the daily habits and routines that can protect your health
Essence – transform your pain into purpose and find your passion in life
Responsibility – share what you learn with others and create your own tribe of Brain Warriors
Years – commit to making lasting changes and gain tools that will last a lifetime
Being a Brain Warrior is for those who want to leave behind a legacy of health rather than illness. The rewards of living a brain-healthy life can have far-reaching implications for you and even future generations.
Here’s how Brain Warrior strategies can help you overcome 3 common health traps…
Brain Warrior Basic Training
Screenbound Hobbyist to Exercise Enthusiast
Perhaps you’ve let your health habits slip a little over the last few months. Living an at-home existence can be isolating and demotivating. But don’t worry, you can get back on track in no time with these Brain Warrior basics.
You should stretch, train, exercise regularly, and prepare every day for the challenges that lie ahead. Maintaining a strong mind and body can help equip you to handle possible crises or health problems in the future. So, put down the remote control or game controller and pick up some hand weights.
Training Tip: Brain Warriors discipline themselves to lift weights twice a week and walk like they’re late 3 to 4 times a week.
Video Games to Brain Games
With the prevalence of digital devices and video games, people today are more glued to their screens than ever. Unfortunately, overdependence on devices can cause people to feel isolated – which is a double whammy during a quarantine.
Studies show that brain exercises can help prevent cognitive decline. Some of the best learning activities for your brain are chess, sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, brain games, or an online course.
Training Tip: Brain Warriors make lifelong learning a priority.
SAD Diet to Healthy Diet
While most people know that eating a steady diet of hamburgers, French fries, and soft drinks isn’t beneficial for your health, the convenience of junk and fast food is a dangerous trap that many people fall into on a consistent basis. The standard American diet (SAD) is filled with pro-inflammatory and allergenic foods, many of which are laced with artificial chemicals. This diet can damage and prematurely age your brain and increase your risk for many physical and mental issues.
Consider adding these good mood foods to your grocery list: fresh vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, berries, beans, free-range poultry, grass-fed meats, and wild-caught, cold-water fish. This diet tends to be higher in omega-3 fatty acids, folate, fiber, and many essential vitamins and minerals.
Training Tip: Brain Warriors eat whole foods and healthy snacks, and avoid trigger foods.
The above strategies involve making serious changes and actively resisting the things that can harm you. In addition to these basic training exercises, here are 10 proven ways to reduce stress and boost your overall mental and physical well-being.
10 Mood-Boosting, Stress Busting Daily Habits to Supercharge Your Health
1. Start on a Positive Note
Begin each day with words like, “Today is going to be a great day.” Such a simple sentence can cause your brain to look for ways to fulfill that affirmative statement. It also establishes a healthy thought pattern that you can continue throughout the day.
Stay informed, but don’t let fear-inducing headlines and news programs ramp up your stress and worry. Watching news on TV or the internet can increase both anxious and sad moods. Limit your exposure to negative news and stop watching TV at least an hour before you go to sleep at night.
3. Just Let Go
There are plenty of things in the world right now that you can’t control. Feeling a lack of control over a concerning or frustrating situation can increase your stress levels. Training your brain to think about the things you can control, and not about the things you can’t, helps alleviate anxiousness and provides a more optimistic outlook.
4. Write It Down
Journaling helps to get negative thoughts out of your head and can help you gain a new perspective. Jot down 3 things you’re grateful for every day. Writing in your journal 10 minutes before you go to bed can help relieve worries and put you in a restful state of mind.
5. Eat Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate contains health-promoting properties that support a positive mood, the ability to think clearly, and a healthy cardiovascular system. In one study, people who rated themselves as highly stressed lowered their levels of the stress hormones cortisol and catecholamines after eating dark chocolate every day for 2 weeks. So, eat a sensible portion of brain healthy chocolate every day!
6. Brain Enhancing Music
Listening to music can increase pleasurable feelings, improve mood, boost energy, raise dopamine levels, and help with focus and concentration. Remaining in a relaxed state of mind is easier to accomplish when you have a happy tune running through your head. According to a 2016 study, listening to Mozart, Strauss, or ABBA (disco isn’t dead) for just 25 minutes can help lower blood pressure and stress.
7. Drink Green Tea
Green tea helps reduce stress, improve intestinal bacterial balance, and increase carbohydrate and fat burning. It naturally contains l-theanine, which can enhance mental focus yet has a calming effect without making you sleepy. It only has half the amount of caffeine compared to coffee.
8. Take a Walk
Walking is one of the simplest and healthiest exercises. Walking stimulates blood flow and provides oxygen to the brain. Walking can help clear your mind, improve your mood, and burn calories all at the same time, so get outside for some fresh air and exercise.
9. Exterminate the ANTs
Whenever you feel stressed, sad, mad, nervous, or out of control, write down your negative thoughts. Next, challenge the ANT (automatic negative thought) by asking yourself if the thought is accurate. Rejecting negative thoughts and focusing your mind on positive, rational thoughts should help you feel much better.
10. Loving Kindness Meditations
A Loving Kindness Meditation, which is directed at showing kindness to yourself and others, is a proven way to relieve stress and improve your mood. Repeating simple words like “May I be safe and secure” can increase positive emotions and decrease negative ones. These meditations can help reduce stress and improve your overall outlook on life, so give it a try.
These are just some of the many practical and natural techniques practiced daily by Brain Warriors. Share them with your friends and family and start your own tribe of Brain Warriors!
At BrainMD, we’re dedicated to providing the highest purity nutrients to improve your physical health and overall well-being. For more information about our full list of brain healthy supplements, please visit us at BrainMD.
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