Mental fitness is just as valuable as physical fitness. In fact, in some sense, they are two sides of the same coin. And so, neglecting your mental fitness can set some hiccups in your personal and professional life.
However, just like your physical muscles, strengthening your mental muscles requires practice, consistency, and the right tools. In this article, we will focus on the latter, but first, let’s dive into the:
Benefits of Mental Fitness
Taking the necessary steps to improve your mental fitness is a worthwhile journey that will help you to boost your:
- Focus
- Memory
- Optimism
- Creativity
- Productivity
- Processing speed
- Ability to develop new and positive habits.
So, now you know why you should keep your brain and emotional health in good shape. With that, let’s focus on how you can accomplish that with the following digital tools:
1. FitOn for Physical Exercise
You already know that physical exercise brings many benefits to your body, such as improved endurance, energy levels, cardiac health, etc. Incorporating a daily fitness routine helps you to become “fit” to take on the demands of every day- climbing a flight of stairs with ease, improving your concentration at work, or being able to run after your kids.
However, as we have hinted above, there’s a strong connection between the body and the mind, and so, what helps one also benefits the other. For example, physical activity increases the flow of oxygen and other nutrients to the brain and toxins away from it. It also helps release “feel-good” hormones called endorphins.
So, if you need an effective tool to boost your physical and mental fitness, you won’t go wrong with FitOn. This fitness app will provide you with a wide range of exercises, including HIIT, yoga, cardio, etc., as well as guides on nutrition and meditation. You can also choose to work out with one of their trainers.
Download: FitOn for Android | iOS (Free, premium version available)
2. Aqualert to Track Your Water Intake
Chances are, you already know some benefits of drinking water for your overall health, since most bodily functions depend heavily on it. That is especially true for the brain, as about 80% of it is water.
Therefore, water is crucial to optimal cognitive function, and dehydration could lead to headaches, brain fatigue, sleep issues, and concentration and memory problems. However, with increasingly busy work schedules, you might not always remember to drink the right amount of water every single day.
You can use Aqualert to track your daily activity levels, calculate your water requirements, and remind you to drink water. It is a user-friendly app that provides a graphic display of your daily water intake. It features a bedtime mode to stop notifications at night while you sleep. Aqualert also works with Google Fit.
Download: Aqualert for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases)
3. Breathe2Relax for Deep Breathing
Stress is one of the biggest roadblocks to mental fitness and productivity. And when it comes to stress, it’s not about if you will experience it, but when. That’s partly because it’s so easy to dwell on criticisms, regrets, and what may or may not happen.
So, you will need to find an exit to return to the present when you feel like you are spinning in a whirlwind of repetitive thoughts and fears.
Practicing deep breathing is one of the most effective remedies for stress, and you can use Breathe2Relax as your guide. This digital tool features a stress tracker, deep breathing exercises, and tips on stress management to help you relax and boost your mental fitness.
Download: Breathe2Relax for Android | iOS (Free)
4. Insight Timer for Meditation and Sleep
Considering that stress is such a potent antagonist, you will do well to have more than one remedy. You can combine your deep breathing exercises with other effective antidotes like meditation and sleep. Meditation is an essential activity that strengthens and builds your mental muscles, and sleep provides adequate rest for repair, recovery, and healthy growth.
But consistency is vital to enjoying the full benefits of meditation and sleep. So, if you are new to it, you can rely on digital tools like Insight Timer to learn the basics. This app provides countless free guided meditations, live yoga sessions, and other resources to improve your sleep.
Download: Insight Timer for Android | iOS (Free, premium version available)
5. Diarium for Journaling
Journaling is an effective meditative exercise that allows you to track your thoughts, feelings, actions, and emotions throughout the day. One of the main perks of journaling is that it helps you to bring back your focus to the present and develop more positive emotions.
The good news is that journaling is one of the most affordable and effective ways to boost your mental fitness, as you only need a pen and a notebook, or a free journaling app like Diarium.
The main upsides of having a digital journal are convenience and accessibility. Diarium takes this to the next level with daily reminders, integration of your social media activity, cloud sync, and the possibility to attach audio recordings, pictures, files, etc.
Download: Diarium for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases)
6. Peak for Brain Training
Do you want to improve your mental sharpness while having some fun? You can play brain games to boost your memory, processing speed and strengthen your mental muscles.
If you enjoy overcoming fun challenges, then Peak is what you need. It provides free brain training exercises to improve your problem-solving skills and attention. You can compete with friends and compare your brain map to increase the fun. In addition, it allows you to monitor and track your progress for better accountability.
Download: Peak for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases)
Build Your Mental Strength and Productivity
Being intentional about your mental fitness will improve your ability to overcome life’s hurdles and level up your productivity. Therefore, scheduling mental fitness activities into your calendar is not just another thing you add to your loaded plate; it is a priority.
Read Next
About The Author
