Today we move onto our next topic of intellectual wellness.

       Intellectual wellness is defined as recognizing one's creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills. It refers to active participation in scholastic, cultural, and community activities.

            This is a component of wellness that I had not really heard about in great detail previously.               Occasionally on tv mention is made about research shows that exercise for the mind is important as exercise for the body and in particular regarding the link between doing mind games and improving and/or delaying cognitive decline.

               It is important to gain and maintain intellectual wellness because it expands knowledge and skills in order to live a stimulating, successful life. In order to improve intellectual wellness, it is important to value creativity, curiosity, and lifelong learning. It is in essence to:
               Expand one’s ability to create, develop, analyse, critique, concentrate, understand, evaluate, problem solve, predict, comprehend, etc.
                   Feel competent in intellectual and academic activities by improving skills in academics, studying, time management, stress management, note taking, listening, and public speaking.
Strive to be open to new experiences and ideas in all areas of life

What are Some ways of increasing intellectual wellness 

                  Playing “brain games”. Research suggests that cognitive decline may be prevented, slowed, or perhaps reversed in aging adults who are frequently engaged in creative, challenging, and cognitively stimulating activities such as computer games, reading, and crossword puzzles.

               Experiencing the arts. A study showed that people with 100 or more hours per year of arts engagement (i.e. at least 2hrs per week) had significantly better mental wellbeing than those with none or lower levels of engagement. For the purpose of the study, ‘Arts engagement’ was defined as the art people do as part of their everyday lives for enjoyment, entertainment or as a hobby (i.e. recreational arts rather than art therapy) such as singing, painting, dancing, reading a novel, playing an instrument.

                 Doing crafts like knitting and crochet. A study found that those who engaged in crafts like knitting and crocheting had a diminished chance of developing mild cognitive impairment and memory loss.

               Although it is possible that only people who are cognitively healthy would pursue such activities, those who read newspapers or magazines or played music did not show similar benefits.

Attending lectures in person or online.

              If you would prefer to pursue more scholastic knowledge without attending college courses, consider open lectures. Universities and libraries often offer free lectures on various subjects. From history to gardening, the subjects are vast. Furthermore, the lectures are most often provided by professors, or individuals who have honed their craft.

              Playing a musical instrument. Music has a powerful impact on our minds. Playing a musical instrument can increase intellectual wellness by learning how to create sounds, make patterns, and emote through music.

                      Learning a new language. Learning a foreign language can be beneficial to your intellectual health and your employment prospects. When learning different ways to communicate, your mind expands. This not only helps with being receptive to new knowledge, but also helps broaden information already learned.

                   Improving skills for studying. Learning new things about the way your mind processes information can be a vital tool to helping you succeed.

                  Intellectual wellness is intertwined with the other dimensions of wellness and can impact upon them.

                  Looking at the areas we have already discussed, learning new things can help us understand our environment better, find enjoyable ways of improving our physical health and learning new things can lead to opportunity to both occupational financial wellness either by helping you get a job, doing our work better, helping us get a promotion/pay rise or learning better ways to manage one's income.

                 When I think of intellectual wellness on a personal level the saying “use it or lose it” comes to mind. I must admit in the last few years that this is one aspect of my life that has taken a bit of a hit.

How are you faring with this dimension.?