1. MENTAL FITNESS
BY
LINDSEY NAYLOR

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Mental Fitness Defined
• Benefits of Mental Fitness
• Research Available
• How to Improve Mental Fitness
• How to Start
• Summary

3. MENTAL FITNESS
Includes a range of exercises and activities
to develop different mental skills including
agility, alertness, and calmness.

4. Benefits of Mental Fitness
• Mental Agility
• Mental Awareness
• Promotes Calm and Wellness
• Prolongs Life

5. Research Studies
• Research studies are not only educational
but allow us to believe we can achieve the
intended goal.
• Dr. Candace Pert
• Dr. Peter Schnall
• Dr. Randolph Byrd

6. Dr. Candace Pert
• “The mind is the body, the body is the
mind.” (Dacher, 2006, pg.18)
• Discovered proteins called Neuropeptides
• Discovered how Neuropeptides can help
us heal mentally.

7. Dr. Peter Schnall
• Studied Mid-level Business Managers
– Those who suffered
– Those who didn’t suffer

8. Those who Suffered
• Felt hopelessness
• Felt Powerlessness
• Had Mental Stress

9. Those who Didn’t Suffer
• Managers who didn’t suffer said they “saw
it as a challenge and could summon the
inner resources to deal with the workload”
(Dacher, 2006, pg.18).

10. Dr. Randolph Byrd
• Set out to prove that prayer could make a
difference in recovery.
– 393 patients in San Francisco
– Divided into two groups
• Control Group
• Group with Prayer

11. Control Group
• Had flaws
– Unknown others that could be praying for
those patients in this group
– Patients could have been praying for
themselves

12. Group Receiving Prayer
• Experienced
– Fewer deaths
– Fewer intubations and ventilations
– Fewer drugs were administered
– Less pulmonary edema

13. How to Improve Mental Fitness
• Meditation
• Guided Imagery

14. Meditation
• We are often so busy we feel there is no time to stop
and meditate! But meditation actually gives you more
time by making your mind calmer and more focused. A
simple ten or fifteen minute breathing meditation can
help you to overcome your stress and find some inner
peace and balance.
• Meditation can also help us to understand our own mind.
We can learn how to transform our mind from negative to
positive, from disturbed to peaceful, from unhappy to
happy.
• This is a profound spiritual practice you can enjoy
throughout the day, not just while seated in meditation.

15. Love and Kindness
• This is a simple meditation that teaches us
how to feel and radiate love and kindness
to ourselves and others.
• This meditation can be done all day with
or without sitting down.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=Rg5fSjehETk

16. Guided Imagery
• Retreat into your mind and dream a
fantasy vacation. How far away will your
imagination take you?

17. How to Start
• Think about the future you want to achieve
• Create a Vision
• Commit
• Focus
• Dedicate
• Do it Now

18. Summary
• It’s about getting mentally fit, staying
mentally fit, and isn’t it about time!
• Remember that mental fitness activities
take patients, repetition, and time to
achieve.
• Just Do It!