I have asked several people if they are healthy and many responded, “Oh yes! I try to eat healthily and exercise every day!” I have not had anyone tell me, "I challenge myself mentally every day", simply because we tend to not overthink our mental health. Making healthier choices mentally can improve aging mentally and physically, your personality, and your mind overall when it comes down to decision-making and memory.

Do you ever find yourself forgetting information easily, losing track of personal items, or even taking more time to complete a task than normal? Well, if you can agree to one or more that have been listed, you might want to give further thought into how to improve your mental health by reading further into this article. Becoming forgetful, losing track of items, and taking more time to a task that you could normally finish in no time all comes with aging. Saying “I’m getting old” will no longer have to be an excuse if you challenge yourself mentally, create routines, and make healthy life decisions. Here are a few ideas on how to improve your mental health: try finishing crossword puzzles, memory games, creating an agenda, and most importantly, be healthy. Through recent studies of smokers vs. non-smokers, smoking has been found to have a major impact on aging. So, put down that cigarette, do a crossword puzzle, and if you do not find that exciting, than choose another activity of your liking that involves working your brain! The benefits of improving your mental health will allow you to have better memory and even an increase in energy.

Now, let’s get into your personality. We all have our own personality and would like to think it is one of the best. One thing we should all know is that there is always room for improvement. So, now the question is, “How is that possible?” Through physical activity, diet, and positivity, you can improve your mood overall. Physical activity will allow for you to be healthy which leads to you feeling better about yourself, which creates a sense of happiness. I do not know about you, but I would choose to be happy anytime of the day. Same goes for dieting. You are what you eat. If I decide to eat a lot of junk food, the end result will be me feeling like exactly what I eat. Now, if I decide to eat healthy, I will be healthy and feel healthy. Your health affects your mood, so if you are not feeling well, you will not want to be bothered, and others will not want to be bothered by you. Surrounding yourself with positive support systems will increase your happiness and you will find yourself friendlier, easy to please, and more relaxed. Another tip is to try yoga, or even some deep breathing exercises. It has been found that different personality types can also affect your mental health. A hostile individual who tends to eat and smoke a lot with little motivation to exercise, leads to major health issues. Being a relaxed individual can increase your life-span, improve your heart, and make you feel healthier and happier overall. Now, you decide which personality type you would prefer being.

Making healthier choices can strengthen your mind. The mind is important because it goes hand-in-hand with personality, as well as aging. Without your mind, how could we process information and have the ability to perform it? There are so many diverse ways to strengthen your mind. A few ideas include: exercising your brain, physical activity, healthy eating habits, and relaxation. Exercising your brain involves critical thinking, reading, word puzzles, mind games, etc. Physical activity can include running, routine exercising, etc. Healthy eating habits can improve your mind by providing the brain with important proteins, nutrients, and vitamins needed to perform task. Some foods that you can incorporate into your diet are foods high in omega-3, whole grains, antioxidants, and magnesium. These are believed to benefit you by providing an increase in brain function and mood. While we love to hear the word relax, not many people know how to. We are always on the go, whether it is going to school, work, or dealing with family. Finding some “alone-time” can benefit you. It will give you time to just remain at peace and allow your mind to take a break from critical thinking. It has been proven that with an increase of relaxation you will see an improvement in mood and mental functions. So take some time out of your busy day, take a nap, and just spend some time with yourself!

It is never too late to improve your mental health, so start today! I hope this article has discussed how an improvement in your mental health can improve aging, your personality, and mental functions. I believe in you, now it is the time you believe in yourself. Start off by having an “I can do it!” mindset and make the improvement one step at a time. It all starts with you.