Our Cognition and Mental Wellbeing: A Key to a Happy and Fulfilling Life
Our cognition and mental wellbeing are crucial factors for our quality of life and put us in a good position to contribute to society. Ultimately, it can be near impossible to achieve physical goals and demanding life challenges if our brain health is not optimal.
Yet most of us appear to be more concerned with physical health than brain health. According to the YouGov website, the most popular New Year’s resolutions in the UK in 2024 were doing more exercise, saving money, losing weight and dieting – with about 20% reporting they were failing some resolutions only just six days into the year. A large study of approximately 1,000 participants showed that mental health only featured in about 5% of resolutions.
It’s easy to monitor your physical health using mobile devices and wearable technology to preserve physical health throughout your life. It may be more unclear, however, how to improve and monitor brain health and mental wellbeing. In our new book “Brain Boost: Healthy Habits for a Happier Life” we draw on research to offer practical tips.
Factors that Contribute to Happiness in Life
A number of factors contribute to our happiness in life, including genetics, our social and physical environment, cognition and our behaviour, such as lifestyle choices. Studies have shown that good cognitive function is related to better wellbeing and happiness.
Interestingly, according to the 2024 World Happiness Report all five Nordic countries – Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – are in the top 10 happiest countries. The UK and the US, however, do not feature in the top 10.
Nurturing your Brain
In our book, we draw on the latest scientific evidence, including our own, to highlight seven essential lifestyle factors that improve our brain health, cognition and wellbeing. We demonstrate how simple — and often surprising — adjustments to our daily habits can enhance brain fitness, boost cognition, and promote overall wellbeing.
We suggest small incremental steps to improving lifestyle habits and ensuring these fit within our daily activities, as well as being enjoyable and pleasurable. In this way, we can ensure, that unlike New Year’s resolutions that we give up within six days, we can maintain these throughout life. This puts us in a better position to achieve physical challenges in the future.
These lifestyle factors include exercise, diet, sleep, social interactions, kindness, mindfulness and learning, and knowing how to get the best out of work. For example, exercise is an “all-rounder”, as it can boost our physical health but also our brain health, cognition and mood. In fact, studies have shown that exercise can increase the size of our hippocampus, which is critical for learning and memory.
Similarly, sleeping the optimal number of hours each night can improve our immune system, brain structure and mental wellbeing. Our own study showed that sleeping 7-8 hours per night in middle to older adulthood was associated with better brain structure, cognition, such as processing speed and memory, and mental health.
Staying socially connected also plays an important role in our brain health. We have shown that being socially isolated in older adults is associated with a 26% increased risk of dementia. Whereas, having the optimal number of friends in adolescence, about five, is linked with better brain structure, cognition, educational attainment and wellbeing.
Learning and Keeping our Minds Active
Learning new things is also essential to keep the neural circuits in our brain functioning at their best level for as long as possible. We need to challenge ourselves mentally to keep our brains active – just as we need to do physical exercise to keep our bodies fit.
This builds cognitive reserve and helps us in times of stress. We can also keep our brains active in a number of ways, for example, by learning a new language or how to play a musical instrument or you can read an educational book about something that interests you.
Conclusion
Embracing these simple strategies to prioritise our brain health and wellbeing is essential for a happier and more fulfilling life. Ultimately, lifestyle choices play a significant role in reducing stress and promoting resilience, creativity and overall quality of life.
FAQs
Q: What are the most important factors for our happiness in life?
A: Genetics, social and physical environment, cognition, and our behaviour, such as lifestyle choices, contribute to our happiness in life.
Q: What are the key lifestyle factors that improve our brain health, cognition and wellbeing?
A: Exercise, diet, sleep, social interactions, kindness, mindfulness and learning, and knowing how to get the best out of work.
Q: How can we keep our brains active and mentally fit?
A: We can challenge ourselves mentally, for example, by learning a new language or how to play a musical instrument or reading an educational book about something that interests you.
Q: How can we reduce stress and promote resilience?
A: By adopting a healthy lifestyle, being socially connected, and keeping our brains active and mentally fit.