Want to change something in your life? Here’s how to train your brain.

Institute Editorial Team 10/02/2023

How do you become that person who works out three times a week? The one who doesn’t get distracted when she’s trying to get something done? The one who manages to read for pleasure or get enough sleep or start a new side hustle? You get there by building habits. When you turn exercise, going to bed early, or carving out time for reading into a habit, that’s when you end up sticking to it. Getting there, however, is the tricky part because change is hard, even if it’s good for us. Sometimes especially if it’s good for us. First, we have to get past our own brains. We are creatures of habit. Our brains are programmed to keep us alive, and to do that,…

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Categories: Institute of Women, Wellness & Work, Subscriber Content, Wellness & Personal Growth

Tags: Brain Health, habits, health, positive psychology, wellness

Institute Editorial Team

How to Build Good Habits

Habits have been described as repeated actions that arise from some kind of internal or external trigger (Robbins & Costa, 2017). Often, these habits exist in particular contexts. For example, Billy might have a habit of smoking a cigarette when he drinks alcohol. Sharon might have a habit of brushing her teeth before bed. And Mark might have a habit of biting his nails when he’s nervous. Habits—both good and bad—are closely related to our goals. Since habits are just things we do regularly, they can contribute to —or deter us from—achieving the things we want to achieve. That’s why building good habits—and perhaps getting rid of some bad ones—is so important for building the lives we want to lead. So what are some good…

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Institute Editorial Team 01/15/2023

woman looking up at sky thinking, showing mental performance

Mental performance and you: 10 things you need to know

Our mental performance, how we think, analyze, and perceive the world, influences how we work, tackle challenges, relate to others, manage stress and more. Where we choose to put our focus has a tremendous impact on how we feel and perform in our day-to-day lives. Julie Jones, Mental Performance Coach and Institute instructor, specializes in helping people boost their mental game, and in teaching them how mental training, positivity and self-awareness can help us do better in our jobs, our personal lives, as leaders, as athletes, and as members of the community. As a former Division I softball coach, Julie specializes in training athletes in mental performance techniques. The same brain strategies that can help a softball player improve her swing can help us all…

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Institute Editorial Team 08/02/2021

Feeling Tired? Sleep Procrastination and How it’s Impacting Your Wellbeing

Breaking the habit of sleep procrastination isn’t an overnight affair (pun intended!). It takes time and a conscious effort to change your behaviors.

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 09/11/2023

How to care for yourself while taking care of others

Caregivers, this is for you. Even before the pandemic, more than 16% of the US population was providing unpaid care to an adult 18 years or older, including family members with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Women make up about 75% of those caregivers, and they put in the work while juggling jobs, children, and ongoing domestic-task overload. With COVID back on the rise, caregivers are under additional pressure to care for and protect their loved ones. If you’re a caregiver, the stress may seem relentless, and you may be: having trouble sleeping under/over-eating self-medicating with alcohol or drugs canceling (or not even booking) your own doctors’ appointments That’s because when you’re a caregiver, caring for yourself tends to happen only after everyone else’s needs have been…

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Institute Editorial Team 09/26/2023

Women’s Brain Health Matters

Women are more likely than men to have brain health issues such as anxiety, depression, autoimmune disorders (such as multiple sclerosis), headaches and migraines, and Alzheimer’s disease. More so, women are more likely than men to die of stroke. There’s no better time to talk about women’s brain health than now. Brain health is linked to your lifestyle. It’s everything that you do – and don’t do – when it comes to thinking, moving, and feeling in your everyday life. Maintaining brain health can help you reduce personal risks for diseases and/or illnesses that cause your brain to function at less than optimal levels (such as cognitive impairment and various forms of dementia). So, how do you increase your brain health? Utilize these five tips:…

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Jessica Headley, Ph.D., LPCC-S 06/23/2021

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