Have you exercised your brain lately In Little Neck NY?

We recently came out with a blog post about improving your health with small steps. We spoke about how improving your health requires YOU to step up and choose to take action toward making changes in your lifestyle in Little Neck NY.

We spoke about improving your health with small steps in a general sense, with specific examples in relation to improving your physical health with exercise.

In today's blog post, we'd like to ask you… Have you exercised your brain lately?

IMPROVE YOUR BRAIN HEALTH

Last week during Dr. Jacobs evening downtime after a full day of serving his patients with Cox Technic, he came across this article as he was surfing the web, and immediately knew that we had to share this information with our Little Neck, NY community.

In the article, the author speaks about how "engaging in brain exercises, such as completing a sudoku puzzle, enhances cognitive abilities, boosts memory, and promotes overall mental well-being", and how "we all experience mental fog occasionally, but factors like stress, aging, inadequate sleep, or an unhealthy lifestyle can intensify cognitive haze, affecting memory, problem-solving skills, and overall cognitive function".

It's common in society to hear important information about exercise and nutrition as it relates to your physical health in conversations with your healthcare providers, on social media, and also in conversations with friends and family.

With that, we feel as though it may not be as common to hear people talk about how you can exercise your brain…

So, let's talk about a few ways you can do just that!

EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN

In the article that inspired Dr. Jacobs & the creation of this blog post, the author shared 9 different brain exercises that you can engage in. Here they are:

• Learn a new language
• Active reading and note-taking
• Mindful breathing meditation
• Strategic online chess
• Dual n-back training
• Crossword puzzles
• Sudoku
• Go
• Bridge

You can click here to learn more about what the author had to say, but we are going to go ahead and talk about 2 of these brain exercises more deeply in this blog post!

MINDFUL BREATHING AND MEDITATION

It's common to hear people say things like "I'm just not good at meditating" or "meditation just doesn't work for me because I can't shut my thoughts off". If you have that type of thought process, we'd like to challenge your perspective for a moment.

Engaging in mindful breathing & meditation doesn't have to mean that your brain is completely void of thoughts. It's typically quite the opposite. Meditation is all about being able to sit with your breath - in stillness - becoming an observer of your thoughts, rather than being consumed by them.

If you feel that your mind is racing while you meditate, please don't let that turn into the belief that you are "bad" at meditating. By showing up, breathing, and observing your thoughts - even if they are racing while you sit there - you are taking a small step toward improving your health!

Here's 1 small action step you can take this week: Go on youtube, pick out a free video to listen to with meditative music or music with nature sounds (we recommend this one!), set a timer for 5 minutes, sit up straight in a chair with your feet on the floor, or lie down in bed or on a yoga mat, close your eyes, and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, at a pace that feels good to you! When the timer goes off, you can either keep breathing as you listen to the music, or you can end your meditation right then and there, and go about your day!

ACTIVE READING & NOTE-TAKING

As we get older, we often get so caught up with work and life's responsibilities that we forget how important & how FUN it can feel to create time in your day to learn about something you're feeling excited about!

• Have you been thinking about learning more about physical fitness & getting into a new exercise routine?
• Have you been thinking about learning more about nutrition & trying out new recipes in the kitchen?
• Have you been thinking about learning more about our universe & gaining knowledge about space?
• Have you been thinking about learning more about plants & creating a garden in your backyard?
• Have you been thinking about traveling to a specific country or state & you want to learn more about its landscape, history and what it might have to offer for your next vacation?

Whatever passion might be pulling you in, create time for it this week! Read about it. Watch free youtube videos about the topic. Listen to podcasts. Take notes as you do!

Creating time for active reading & note-taking in an area you're passionate about will serve as a stream of fulfillment for you, but also will help you exercise your brain, and ultimately improve your health with small steps.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Taking steps toward reaching your optimal wellness can feel daunting at times, which is why we believe so strongly in taking small steps to improve your health here at Care Chiropractic in Little Neck NY.

When you choose to make small changes to your lifestyle on a daily basis, you're more likely to feel excited about the process of becoming your healthiest self, rather than defeated by it, which will ultimately help you stay consistent on your health journey.

Did you LOVE this blog post and want more tips around improving your brain health with small steps? Like we said earlier, health is multi-layered, and there's numerous areas of your life that contribute to LIVING in your optimal state of wellness…

Feel free to reach out via email at carechiropracticny@gmail.com or send us a direct message on instagram @carechiropractic_ny - & let us know what areas you'd like us to cover in future blog posts!