Brain Hygiene

A healthy brain is much like a refreshed and sparkling mouth. Remember how clean your mouth felt after a professional cleaning? Oral hygiene goes beyond the care of our teeth. Its impact extends to our entire mind and body. Several researchers from the Kansas Medical Center and the University of Missouri have identified oral health problems in people with mental illness and have suggested that the cornerstone of any treatment strategy should be preventive dental education. Bacteria from an unkempt mouth not only reek like a herd of camels; those germs can slide down your throat and affect your heart. So the fix is simple: Floss, Brush, Gargle! What about preventive care for the brain? It, too, is subject to a state of unbalance that can be triggered by a bad report from a child’s teacher, a doctor, a boss, Wall St., Main St, etc. Before stress grips us with dis-ease, let’s consider the following brain hygiene regimen: Time Management, Integrity and Happiness.

Time Management: Usage of time shouldn’t be defined as “quantity,” but as “quality.” It means getting the most value out of the least amount of time. It’s being focused on the task at hand, not allowing distracting thoughts or interruptions to compromise the quality of time while playing with a child, coaching an employee, enjoying a good book. Time is irredeemable. We can’t go back to yesterday to recoup the time lost. However, we can manage—with quality—the time we have. Be a good steward of your time. Find your purpose for today and live every minute of it.

Robert Updegraff: To get all there is in living, we must employ our time wisely, never being in too much of a hurry to stop and sip life, but never losing our sense of the enormous value of a minute.

Integrity: When you do what’s right, you perform at your optimum. Integrity escorts us into a life of courage, a place of contented well-being. Doing the right thing will never fail you. So, follow your heart—make those tough choices. When you do the right thing, don’t let it go unrecognized. Validate your accomplishment, say, “Good job!” Always reinforce the behavior you want to see in yourself. A life of integrity may be a steep climb, but the reward is like soaring on wings like eagles to a higher ground.

Theodore Roosevelt: In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do. The worst thing you can do is nothing.

Happiness: Our body and mind weren’t designed to live with the aggravation of worry. Rather, we are called to realize our potential and to become alive with happiness. But sometimes we get tangled in stress where worry robs our joy. What’s the fix? Recognize that at the core of stress is fear. To rid the stress, give fear a name. Now you can better focus on a solution. Happiness is something we prepare for in our minds. Arrange your mind in the right direction. It’s waking in the morning, determined to have a good day. It’s putting on the garment of joy and shedding the heaviness of life. When there seems to be no way, joy paves the way for hope.

Bill Gatherd, Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts: Worry is responsibility God never intended us to have.

A Daily Brain Hygiene Regimen: Time Management, Integrity, Happiness!  Are you up for the challenge?